MCAT Thread

how did you do well on it?

Starting my MD in 2 weeks. I joined the Facebook group recently, but you'd think that people would chill the fuck out once they're already in. Why are med students such neurotic fucks if they will have one of the most high-pressure jobs on the planet?

Medfag here. Semester is finally over.

>Starting my MD in 2 weeks

I seriously hope you enjoy those two weeks because you won't have them back ever. Don't do anything related to med school in that time.

>you'd think that people would chill the fuck out once they're already in
>Why are med students such neurotic fucks if they will have one of the most high-pressure jobs on the planet?

It's just beginning.

It's easy to outcompete people other people in fields like engineering. In med school, everybody is smart. The differences between students come down to infinitesimals, as far as the flawed grading system is concerned. They're neurotic because those infinitesimals will determine whether they will get into family medicine or radiology.

Some of your classmates will become experts at borderline unethical behavior. Expect them to take any measure necessary to improve their own grades. They will suck up to attendings, nag teachers over exam points and fuck over their fellow classmates in order to "shine".

>In med school, everybody is smart.

>Aus fag here
how does MCAT differ to the UMAT (Undergraduate Medical Admission Test)?

Is there a stigma associated with Family Medicine? That's what I'm interested in desu.

Get into medical school and see.

Sure there is. It's all about the money. The most competitive specialties are precisely those that offer the most money and the best lifestyles. Everybody wants the mad medicine cash but nobody actually wants to be stuck in a goddamn hospital for 24+ hours straight. Anyone who says they do is either lying to you or to themselves.

>I seriously hope you enjoy those two weeks
I've been playing soccer daily, working out, and jerking off 3 times a day. Living the dream.
>Some of your classmates will become experts at borderline unethical behavior
The school I'm going to isn't top 20, so it doesn't publish class ranks. The environment is a lot more cooperative than other schools because of this, since most residencies consider board exam scores rather than class rank nowadays.
>inb4 Caribbean
no.

99/76/97/100

A patrician's split. Reading was low since I was doing a bit too much xans and lsd at the time, couldn't walk into rooms and remember why I was there to save me life. Needed to talk (whisper) outloud and speak with my hands for the reading section to understand anything.

I am in medical school, for now. Rote memorization isn't 'being smart'. Holy shit though, do Americans really earn this much?

>even the lowest tier is 200k+
I seriously can not imagine having so much money.

Dunno where you're from, but they charge us out the ass to attend. In 4 years, we rack up over a quarter of a million dollars in debt, and when you practice you have to cover your risk with malpractice insurance. On top of that are taxes, so these docs aren't really tossing money off their yachts. Overall, they probably have about the same standard of living as docs in your country.

I don't understand why in America parents don't pay for their children's higher education. In my country it's quite common for people to live with their parents until they get married, precisely because of financial reasons.

while studying undergrad in physics at cornell, i was a ta for the physics course sequence taught to pre meds

overall, they had large egos, good work ethics, and small brains.

I don't know how wealthy you are, my parents paid for my undergrad and all but they can't afford a quarter of a million dollars over four years so that I can go to medical school.

>Rote memorization isn't 'being smart'.

What I mean is that the application process is so hard and so competitive you're likely to end up in a class full of top performers who are willing to do literally anything to get their hands on that sweet M.D. degree. It will be a lot harder to distinguish yourself among them than it would have been in any other field.

>premed

Isn't that just a course you take before you're even allowed to apply to med school in America?

I live in a South American shithole country. Private medical school is an investment of about half a million over 6 years. Converted into USD it's about 160k.

Yeah, 250k USD isn't something my parents would shell out easily.

Yeah Manuel, most of us aren't oligarchs

>the application process is so hard and so competitive
It really depends on the supply and the demand. In Germany there are 37 medical faculties and the admission is based on a curve because universities are mostly state funded and you have further things that can raise the 'GPA' you're applying with like voluntary work in the emergency service and tests you can take outside of your school GPA that any retard can accomplish to boost his score. The culling happens once you're in.

I don't know the criteria for admission in America but I have heard of diversity quotas, I presume they still play a role even in med school. Also $$$.

you're SO cool for doing drugs dude

You think you're smart enough for medical school but can't figure out how to prepare for the MCAT? (It's passing physics, freshman chemistry, organic chemistry, & biology, and actually paying attention and learning shit.)

You just might be scarier regarding the nation's health than ObamaCare.

>Live in South America
>My university is state funded
I'm the third generation who will receive higher education with this system, feels good man.

And you're so cool for calling people out when you think they're trying to be cool.

Presently, you're an idiot and should reevaluate yourself.

In medicine, 20% of the effort gets 80% of the job done. What do you think primary care is for? You think those are the smart physicians? They're the _efficient_ ones.

Doctors don't actually need the sheer amount of education they receive in order to successfully treat the most common problems that afflict the population. Common problems like diabetes and heart disease have been researched quite thoroughly, to the point treatment is almost algorithmic.

Evidence-based medicine is just statistics. You think I was taught how to carefully consider the pathology of diabetes and make hard decisions on how to treat patients? Nope. It's literally a lookup table. You print it out and after you do it enough times it suddenly becomes second nature to you without even realizing it. Medicine is just repetition. You repeat the same stuff over and over again until you can do it unsupervised. Physics and organic chemistry don't come into this thought process at all.

