Cal's Career Center Health Team

The Latest on AMCAS and your Letters of Recommendation

AMCAS recently announced that 115 of 130 US medical schools have signed up for AMCAS Letters. Under this program, you submit your letters to AMCAS (either directly from your letter writers or from the Career Center Letter Service), and it distributes them to all of the participating schools to which you apply.  If you have questions after reading the information below, attend one of our special AMCAS Letter Info Sessions scheduled in Callisto and on our calendar starting Monday, May 18.

 

If you are only applying to participating medical schools you need 
not use the Career Center Letter Service. Your letter writers
can send their recommendations to AMCAS directly by mail (surface or FedEx), 
or can electronically upload them as a PDF to their secure site
(for further details and instructions, go to the AMCAS Letter FAQ section).

If you want to apply to any of the 15 medical schools who are 
NOT participating in AMCAS Letter 
(or potentially other graduate programs), you will need to 
have either a Career Center Letter Service account, or have your
 individual letter writers forward your letters of recommendation 
to each institution when you are invited to complete a secondary application.

 What should you do?

If you already have an active Letter Service account (current student or Alumni Advantage member) and it contains all your letters and AMCAS matching forms, you only need to submit a single, online request and have them sent to AMCAS.  AMCAS will then distribute your letters to all participating schools to which you have applied.

If you have an active Letter Service account and are applying to any non-participating medical schools, you will need to submit an online request for each school to which you have applied.

If you are an alum, have an inactive Letter Service account, and are not interested in the other services offered through Alumni Advantage (e.g., counseling, statement review), you can submit an online request to send your letters to AMCAS by utilizing our One-Time-Send option.

If you do not have a Letter Service account, you can ask your letter writers to submit their letters directly to AMCAS. AMCAS charges no fees for this service.

If you send your letters to AMCAS via the Career Center Letter Service, you may want to do so using our Express or Rush service. For an additional fee, these requests are sent via FedEx and you can confirm their arrival via the tracking number posted to your Letter Service account’s request history.

 

Being a Pre-Med Non-Science Major at Cal

How has your experience as a pre-med non-science major been?

            When I was a freshman, I  was interested in the MCB major. Although, when I looked through the booklet of required courses to complete the major, I saw that most (if not all) of the classes were science. I wondered if I would have a chance to take anything else that interested me like anthropology, political science, public health, and other non-science classes. Either way, I decided to stick to MCB. I admit, I found the Math 1A-1B series hard, which helped me lean towards my interests even more. Around the end of my sophomore year, I started looking for majors that would let me take classes in all departments. That’s when I decided to major in Development Studies. With this major, I had room to take classes of interest while at the same time taking pre-med classes. I was juggling my major classes as well as pre-med requirements on the side. I thought I needed to have my pre-med requirements done around my senior year if I wanted to go to Med School straight out of CAL. But then I decided to take some time off before applying to med school after hearing Med School Dean’s/representatives speak at workshops. They encouraged students to take some time off before applying to Med School for a number of reasons. I wondered why I was so rushed to get into med school when there was no real reason to feel rushed. So I decided to take it slow, and finish the rest of my pre-med requirements at a post-baccalaureate program. This allowed me to take more of the classes I wanted to take like Portuguese, many P.E. classes, and others. I also decided to graduate in 5 years rather than the traditional 4. During my fifth year, I’ve been taking upper division science classes like human anatomy, human reproduction, and other interesting courses. Taking some time off can be very beneficial because during that time off, one can volunteer, travel, explore other interests, and see if one is ready to commit to Med School. Applying and preparing for  Med School can also be much easier during that time off.

            I’ve really enjoyed being a non-traditional pre-med student because my major has allowed me to explore other interests in addition to science. Some people ask me: “But aren’t you at a disadvantage or falling behind in your sciences?” I say no. Many Med Schools encourage students to major in something that interests them and where they can

do well in. In a post-baccalaureate program, students can finish the pre-med requirements without feeling rushed.  I can truly say I am well rounded when it comes to academics.   

 

By Edith Bretado, Career Center Peer Health Advisor

Being a Pre-Med Science Major at Cal

Myth or Fact:  All pre-med students must be a science major. 

