Meet Amanda, Med Student Interested in Anesthesiology

This interview is the latest in an Accepted.com blog series featuring  interviews with medical school applicants and students, offering readers a behind-the-scenes look at  top medical schools and the med school application process. And now, introducing Amanda Xi†¦ Accepted: Wed like to get to know you! Where are you from? Where and what did you study as an undergrad? Whats your favorite non-school book? Amanda: I was born and raised in metro-Detroit. During my Sophomore year of high school, I stumbled across an ad for the Acceleration to Excellence Program at Bard College at Simons Rock (Great Barrington, MA) and applied for it. By the Spring of that year, I was offered the full-tuition scholarship and made the decision to drop out of high school to attend this college early. After I completed my Associates Degree, I transferred into the Biomedical Engineering program at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI) where I completed my Bachelors and Masters degrees. Before starting medical school at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, I worked at Terumo Cardiovascular Systems as an engineer for a few months – it was a great way to confirm that medicine was definitely a better fit for me than engineering. My favorite book tends to be the one Im currently reading. Today, thats Atul Gawandes new book, Being Mortal. I developed an interest in biomedical ethics over the course of medical school and his book does a great job encouraging medical professionals, caretakers and patients to take a moment to reflect on end-of-life planning. Accepted: Where are you in med school? What year? What is your favorite thing about that program? Least favorite thing? Amanda: Im currently a 4th year medical school student and part of the Charter Class at Oakland University William Beaumont (OUWB) School of Medicine in Rochester, Michigan. My favorite thing about the program is how receptive administration has been over the course of the last 3.5 years in accepting and implementing our feedback. When I started at OUWB, I knew that I signed up to be a guinea pig and as expected with any new institution, there were definitely bumps along the way (this is my least favorite thing). But this wasnt a big issue for me because we had supportive faculty and staff working on every issue from the moment it surfaced. Accepted: Do you know what youll be specializing in? Have you had any clerkships that have stood out? Amanda: I applied to Anesthesiology residency programs this last fall. We had an elective month during our 3rd year; because I had an interest in the field (I later learned that engineers tend to naturally gravitate toward the specialty), I decided to do a clerkship in it. From Day 1, it was clear that the field was a good fit – I enjoyed the intellectual discussion, procedures and environment. Additionally, I felt comfortable working alongside the anesthesiology residents and attendings, which was important to me because I would be spending the rest of my life working with this group of individuals! Accepted: Can you share some residency application tips with our readers? Amanda: Be as prepared as you can be. Thats the best advice I can give – the process has a lot of little things to consider (e.g. which programs to apply to, how many, letters of recommendation, when to take Step 2, away rotations, etc), but if you start planning your 4th year during the winter of your 3rd year, nothing will surprise you when you start  July 1. Obviously if you are not sure what specialty you want to apply to, this is a bit more difficult, but you can still plan to do away rotations/sub-internships in the specialties youre interested in and ask for letters in support of multiple specialties. If you perceive that certain parts of your resume may hold you back (e.g. Step 1 score), think of ways you can show improvement (like taking Step 2 early). Make sure to ask the students in the year ahead of you about their experience and for specific advice tailored toward your situation. Accepted: Looking back on the med school application process (if you can remember that long ago!), what would you say was your greatest challenge? What did you do to overcome that challenge? Amanda: I submitted my primary and secondary applications on the later side, so the greatest challenge for me was trying to stay positive despite having no interviews for many months then later being waitlisted at the first two institutions I interviewed at. I didnt get my first acceptance until 9 months after I started the process, so it was a tough time for me. I turned to my support system to keep me afloat and in the end, it all worked out. Accepted: Can you tell us about your blog? When and why did you start blogging? Amanda: I started  amandaxi.com  the summer before M1 year as a way to reflect upon the application process and answer any questions about attending a brand new medical school. It evolved into a cathartic outlet for me and the inspiration for my Capstone research project on social media. I slowed down in 3rd and 4th year to free up time for my other commitments, but hope to get back into the swing of writing more regularly when I start residency. The direction of my entries may end up evolving away from a day-to-day discussion to more scholarly reflections upon current events in healthcare, but well see! Im also hoping to start a video blog series with advice on applying to medical schools and getting through medical school. Accepted: Can you recommend a nice coffee shop on or around campus that you recommend for studying or meeting up with friends? Amanda: Im a Starbucks fanatic, so just about any one will do for me! For one-on-one guidance on your med school applications, please see our catalog of medical school admissions services. You can read more about Amanda’s journey by checking out her blog, And thus, it begins.  Thank you Amanda for sharing your story with us – we wish you loads of luck! Do you want to be featured in Accepted.coms blog, Accepted Admissions Blog? If you want to share your med school story with the world (or at least with our readers), email us at bloggers@accepted.com. Related Resources: †¢ Residency Applications: How to Match †¢ Help! Ive Been Waitlisted 6 Tips for Waitlisted Applicants †¢Ã‚  Residency Application Tip: Settling, and How To Avoid It