Only when you specialize does the real studying begin. Specialists are the doctors who take the cases primary care couldn't handle, the patients where the common treatments failed. That's when being more knowledgeable about the patient's specific problem actually helps.

Medical school admission isn't hard because of the study required, it's hard because of the sheer amount of people who want the guaranteed employment and good salary medicine promises. The MCAT is just a meaningless stepping stone towards that goal. You think anyone actually gives two shits about physics and chemistry? Given enough time and interest, any idiot can learn that shit. The truth is those subjects just aren't interesting or useful to most people, and your "premeds" probably recognize the uselessness of it more than anyone. They just want to pass with the least effort possible. Most subjects in school are pure, unadulterated wastes of time so don't blame people for being "unable to pay attention". It's not like it matters.

Wait, is the MCAT really just over the first two years of college? BAHAHAHA, I should take the MCAT just to see how well I can score.

A 29 year old man comes to the office because one of his 3 sexual partners recently had a Pap smear that showed dysplasia and koilocytic changes. Her physician recommended that all her sexual partners be evaluated. He has always been healthy and has never had any sexually transmitted diseases. All of his partners are "on the pill" so they do not use condoms. Physical exam is completely unremarkable. There are no visible leasions on his anogenital region. He is still very concerned that he has an infection that you cannot see. The most appropriate next step is to

(A) advise him to return if he develops any lesions

(B) apply vinegar to his penis and scrotum

(C) recommend that he use condoms during all sexual activity

(D) Send for a fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption serology

(E) take random biopsies of the penis

(F) tell him that he is healthy

A 46 y.o. woman comes to the office for a health maintenance exam. Her exam is completely normal, but you notice that she has become fidgety as you turn to leave the room. You ask if there is anything bothering her and she tells you that she is concerned about her 15 year old son, who is also your patient. She says that she has walked in on her son masturbating six times in the past 2 weeks, and she found a "heterosexual adult magazine" under his mattress. She is worried about this "behavior". The most appropriate response to this patient is:

(A) From what you have told me, this seems like completely normal behavior for an adolescent boy

(B) He will regret it later on in life; masturbating causes infertility.

(C) I wish I could help but it seems that you need to take him to a psychiatrist for evaluation.

(D) It sounds like there is more to this story than you are telling me; he must have been sexually abused as a child.

(E) You should make him an appointment to see me as soon as possible; I need to evaluate him for a paraphilia.

(F) You should reprimand him next time you walk in on him masturbating.

(G) Learn to fucking KNOCK bitch.

I got my score today I got a 512. It's not the best but I'm really dumb and could post tips if people want.

I'm pretty optimistic now applying as a spic with a 3.93 512 and urm in engineering I feel like I have good odds.

these are nothing like mcat questions

They're step1 questions

Guess what, the Swiss version of said test is exactly tomorrow

I remember doing my undergrad at Cornell....

Fuck that place. I'm so glad I'm done.

>doctors study 8 years of their lives for this

Breh I just took Med School micro; I doubt this is an MCAT question. Hell this might be step 2 CK; it's not even asking about HPV but about treatment protocols

Oops lol didn't see yes please spend 300 bucks to "see how you can score"
yeah you're fine. Depending on state (ie Cali) apply broadly; some reaches, some in your range, and some safeties. MSAR is your friend

It's not even a good question either. Most doctors I know would do (A), (C) and (F + "probably" qualifier) in the same consult, maybe with empirical treatment.

The "correct" answer is (B) despite the fact nobody actually thinks about putting fucking vinegar on some guy's hairy genitals. An urologist, maybe but I've yet to meet a doctor who even has that shit on hand.

dermatologist/orthopedics that high? what the fuck?

im not into medicine at all so i dont know much, but i wouldn't think those would be the highest earners

I just got my score yesterday 513

medicalschoolsuccess.com/med-school-hell/

Do you think I can write the test on September 9th if I haven't even started studying yet?

I'm a bio grad so I don't feel too stressed about the bio part. I didn't take physics though and my gen chem is rusty.

Dermatology is apparently like the hardest field to get into. Why? i have no idea

forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/why-is-it-so-hard-to-get-into-dermatology.1065632/

apparently it's just the most flexible

>Presently, you're an idiot and should reevaluate yourself.
Said the guy who abused a medication proven to cause permanent brain damage. I'm not even the guy you're responding to, and I don't have a problem with most drugs but Xanax abusers are retarded.

Don't bother, you wont be applying this cycle anyways. You might as well take it next April. In order to apply to medical school you need a year of physics with lab though.

"I'm an asshole compensating for my inferiority complex by lying" the post

I hate doctors.

Worst people in the world ironically.
Fuck you

This answer is objectively false, he has HPV. The presence of koilocytic changes in the dermis is representative of dysplastic syndrome associated with the viral antigens effect on the squamous epithelium.

Also why the fuck would you do a Pap on a male? its just a fucking swab or a skin biopsy if the genitalia are external and most if not all of the lesions you would find in this case would be in the anus. Additionally, fucking vinegar won't fucking treat HPV. Did you just look up medical buzzwords and just shotgun them from your dome?

Holy fuck this thread is retarded.

I just graduated from there. What did you hate about it?