tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177573832011-11-21T03:47:58.137-05:00The whole truth, and nothing but the truth, from a UCSD graduate and former HMP3 board member.The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.comBlogger331100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-39801934812179777542009-01-22T16:35:00.003-05:002009-02-02T00:10:06.907-05:00

The HMP3 Guru has moved, changed identities, and can only be found by clicking hereSubscribers: Please note that there will be a complimentary redirection of e-mail and feed subscriptions for 30 days starting on 1/23/09. After that, you will need to re-subscribe at the new site. Thanks and I hope to see you there soon!

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com38tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-52924203010940905292009-01-05T03:26:00.012-05:002009-01-05T05:31:37.666-05:00

I have been thinking for some time that I would like to continue writing - however everytime I sit down and put my fingers on the keyboard nothing comes. This is baffling to me because of the sheer volume of thoughts that run through my head every day - especially regarding the choice of what I want to do with the rest of my life and of course the general mental processing of the things I see and

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-62482554637730916222008-06-25T14:05:00.003-04:002008-06-25T14:27:23.921-04:00

As you can see, I haven't posted to this blog since last October when I was towards the beginning of 2nd year, and many, many, months away from taking the boards.Today, I am 48 hours till d-day. Time sure did go by fast. I would like to say that I spent second year working harder than I ever have but I would be lying...It was tough but I enjoyed myself as well - went to several conferences,

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-45403386881311399712007-10-08T03:23:00.000-04:002008-12-08T19:49:47.933-05:00

How could I possibly begin to describe the last four months? Succinctly, I hope, as I don't really have all night to finish this post. So...lets see..Summer: Good. Did the Summer Institute for Medical Students at the Betty Ford Center. Incredible and inspiring experience. It's important every once in a while to reaffirm the things the drew you to medicine in the first place. After my internship I

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-36845357514337789772007-05-25T03:02:00.000-04:002007-05-31T04:57:52.778-04:00

I write to you on my last night as a first year medical student. Although I must be brief (neuroscience be damned), I thought that this would be a good moment to share. At this moment it is not the coffee, red bull, or Starbucks double shots that are keeping me going, but the pure excitement and drive to put this year in the PAST and to look towards the future. All in all it's been one hell of a

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-67928017999863490082007-04-23T02:19:00.001-04:002008-12-08T19:49:48.164-05:00

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-76895102923285984572007-04-16T08:31:00.000-04:002007-04-16T10:10:07.475-04:00

Hello.Man, am I tired. My last histology exam is in a few hours and I have crammed and crammed...till I could cram no more. I can only hope it's enough. Life has been interesting the past few weeks. Just when I finally felt like I was getting the hang of this med school thing, life decided to bring forth yet another challenge. Probably the most difficult decision I made to date this year, I

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-62550179446280374492007-02-27T23:06:00.001-05:002008-12-08T19:49:48.308-05:00

Although I am in the middle of cramming renal and GI physiology, I decided to take a few hours off tonight to go see Dr. Patch Adams. He happens to be an MCV/VCU alumnus if you didn't know that already. You may have seen the movie and noted what a beautiful campus he attended. Unfortunately that was not MCV, that was UVA. Apparently the MCV campus was too urban and slovenly to be featured in the

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-70004208206856035492007-02-23T01:51:00.000-05:002007-03-01T20:27:24.661-05:00

Hey all!Sorry I haven't been keep you up to speed......there's just never enough time in the day.So when we last left off I was just finishing anatomy, and I'm glad and sorry at the same time that it's over. Now we're back in the lecture hall four hours a day and to be completely honest with you I sleep through at least half of it. It was a lot more fun being in the lab even if it was smelly.

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-53166758282581093842007-02-19T23:04:00.000-05:002007-03-01T20:26:20.173-05:00

To briefly (or not so briefly) address a common question.....Yes, The people in medical school are ridiculously competitive no matter what anyone says. You have to remember that pretty much everyone who successfuly makes it in is an overachieving, driven perfectionist. That being said, maybe it's not so much that they're competing against each other, but that they're competing against themselves.