Major MYTH!

In fact, most medical schools do not care what you major in as an undergraduate as long as you complete the pre-med course requirements and demonstrate a passion for medicine.  So why major in science?  Well, for one thing, science is cool! I decided to major in science because really appreciated my high school science classes.  Also, learning about evolution, the urea cycle, photosynthesis, the nervous system, bacterial pathogenesis, human anatomy and physiology, and genetics is very exciting! Many of the concepts taught in science courses at Cal

can be applied to everyday life.  For example, when I start to feel a little sick, I know that it is because cytokines are being released as my immune system prepares to fight off the incoming infection. Being a science major introduced me to a new way of thinking about things. Learning about these things can be really fun, but can also be overwhelming…especially as a pre-med student.

All of us who have taken a science course at Cal know what it is like:  highly competitive.  People even compete to get inside the lecture hall to get the best seats.  This high level of competition can be a bit overwhelming at times and it can even cause some stress which might affect the way you learn the material.  The grade distributions do not help either.  Why is a 90% a B+ instead of an A-?  Oh right, because this is Berkeley, and everyone is a genius.  Not true.  It is all in how hard you are willing to work.  Being a pre-med science major may seem a little rough, but it also has its benefits. If you learn to manage your time well…actually, REALLY well, then you should not have a problem.  The hardest part of being a science major is keeping up with the work (i.e. overcoming the temptation to procrastinate) and trying to ignore the competition.  Once you have mastered this, you can learn and have fun at the same time. 

Another benefit of being a pre-med and a science major is that many (if not all) of the pre-med requirements are also science major requirements.  This is why most people say that the Molecular and Cell Biology (MCB) major should just be called “Pre-Med Major.”  This is not entirely true, however, because after completing the pre-med requirements, science majors also have to complete upper division science courses.  While these courses are mostly really interesting, a passion for science is almost necessary to do well in them.   These classes are very time-consuming and require a lot of studying.  Because of this, many science majors might not have time to take other non-science classes that they are interested in.  However, it can be done. 

I am a science major and since freshman year, I have been able to fit in at least one non-science class into my schedule.  In all honesty, however, during my freshman and sophomore years, I usually chose classes that I thought would not be very time-consuming just so I can balance these humanities courses with my science classes.  Being in labs for at least four hours a week left me no choice!  However, now that I am taking upper division courses I find that I have a lot more room in my schedule to take classes that I want to take.  For example, this semester I am taking a language class and a social psychology class in addition to my immunology and bacterial pathogenesis classes.  I feel that this is a good balance because I am getting a little of both worlds.  With only three major requirements left, I feel that I have a lot of room to explore different departments and finally take the classes that I have wanted to take during my senior year.

So while being a science major may seem a little tough, a little time management and schedule planning will help you develop a well-rounded education at  Cal.

. 

 

by Roaya Namdari, Career Center Health Peer

Occupational Therapy

This lesser-known health career is in HUGE demand.  What do occupational therapists (OTs) do?  Imagine that somebody you love has suffered a devastating stroke, and no longer has the use of their right arm.  Think of the many day-to-day activities that would be impacted by this change.....they can no longer use their right arm to wash in the shower, or to type on their keyboard, for example.  Occupational therapists help people adapt to their new circumstances by teaching them new (and often ingenius ways) of taking care of personal needs, working, and communicating with others.  

OTs work with people with mental and physical disorders---even emotional disorders.  The underlying goal is to help them devise ways to live their lives as independently as possible.  They work with patients across the age spectrum, as these disorders can affect everybody from children to the elderly. 

This work  is highly creative!  If you are interested in health, but looking for a niche where you can apply your creative problem-solving talents, this is a good occupation to consider.  Instead of prescribing a patient medicine, you could be "prescribing" them pottery and art classes. 

OTs also often get to watch their patients progress in a very direct and meaningful way, although the work is emotionally heavy, and can also be physically challenging. 

OTs need a master's degree to gain licensure.  For more information on this profession and the training required, visit the American Occupational Therapy Association  website.   

