1.31.2009

Diagnosis

I came across this Diagnosis column on the New York Times online.

It is interesting to see how seemingly harmless family traditions- such as preparing pork for an annual luau- can result in near tragedy. How often we take chances with our health... but one cannot live in fear of all the possible conditions that can affect one's life. It would be ridiculous for us to avoid all the foods that studies have attributed to increased incidence of cancer, hypertension or diabetes. It seems that finding a 'happy medium' may be the key to lowering the anxiety surrounding such reports.

1.29.2009

HCEC

Yesterday was the deadline for registration with the Health Career Evaluation Committee (HCEC).

In an effort to have the most efficient registration of the majority of the pre-medical students at Cornell, the HCEC decided to limit the times for registration from 5:00pm-7:00pm on the 27th and 28th of January. This logistical decision was rationalized because "this is the time between which we find students have the most flexibility." Perhaps this is true.

As I sauntered up the Barnes hall at 4:54pm, I was displeased but not too surprised to find that the lobby was packed full with early-birds waiting to hand in their package, and get moving with step 2 of the registration process. Ah, the 'neurotic pre-med' student. How I often get annoyed with that stereotype with which we are labeled. But that's an issue for a later post.

The HCEC offers a valuable service to the medical schools and students. The prospective medical student presents the committee with 3 letters of recommendation from professors, faculty or employers, in addition to transcripts and forms that detail all extracurricular activities. The committee then interviews the candidate, and puts all these things together to produce a letter from the university describing and endorsing that candidate. All 4 letters are sent to medical schools where the student wishes to apply. It is said that medical school admissions officers hold these university letters in high regard when it comes to evaluating the candidate. Needless to say, getting the ball rolling on this process is not a trivial task.

1.27.2009

Introduction

Welcome to my blog!

This is a place where I reflect on and discuss things related to the medical field.
Since I am currently a pre-medical student, occasional references to the application process to medical school will be made.