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-32169904776451347312006-12-08T00:13:00.000-05:002006-12-08T00:17:21.332-05:00

Tomorrow is our last day with Bob. To tell you the truth, I don't know whether to break out the party hats or cry. I guess you could say I've had a hate/love realtionship with anatomy. There were things I loved about it (working with my group, wearing scrubs every day, learning cool clinical stuff), but there were also things I hated about it (mass of material taking the fun out of it, bisecting

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-90595800428625855712006-12-01T15:37:00.000-05:002008-12-08T19:49:49.182-05:00

Presenting Anshu's poster at the abstract competition (by the way, he won his division!)Anshu, Jason, and me.Anshu, Janelle (our pres), me, Zeina, and Jason Med student party at Bellagio's LightAllison and meStartin to feel those drinks..... Girl's afternoon out. Notice the 100 ounce margarita in the middle of the table.Does life get any better?Yes, it does. 100 ounce margarita AND balloon hats

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-19632138458285986372006-11-17T00:35:00.000-05:002006-11-17T02:36:23.059-05:00

So it's almost one in the morning, and I have just returned from many confusing and smelly hours in the anatomy lab. We are trying (key word there is trying) to prepare for next week's exams. Unfortunately it seems like the more I learn the more I realize how much I still don't know..... sigh.The first day of anatomy was the first day I truly felt like a medical student. Up until then I was still

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-20343875945348537762006-11-09T06:55:00.000-05:002006-11-09T07:03:46.440-05:00

Hey all! I just wanted to check in and say hello. The latest news is that I did pretty well on my first anatomy written and practical examinations. Yay! I survived!The next entry regarding.......anatomy and stuff....will be posted early next week. If you have any specific questions you would like answered about anatomy, please leave a comment. For the moment, yours truly is heading to Las Vegas

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-13890069428452544812006-10-25T21:51:00.000-04:002006-10-27T18:41:15.075-04:00

"Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but by how we react to what happens, not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life. A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes. It is a catalyst, a spark that creates extraordinary results."-anonymousGood advice, no?Well here I am, ten weeks into my first year of medical school.

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-1150261877537233462006-06-14T01:09:00.000-04:002006-10-24T00:40:57.567-04:00

Ok people, I've made up my mind. VCU it is. I've been agonizing over this whole thing for weeks now, but pretty much came to the conclusion that I have to trust my gut. From the get-go, I've always known that I would be happier in Virginia, as strange as that sounds.Sorry to offend any of you from LA or Orange county, but LA in general makes me sick for a variety of reasons. It is not the type of

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-1148520416151216102006-05-24T21:03:00.000-04:002006-10-24T00:40:57.501-04:00

So I didn't decide by the fifteenth. I lost a hundred dollars but I just couldn't do it. I suppose it is very rude of me to continue hanging on to two spots, but given that I was only notified of my USC acceptance on May 1st, it just wasn't enough time.I'm trying to take actions to get everything sorted out. My main problem with VCU was possible complications obtaining a satisfactory residency.

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-1147223016990114772006-05-09T20:40:00.000-04:002006-10-24T00:40:57.432-04:00

Hey everyone!Sorry I've gone AWOL on you. But if I have any readers left among you, here's the latest news from the front lines......I got accepted to USC just a couple weeks ago ( I was soooooo about to kill them for taking so long), and a couple weeks before that I got placed on the alternate list at Dartmouth. So all the news is finally in, and I can stop checking my mail and e-mail

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-1143515625971320352006-03-27T21:49:00.000-05:002006-10-24T00:40:57.369-04:00

Hey everyone!So I got a last minute interview invitation from Drexel, and that makes six out of eighteen, or a respectable 30% return on my secondary investments. I scheduled it for April 12th, but guess what? I won't be going to it, or to New York Med for that matter, because yours truly has gotten an acceptance to medical school!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I got one of the last

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-1141779787367215942006-03-07T19:40:00.000-05:002006-10-24T00:40:57.299-04:00

So I had what will hopefully be my final interview last friday at USC. I have one more, at New York Med, scheduled late march, but with any luck I will have gotten an acceptance by then and I won't have to go. But USC was pretty cool actually, I liked it way better than I ever thought I would. The Health Sciences campus is about four miles away from the main campus, and it is right across the

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-1141005729240448962006-02-26T20:25:00.000-05:002007-03-01T19:05:00.753-05:00

Greetings everyone!I am back, safe and sound, in San Diego once again. This last week has been stressful and exhausting, but everything went really well. I flew into D.C. last weekend to spend a couple days with my uncle and cousin who live in Arlington, VA. They showed me all around D.C., and Sarah (my cousin) took me to NIH with her where she is doing an internship in a pediatric oncology lab.

