|
Biology 250A |
Schedule
#04373 |
| TOPICS
IN MEDICINE |
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FALL 2007 |
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Monday 1500-1550 GMCS-328 |
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 |
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Barbara
W. Huntington, Director Preprofessional
Health Advising Office |
|
Blanca Chiu, Coordinator |
Tom Phan, Coordinator |
| Prerequisites |
None |
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| Course Description |
This credit/no
credit seminar course is designed to expose premedical students to the
diverse career opportunities that exist within medicine. A variety of specialists and professionals
from the medical field are invited to speak each week to give students
a realistic view of the profession.
The speakers also have the opportunity to share their experiences
as a pre-med, medical student and resident. In addition, students will become familiar
with the medical school application process by completing an actual
application and by writing a personal statement essay. Additionally, students will complete a medical
related research paper. |
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| Course Objectives |
·
Expose
students to the various specialties of medicine ·
Discuss
the requirements for admission into medical school ·
Provide
students with role models in medicine ·
Present
a realistic view of medicine today and what it will be like in the future ·
Give
students the opportunity to network with working physicians ·
Discuss
club organizations as well as extra curricular and leadership opportunities ·
Allow
students to become familiar with the application process ·
Complete
a personal statement ·
Explore
current issues in medicine |
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| Text |
Required: ·
Huntington,
Barbara and Masse, Linda, 2003.
Writing About Me Recommended: ·
Iserson,
K.V. 2003. Get Into ·
AAMC.
The New MCAT Student Manual. (130 page PDF file link is at: http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/start.htm)
·
AAMC.
·
Medley,
A. Sweaty Palms. 1992. Ten Speed Press. ·
Carlos
J. Sanchez Sanchez. 1996. The Soul of the Condor: A Forgotten Holocaust.
(Students may wish to bring this book to
class to be signed when Dr. Sanchez speaks) |
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| Papers |
1.
Research Paper (3 page
minimum) 2.
Personal Statement Essay
(3-4 pages) |
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| Evaluation |
Credit/No Credit based
upon: 1.
Attendance Students must attend all class
sessions. Submission of your weekly journal will substantiate
your attendance. ONLY ONE UNEXCUSED
ABSENCE IS ACCEPTED. Reasons for excused absences (illness,
death in family) must be submitted in writing to Barbara Huntington.
Whether excused or unexcused all absences must be made up by submitting
a one-page paper on the missed topic no later than one week after the
absence. More than one unexcused absence will result in a grade of NCR
for the course. 2.
Course Work a.
Writing Assignments: These will be collected
at the beginning of the period and require the following format: §
Times New Roman Font size 12 §
1” margins § Double spaced b. Complete the speaker review sheet. Link
3.
Class Participation Participate in asking questions and giving the speaker your
undivided attention. |
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| Speakers |
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| Assignments |
We will return assignments the following week in class. If you fail to pick them up, we will keep
them for one week in the PPHA office where they may be picked up from
the class mailbox. After that,
they will be thrown away. Health care professionals are held to a high ethical standard.
Please be aware of the school’s policy on
academic dishonesty requiring professors to report all cases of
academic dishonesty. |
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|
Date Due |
Assignment |
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| September 3 (no class) |
1.
Send an e-mail to Barbara Huntington and your class coordinators
stating (1) the field you are interested in (specialty, allopathic or
osteopathic) (2) your major (3) the year you expect to enter medical
school and (4) your proposed research topic (see October 29). 2. Obtain an AMCAS or AACOMAS application and submit the sections on biographical data to the class coordinators. Do not include social security number. You may leave your address or parental data blank, but make sure your name is on the form. Do not submit your application to the service and remember to save all your work to a disk. 3.
Read
Chapter 1 of Writing About Me. 4.
Write
and email to your coordinator a ˝ to 1 page on a medical specialty of
your interest. Discuss the years of training required, typical
numbers of work hours per week, types of patients seen, problems facing
the profession, etc. |
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| September 10 |
1.
Read Chapter 2 of Writing
About Me and do Self Assessment Step #1 (What I have done/need
to do) Worksheet pp. 6-12. 2.
Complete
and turn in the AMCAS or AACOMAS sections that include colleges attended,
awards, honors, activities, work and volunteer activity. |
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| September 17 |
1.
Personal Statement Starter
1 (1 page): Describe a personal role
model. What attributes of that
person do you admire? How would
those attributes make a good physician? 2.
Read Chapter 3 of Writing
About Me and do Self Assessment Step #2 (Professional Values)
Worksheet pp. 13-15. |
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| September 24 |
1.
Read Chapter 4 of Writing
About Me and do Self Assessment Step #3 (Characteristics
of profession) Worksheet pp. 21-22. |
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| October 1 |
1.
Write a ˝ to 1 page paper discussing alternative/preventative medicine.
How do they compare to allopathic medicine?
Discuss anything interesting you may find about the medicine. 2.
Read Chapter 5 of Writing
About Me. |
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| October 8 |
1.
Complete the AMCAS or AACOMAS section on academic records. Show all work completed, in progress and planned. 2.
Read Chapter 6 of Writing
About Me. |
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| October 15 |
1.
Personal Statement Starter
2 (1 page): What attributes, skills
or experiences make you unique? What
pivotal experience(s) made you want to be a doctor? If you don’t have a specific experience, what
made you decide that you want to become a doctor? How did you test your desire to become a physician
(Volunteering? Research? Clinical experience? Shadowing?) Include any special instances where you felt
inspired or enthusiastic about medicine. |
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| October 22 |
1.
Read Chapter 7 of Writing
About Me and complete Self Assessment Step #4 (Professional
Goals) and #5 (How do I look now?) Worksheet pp. 23-24.| |
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| October 29 |
Research
Paper (3
page minimum + cited sources) |
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| November 5 |
Personal
Statement rough draft (3-4 pages) |
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| November 12 |
Ten year paper: Where do you see yourself
in 10 years? (A
common secondary application question.) (Changed
to October 29) |
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| November 19 |
Top Five Schools: |
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| November 26 |
Personal Portfolio/Final Exam: Submit a personal portfolio including: |
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| December 3 |
No assignment due! Yay!!! |
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| December 10 |
1.
Pick up graded portfolio. 2.
Speaker evaluations. |
Please
retain copies of everything you turn and remember to put your name on all of
your assignments.