Annotated Bibliography Sample [ Completed in 2017 ]

Annotated Bibliography Sample Annotated Bibliography Below is a sample of an annotated bibliography. An annotated bibliography is basically a list of sources or references, which should be in alphabetical order, followed by a brief summary of the source and the information obtained from it. Johns, M. L. (2013). Breaking the glass ceiling: Structural, cultural, and organizational barriers preventing women from achieving senior and executive positions. Perspectives in Health Information Management / AHIMA, American Health Information Management Association, 10. The â€Å"glass ceiling† that this study refers to, as many know, refers to the idea that women often cannot get past a certain point in terms of hiring and promotion due to sexism. The article refers to the fact that a Congressional commission was created in 1991 to look at what precisely is happening or not happening that is leading to this happenstance affecting so many women. The study was done because sexism has persisted and continues to do so to at least some degree. The main conclusion drawn by this article is that even when top management of certain firms have a progressive viewpoint on hiring and promotion of women, this does not always â€Å"trickle through† to the lower layers of the company. A unique idea to retain and take to heart is that proper education about diversity and other topics are a primary means to combat this behavior and mindset. Even with the persisting problems that exist, another important takeaway is that some industries are rife with su ccess stories of women who have broken through the glass ceiling just due to their sheer number and prevalence in the applicable industry. One such industry is healthcare and the article specifically mentions that as an example. Miguel, A. Kim, M. (2015). Successful Latina scientists and engineers: Their lived mentoring experiences and career development. Journal of Career Development, 42(2), 133-148. The key concepts of the article are that racial minorities and women both make a rather stark minority of STEM graduates and employees. Further, this study looks at a specific subset, that being Latinas that are looking into and/or that are in engineering and precisely makes things click and thrive for those sorts of people. The primary conclusion drawn is that while there are challenges and â€Å"impediments† to Latina engineers or those that aspire to be the same, there is a pattern and blueprint in place for those that wish to take that path. A telling statement and takeaway from the article is that only five percent of all engineering majors are minority women, which would obviously include Latina women. Only about nine percent of people majoring in biological sciences are minority women. This is despite the fact that the Latino/Latina population is growing at a very fast clip and this will continue to occur in the coming years and decades. Specific statements and facts to maintain is that mentoring is huge and it is best done when it is other Latina women (or male Latinos) that are doing the mentoring due to the shared perspective and struggles that the mentor and mentees would have. Even so, it is important that the proper mentoring models are used and employed and the article covers that as well. Moakler, M. Kim, M. M. (2014). College major choice in STEM: Revisiting confidence and demographic factors. Career Development Quarterly, 62, 128-143. The key concept that is explored in this article is major choice as it relates to people that are exploring one or more potential careers in the STEM realm. Of course, STEM is short for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The populations and demographics that are explored as part of the analysis include gender, minority status and parental occupation. The main findings of the article include that people with higher confidence and self-efficacy when it comes to mathematics are much more likely to choose a STEM major. One thing that should absolutely be noted and retained is that whites and Asians (the stereotypical/presumed races when it comes to engineers et al in the eyes of many) are just as likely as African-Americans and Latinos/Latinas to choose STEM majors. The takeaway is that facts like this should dictate policy, plans and strategy when it comes to recruiting students, minority students in particular. This research and its results were confirmed through a syste matic logistic regression. Of course, the other side of the proverbial â€Å"coin† mentioned above is that many minority students come from problematic backgrounds when it comes to mathematical and similar adeptness and thus their chance of success is much lower than it is for other students that aspire to STEM fields. Also important to note is that women were much less likely to choose a STEM major, for whatever reason. It could simply be preference but societal norms and STEM-related traits and stereotypes might also be an issue.