The Medical Thread

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by Kappamd

For those of you in medical school,
How many schools did you apply to? Did you apply to any considered "out-of-state?" I've been researching and all the schools I've looked at make it seem as though if you are from out of state, you have little to no chance of even being interviewed, let alone being admitted. I go to school in Ohio and we have our fair share of medical schools, so it would be nice to know if I should focus my efforts or here or look elsewhere.

I applied to all three schools in the state of Louisiana but didn't fill out the secondary application to Tulane. I was accepted to both LSU campuses and chose LSU-Shreveport. Most state schools will NOT take out of state students (unless of course they are big name schools) because the state funds the education of these students in part. If mostly out of state residents were admitted to a state school, there would be hell to pay! As others have said, your best bet is to apply in state unless you are a stellar applicant with loads of research or willing to pay the big bucks for a private school education.

[BigRedBeta]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

I applied to all three schools in the state of Louisiana but didn't fill out the secondary application to Tulane. I was accepted to both LSU campuses and chose LSU-Shreveport. Most state schools will NOT take out of state students (unless of course they are big name schools) because the state funds the education of these students in part. If mostly out of state residents were admitted to a state school, there would be hell to pay! As others have said, your best bet is to apply in state unless you are a stellar applicant with loads of research or willing to pay the big bucks for a private school education.

While I agree that in-state is best...I think that the overall goal for most people should simply be to become a doctor (without going to a foreign school). Simply because of the difficulty of getting in anywhere, the prudent strategy is to apply to a broad spectrum of schools.

And research matters only at those schools that value research heavily. Certainly there are some schools where research is a requirement for admission and some schools where it is a simply a nice bonus.

[cheerfulgreek]

Earlier today, I was reading an article on new medical research. A new study in rats showed that removing some of the bone marrow could actually strengthen bones and speed up recovery after a fracture or a break. Has anyone heard of this? If this is true, I would think doctors would have to give the patient some kind of bone growth hormone if some of the bone marrow were to be extracted.

[BigRedBeta]

Originally Posted by cheerfulgreek

Earlier today, I was reading an article on new medical research. A new study in rats showed that removing some of the bone marrow could actually strengthen bones and speed up recovery after a fracture or a break. Has anyone heard of this? If this is true, I would think doctors would have to give the patient some kind of bone growth hormone if some of the bone marrow were to be extracted.

1) If it's being done in rats, it's certainly very new. This technique will be a long way from be implemented in humans.

2) Unless the article talked about giving other medications why would "bone growth hormone" need to be given? The marrow produces blood cells, not bone. I have no idea the exact mechanism of how removing marrow would speed the process, but it seems like the point is that whatever is in a rat's marrow may be slowing down bone growth...

[cheerfulgreek]

Originally Posted by BigRedBeta

1) If it's being done in rats, it's certainly very new. This technique will be a long way from be implemented in humans.

2) Unless the article talked about giving other medications why would "bone growth hormone" need to be given? The marrow produces blood cells, not bone. I have no idea the exact mechanism of how removing marrow would speed the process, but it seems like the point is that whatever is in a rat's marrow may be slowing down bone growth...

True, bone marrow does produce new blood cells, but I always thought it usually inhibits the formation of new bone as well. There's actually a clinically approved drug that encourages the growth of new bone though, which is why I mentioned a bone growth hormone. The reason why the hormone would need to be given, is because it would be used to treat weakened or broken bones. I know bone marrow generates the stem cells that would usually help repair bones, but apparently this new treatment is said to work faster.

[SigKapSweetie]

I'm so tired of third year. I'm on ambulatory as my last rotation, and I'm already very, very sure that I'm not going into primary care, and my clinics just drrrraaaaaaggggg. I want to be a fourth year already! Come on!

Did anyone else feel like, after deciding what their specialty would be, studying other specialties got a whole lot more boring?

[AKA_Monet]

The Medicated Child...

A Frontline presentation on April 8, 2008. I think some other GCer posted some information on it. It is very good program.

What say you GC doctors or healthcare to be clinicians?