Nursing Programs for Cal Students

Many of you are taking an interest in nursing careers, only to realize that: 

A.  Cal has no nursing programs.

B.   You don't know what kinds of nursing programs exist.

C.  You're uncertain about what kind of nurse you'd like to be.  

Let's start with the basics.  By now you probably already know that nursing jobs have evolved beyond the wedge caps and bedpans of yore, and that nurses take on many weighty responsibilities:  Administering medicines, educating patients and families, taking vitals, monitoring patients' progress, etc.  There are bachelor's level nurses, and master's level nurses.

Bachelor's level nurses are usually referred to as registered nurses with a bachelor's of science in nursing (RN/BSN.)  Yes, you already have a bachelor's degree from Cal.  Becoming a BSN requires a separate degree, although because you have fulfilled your GE requirements at Cal, the degree will usually only take an additional two years.   Sometimes RNs refer to themselves as "scrub nurses" because they don scrubs and work directly in hospital units (meaning they provide in-patient care.)  RNs spend a lot of their time carrying out doctor's orders, although their opinions are valued as a critical part of the patient/doctor discourse, as RNs spend more of their time working closely with patients and their families.

Pay is good.  Great actually, in the state of California.  Many RNs, due to the nursing shortage, can command salaries of $80,000 or more depending on the unit they're working in (usually the more stressful, the higher the pay.)

Master's level nurses usually take on one of two roles:  Nurse practitioner or Clinical Nurse Specialist.  

Nurse practitioners usually work on an outpatient basis.  Many patients see nurse practitioners for their primary care needs.  For example, to get a pap smear, or to discuss treatments for an allergy.  Nurse practitioners can prescribe medicines, and do many of the things that primary care physicians can do.  They generally refer out to specialist physicians when a patient presents with a serious health issue requiring unique expertise.  Nurse practitioners often work in public health settings (community clinics) or are affiliated with HMOs or PPOs and work mostly in outpatient settings (clinical offices.)

A clincial nurse specialist is an advance practice RN.  Like RNs, they usually work in acute care settings, and take on administrative roles to supervise the RNs and promote better clinical outcomes.  

Most Cal grads are interested in Master's Entry Nursing Programs.  These are programs designed for applicants who already have a non-nursing bachelor's degree from another institution to place them on the fast track as an NP or CNS.  These programs typically whisk you through the coursework and training to gain RN licensure on your way to completing a master's degree within your focus.  

The course pre-requisites for these programs vary, and you should evaluate each program on a basis of 

location, cost, and the type of specializations offered.  Not a science major at Cal?  Most programs don't mind if you take your science pre-requisites at a community college.  

These programs exist at many universities, such as UCSF, SFSU, University of Pennsylvania, Yale, Samuel Merritt College, and Johns Hopkins. 

RN/BSN programs are available at many state universities.  

Unfortunately, the web has yet to yield a good resource for compiling programs.  All Nursing Schools  

offers a basic list, but I've noticed that it does not include every master's entry program.  Googling schools in places where you'd like to live is a good start; simply check to see if they offer nursing programs.   I would also recommend making an appointment with one of your health counselors at the Career Center for more information.  You may book an appointment online here.

3 Interview No-No's

With interview season underway, we have had an influx of mock interview appointments.  While we are, as always,  impressed with the quality of our students' interview responses, here are 3 common interview mistakes we have noticed that every interviewee should try to avoid:

1.  GENERALIZING
Compare these two interview responses to the question "What distinguishes you from other applicants?"
"I am a hard worker.  I work really hard and always do my best with every responsibility."
"I manage stress well.  For example, last semester, I took an overload of course units and I was working 20 hours a week in an off-campus lab.  During mid-terms I could have struggled tremendously with the load I had taken on, but I didn't, because I've taught myself great time management skills and daily relaxation exercises.  I start every day early, get a run in, then practice deep breathing before I even begin to start thinking about doing my work.  It's this focus and balance that has helped me maintain a high GPA while exploring my other interests."

No, these aren't verbatim responses that we've heard in mocks.   Still, who would you rather extend an acceptance to?  Prepare actual examples for questions in advance. 