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-1138925125435649832006-02-02T18:46:00.000-05:002006-10-24T00:40:57.171-04:00

Well I guess a lot of you are wondering how my first interview went. At least I hope you're still interested. Sorry about the delay, but....Hmmm, I don't really have a good excuse. Oh wellSo we left San Diego on a red-eye saturday night, arriving in chicago at four thirty in the morning. Why so early you ask? Cause I just knew that there was going to be trouble, and there sure was. Due to heavy

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-1137739526504412242006-01-20T01:29:00.000-05:002006-10-24T00:40:57.110-04:00

Well, I'll make this short and sweet since I am sooooooo busy getting ready to leave on saturday. In answer to people's questions: 1) Yes I am taking a year off, I graduated last June. 2) Yes, I had to take a lot of courses that were not required for my major (med school prerequisites and for the MCAT). I ended up with minors in biology and chemistry. 3) An update letter is a good thing to do if

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-1136596452647523982006-01-06T19:33:00.000-05:002006-10-24T00:40:57.039-04:00

Well I hope everybody had a good break. Ready to start winter quarter?I still kind of miss school, so I'm sad that I don't get to start with you guys. Oh well.So the med school stuff is really quite a roller coaster. One minute you're confident, the next you think you're doomed. The last couple months were real downers for me, but at the moment all is well. Despite all odds (i.e. MCAT score), and

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-1134178020330552432005-12-09T19:47:00.000-05:002006-10-24T00:40:56.979-04:00

So today I got an interview at the University of Rochester, and it appears that I'll be going in late January. Since my interview at New York Med isn't until March, it looks like Rochester will be my first. I'm excited, and kinda freaked out at the same time. Rochester is a pretty good school (#30 in research, #17 in primary care), and unlike New York Med, was not one of my "back-up" schools. And

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-1133592016833336712005-12-03T01:29:00.000-05:002006-10-24T00:40:56.917-04:00

Well, I just wanted to make a quick note: Wednesday I got put on hold for an interview at UCSF, and Thursday I got an interview at New York Med. Thank goodness for that!So I'll give you all the details next week, and I have a great story about my Johns Hopkins secondary to tell you. I know you're all studying for finals, but stop by if you need a break, something to laugh at, or if your brain is

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-1133326459600023822005-11-29T23:01:00.000-05:002006-10-24T00:40:56.837-04:00

So yeah, I got my first post-secondary rejection the other day. You can tell what it is before you even open the envelope, so no surprises there. It was from Eastern Virginia, which appropriately enough, was the first secondary I did way back in September. I'm not heartbroken though......like I really wanted to go to Virginia anyways. Oh well. I'm just afraid that it's the first of many more to

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-1131699970180343282005-11-11T02:46:00.000-05:002006-10-24T00:40:56.771-04:00

Alright, we finally heard from UCSD. I'm on hold for an interview, which is neither bad nor good, but I'll take it. Realistically speaking, I think that it means I'm not one of their top choice candidates, but I'll probably get interviewed somewhere down the line. It is far from the worst case scenario. Statistics are a scary thing if you stop and think about it. First of all, only 40% of the

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-1131012955941611052005-11-03T04:50:00.000-05:002006-10-24T00:40:56.710-04:00

Well, we have no word from UCSD yet. But I am probably jumping the gun, cause its only been four weeks since I turned in my secondary. Hmmmmm. I'm just being extremely impatient (which is not a great characteristic to have during this process, let me tell you). Actually, I'm being a lot more impatient with UCSD because I realized recently that it's really the only school I want to go to.

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-1130315520358233282005-10-26T04:09:00.000-04:002006-10-24T00:40:56.653-04:00

I'm sitting here, night after night, going back and forth between secondaries and job applications (yes, I have no job anymore, my position was cut due to lack of grant funding). It just occured to me that the two have quite a bit in common. Very very frustrating things in common!So for those of you that don't know, your primary AMCAS application contains just about everything there is to know

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-1129972559030743552005-10-22T04:20:00.000-04:002006-10-24T00:40:56.487-04:00

Earlier this week I had food poisoning, and then I topped that off with a nice lovely flu. So its been quite a ride: I've been sleeping 16 hours a day and when I'm not sleeping I'm wandering around in a dazed stupor looking for my chicken noodle soup. Very exciting. Needless to say I haven't gotten any secondaries done.Sometimes I stop and wonder why I am putting myself through this hell. Don't

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-1129877589977989882005-10-21T02:51:00.000-04:002006-10-24T00:40:56.429-04:00

The HMP3 guru is very very ill. Please stand by for new posts.

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17757383.post-1129110011897299792005-10-12T05:04:00.000-04:002006-10-24T00:40:56.325-04:00

My first piece of advice?Never put too much faith in your master plan, cause something can and always will go wrong.When I decided to become pre-med during my junior year of college, I planned to the last detail how everything would play out. When I decide to do something, I do it all the way, 100%. No half assed anything for me I always said. So I did my research, A LOT of research. What exactly

The Dissonant Dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04868889643866735184noreply@blogger.com2