2.  HIDING UNDER A ROCK DURING INTERVIEW SEASON
Though the desire to disappear into a cave of anxiety can be oh-so-tempting during this time, you should be aware of current events, especially those relating to health.  Why?  Many schools ask questions about what you think of current affairs, or they'll specifically pose questions about new and relevant developments in health science.  To avoid sounding like you're just on a quick intergalactic detour to Earth, pick up a newspaper, or just read the news online.  Search for stories that may be relevant to you as a pre-health/med student.  Even if no such questions are brought up and the interview is very casual, you'll feel extra knowledgeable and able to carry on intelligent conversation with your interviewers. 

3.  NOT KNOWING ANYTHING ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Every school wants to know why you're interviewing with them.  While the answer may realistically be something like "Cause you can make me an physician/optometrist/dentist as well as any other school" Your interviewers will be less than impressed with a lackluster response.  Learn about the school from the website (instruction style, student organizations, other basic information) but also learn about the city and state that the school is in.  With your home state this is a no-brainer, but interviewers from out-of-state want to be assured that you are going to adjust well to your new living circumstances. 

We hope that these tips prove useful to you in your coming interviews.  Good luck! 

Chemistry Letter

I recently received a message from a student who was concerned about how medical and health schools perceive our chemistry sequence.  In the event that our unique sequence is challenged, your pre-health advisors have a copy of our "chemistry letter" which explains our sequence to admissions committees.  The vast majority of schools have become familiar with this letter and no longer challenge our sequence.  However, it is more likely to happen if you are applying to health schools outside of medicine.  Please call the Career Center at 642-1716 if you know that you need this letter. 

Medical School Stats and Facts

Medical school application season is well underway, and plenty of folks are feeling apprehensive about their odds of being accepted.  The Career Center doesn't maintain very many statistics about medical school acceptance rates, simply because the numbers convey only a very peripheral story about applicants' candidacy.  However, for those who are losing sleep over pesky percentages, please refer to this page of the AAMC website which offers plenty of statistics about applicants (including MCAT scores and GPA.)

Stress, Detox and my Intro to Traditional Chinese Medicine, Part 3

What is your definition of wellness?
Wellness is having a sense that all is right with the world that the body
and mind are functioning at its optimal and highest level. The mind feels
more at peace and calm. Physically, you are more present and engaged with
the world and you have the energy to enjoy life.

Who is your wellness hero?
Well there are people who teach wellness and those who practice it. I’m a
workaholic, a wife, a mother. I struggle with maintaining a balance,
whereas my husband is one of those people who lives well. He makes it a
priority to do things that he enjoys, which sometimes could be seen as
selfish…but he’s a good example for me.

How has your training as an herbalist and acupuncturist (L.Ac.) made you
better at dealing with stress? I have a much better idea of what’s going
on. In some ways, I’m more accountable. Sometimes you ask a doctor and
they don’t know what causes [illness]. Stress is often anger and
frustration restricting the flow of Qi or energy. Qi needs to run through
and when it’s blocked, or you hold onto your anger, it can lead to
disease. Louise Hay’s book, “You Can Heal Your Life” wrote about tracing
disease to its original thought form. The body has the ability to heal
itself and I have the tools to do that.

You mentioned that your grandfather was a healer in the Philippines; did
his knowledge ever get passed down? Unfortunately, no, I had learned that
my grandfather was a healer when I was an adult. He was an herbalist and
was known for practicing body work. Incidentally, the herbs that I learned
about in Chinese medicine were the herbs he also used.

Why law?
I’ve always been interested in health, and I also liked the idea of using
words effectively to assist people. Law has its problems, though. It
creates a lot of conflict. A lot of law doesn’t build on anything, but
creates more fighting. Chinese Medicine brings a sense of wellness, though
I get told I’m still “sticking it to people.”

How did you start your PIHMA College and Clinic?
No one would give me a loan, so I financed the college on my credit cards
while also working my legal bar review job (PIHMA was established in
1996). In retrospect, I wouldn’t have used my credit cards directly, but
to leverage more credit instead. The experience has taught me how to move
slowly and not to force things when you have a big obstacle ahead of you.
I’ve grown like the Tao, to flow up and down with things, to shift and
move.

What trends do you see in the future for TCM?
There’s a movement towards practitioners earning a 4-year entry level
doctorate degree (Currently PIHMA offers master’s level education). I see
licensed acupuncturists playing a larger role in disaster relief. I also
see it being covered by insurance as a service under health care, because
patients need relief and acupuncture works.

Many thanks to Catherine Niemiec, JD, L.Ac. for the resources listed below:
Phoenix Institute of Herbal Medicine and Acupuncture, PIHMA
http://pihma.edu/

Council of Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, CCAOM,
http://www.ccaom.org/

Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM)
http://www.acaom.org/

The National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA),
http://www.acudetox.com

Acupuncturists Without Borders (AWB), http://www.acuwithoutborders.org

Stress, Detox and my Intro to Traditional Chinese Medicine, Part 2

Symptom Approach or Systems Approach
In contrast, western medicine tends to be more focused on diagnosing and
treating disease versus optimizing health. As a result, its interventions,
though powerful, tend to disregard how it affects the body as a whole. The
treatment of menopause is a perfect example of this. Hormone replacement
therapy or HRT was developed in response to help relieve women’s
debilitating peri- and menopausal symptoms: hot flashes, mood swings,
insomnia, vaginal dryness, memory problems and urinary problems. Back
then, the hormone replacements were derived from pregnant horses. Now,
bio-identical hormones, BHRT, are available. These hormones are chemically
equivalent to what the body produces but, they are not yet approved by the
FDA. However, in 2002, the Women’s Health Initiative released its first
results of a large-scale randomized study of post-menopausal women on HRT.
The study found there were a slight increase of heart disease, breast
cancer, stroke and blood clots for women who took a combination of
estrogen and progestin,
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/women/pht_facts.pdf.

What followed was a lot of confusion amongst women, and many, including my
mom, stopped HRT altogether because of this. I’m still confused today on
whether the benefits of HRT outweigh the risks. But I’m also baffled by
the intervention. Why introduce a synthetic hormone to alleviate the
symptoms of a normal process? Isn’t that tinkering with the body’s
physiology? Aren’t there better, less invasive ways to alleviate the
suffering without creating long-term side effects later? That’s where I
feel western medicine falls short…it’s so good at understanding
physiological functions and pathways for medicine, but when it comes to
interventions such as drugs, they’re disruptive. They don’t seem to
enhance or work with the body’s natural mechanisms but rather, overtake it
altogether.

TCM, on the other hand treats menopause as a natural process not to be
interfered with. Instead of replacing hormones, TCM practitioners
facilitate the process of menopause while treating the symptoms with
acupuncture and herbal medicine. The plus side of this approach is that
there are no introduced risks of heart disease, breast cancer, etc that
are typically associated with HRT and best of all, symptoms are typically
relieved. In 2006, Stanford University released a study of acupuncture in
the September issue of Fertility and Sterility, showing the efficacy of
acupuncture to treat hot flashes. Their findings showed a significant 28%
decrease of hot flashes amongst women who received acupuncture treatment
vs. the 6% who received the “sham” acupuncture treatment. Their
conclusions were that acupuncture is “promising” in alleviating menopausal
symptoms and more studies need to done to validate acupuncture’s
effectiveness from an “evidence-based” perspective. It should be noted,
though, that TCM practitioners would treat menopausal symptoms not just
with acupuncture alone, but also in tandem with herbal medicine, exercise
and nutrition specially tailored for the individual.

Herbal Medicine and Powerful Drugs
Acupuncture tends to get a lot attention, even though Chinese herbal
medicine is the oldest and longest practiced modality in TCM. Herbal
medicine in conjunction with acupuncture can be effective in treating many
conditions. Niemiec gave the example of using acupuncture and herbs to
treat PMS. “PMS is a function of the Liver (TCM’s classification of the
liver) and causes emotions to be stuck. Herbs can relax that tension to
release that energy.”
Although Niemiec is trained mostly in Chinese herbal medicine, she is also
quick to point out “almost all cultures have had an herbal pharmacopeia
that has been passed down as collective knowledge. People and cultures
have always been self-sufficient in healing themselves.” Similarly, her
graduate students at Phoenix Institute of Herbal Medicine receive
instruction primarily on Chinese Herbs, but they also explore and include
herbal medicinal practices of Native Americans, India (Ayurveda) and the
Philippines. (For a useful resource of healing traditions from around the
world, check out Stanford’s Vaden Health Center website:
http://vaden.stanford.edu/library/healing_trad.html).

 There are benefits to learning from the indigenous knowledge of other
cultures. Niemiec gave an example of a relative who was recently in the
hospital for dengue fever, a mosquito-borne disease. “She was in the
hospital undergoing blood transfusions, when a friend of hers suggested
that she drink an herbal tea made from a weed in the Philippines.” The tea
worked. The weed Niemiec was referring to is called “gatas gatas” or “tawa
tawa” depending on the region of the Philippines. Its botanical name is
Euphorbia hirta and it’s purported to help increase blood
platelet counts for those with dengue hemorrhagic fever. Upon learning
about this herbal remedy, I was disappointed that I couldn’t find any
accessible published studies regarding tawa tawa tea, only anecdotal
stories. This is still valuable, but I must admit, as a westerner myself,
I also like to know how and why things work and tawa-tawa deserves to be
studied.

Still, I believe the benefits of herbal medicine are great from an
economic and health standpoint—they’re cheap, accessible and an effective
way to deliver medicine when the knowledge is there. On the other hand,
the western arguments against it are safety issues, such as toxicity
levels, quality and whether they really are effective to begin with.
Interestingly enough, these very same arguments can be used to question
the efficacy of modern drugs (e.g. are statins really safe and effective
in the long run?). At any rate, I think both western and herbal medicine
can learn a lot from each other. Herbal medicine can benefit from research
explaining its efficacy and western medicine can learn how to use herbal
medicine as a way to assist the body in healing itself vs. overcoming it,
or as Catherine described it “going after a problem with a sledgehammer.”
Most of our drugs are from plant derivatives anyway. The difference,
according to Niemiec is that “western medicine isolates the active
ingredient in certain plants and as a result, they’re potent, act quickly
and usually have side effects. They also tend to be tested on an adult
male population. Herbal medicine, on the other hand, is gentle, has no
side effects, has been tested and tried on everyone of all ages and sexes
in China, and, when the right diagnoses are made, the operative word being
‘right,’ it can help fight many health conditions.”

Mind-Body Connection
Finally, it seems fitting that I would end this blog on meditation. The
practice of Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine are robust because
of their holistic philosophy and aggregate wisdom. This is especially
apparent in their practice and awareness of the “mind-body connection.”
Ayurveda developed yoga and TCM, Qi gong. Both these techniques encourage
meditation through breathing and movement.

Probably the most valuable aspect of meditation is just doing it. Niemiec
simply describes meditation as a chance to just “stop and let it be.” As a
practice, meditation seems so simple, but it can also harness extremely
profound and powerful energy. Niemiec cites Qi Gong masters who are able
to block people from ten feet away just from their energy alone. And if
that doesn’t sound miraculous enough, she even talks about the ability of
Qi gong to reverse and redirect the DNA of cells. At PIHMA, Qi gong is
part of the curriculum and all students are encouraged to incorporate
meditation as part of their daily practice and I suspect, as a way to
teach their minds to heal. When I asked Niemiec how to meditate, she said
“We teach by doing and the more you do it, the easier it gets to return to
a place of balance.” That, I thought, was a perfect place to start.   Q&A
with Catherine Niemiec, Attorney, Acupuncturist, Herbalist and my wellness
leader.
Catherine was in law school at UC Hastings when she came down with a
serious flu she couldn’t shake off. After fruitless visits to her
physician, a nurse practitioner finally suggested that she see an
herbalist in Oakland. The practitioner didn’t speak any English, but
looked at her tongue and gave her an herbal tonic to drink. She felt
better instantly and that was her first introduction to Chinese Medicine.
Fast forward many years later, Catherine is now a licensed acupuncturist,
herbalist, co-author of Arizona’s licensed acupuncture law and founder and
president of Arizona’s first accredited acupuncture college, the Phoenix
Institute of Herbal Medicine and Acupuncture (PIHMA).