Games for the Pre-Med

For those MCAT-studying, pre-req-class-taking folks in need to a guilty pleasure break. I’ll include current med students, current doctors, and those just interested in the health field. Check out the new page Games for the Pre-Med to unwind, have fun, and (maybe) learn at the same time.

*trying to beat Pandemic 2 on Realistic mode*

Is getting a flu vaccine really that stupid?

This is a rant; this topic has been bothering me since the announcement of the swine earlier this year.

I had been planning on getting the flu vaccine this season, both in part because of the swine flu (which the seasonal vaccine will not work) and because I had missed out on the flu vaccine for many years and wanted to get back on track with my vaccination. As I discussed this out loud to myself, a lady near me succinctly told me that getting the vaccine is a stupid idea.

Is getting a flu vaccine, seasonal or H1N1-specific, really that stupid?

Lately there has been concerns about the H1N1 virus this flu season, along with the vaccines that have been produced in tandem. The doubt is understandable – many people do not believe that the H1N1 can be seen in pandemic levels and many more people are wary of the seemingly rushed way that both the seasonal and swine flu vaccines have been produced and distributed. And while I still pride in my strong immune system keeping those crazy infectious diseases away from me so I can still work, I realize the dangers of influenza and other communicable diseases. While there are many medicines that help with symptoms, a vaccine is the best way to prevent an infection from even registering a cough. The history of disease and its treatment has held the effectiveness of vaccination, from Salk’s use of cowpox to provide immunity against small pox to the disease’s eradication in the world stage.

So I ask again, how can people think that getting the flu vaccine is stupid when history has taught us that vaccines have done more good than harm? I am not saying that people should be blind to new scientific and medical advances; one must always be inquisitive. But to completely shut out such potential because you think it’s dumb? Amy Wallace’s piece on Wired.com asks this same question; she also puts her arguments much more eloquently than I do.

Anyways, to address said lady. Getting the vaccine, possibly providing me immunity from a frustrating disease versus missing work because of said disease, getting docked pay and feeling like crap? Yea, I win.

Snowboarding Mix, 2009 – Mellow

Snowboarding season is coming to Southern California (you Colorado folks are lucky)! It’s time for us Southern Californians to whip out the gear from storage, wax the board, sharpen the edges, and repopulate our iPod mixes for the ride down. This will be my second season of snowboarding and I find myself enjoying more mellow music to complement the mellow style of riding I do. Here’s a few songs from my Snowboarding Mix – Mellow Version. Most of them are old, some are new, but all will make you relaxed and happy as you ride the runs (and avoid running over people).

More Writing

With working late, GRE studying, dog-feeding, and application doing, I haven’t dedicated enough time to writing, an integral part of my future schooling.

Well, I’m dedicating it now. One entry a day.

That seems a little too ambitious, even for me.

I’ll start with one or two entries a week. Then we’ll evolved from there.

GRE Study, the (free) Easy Way

Despite making a living, I just don’t have the kind of money to shell out for a Kaplan or Princeton Review course to study for my GREs again. But we all know that the web has a plethora of free educational sites to help one study on their own terms. There are a lot of benefits that each site shares, including:

1. Planned weekly overviews and study guides, for those (like me), who are working and have forgotten how to study effectively,
2. Explanations of the answers, and
3. Are free. Most important.

Here are some sites that I’ve found and enjoy using:

For Math: Virtual Math Lab
Hosted by West Texas A & M University, this site is strictly focused in helping you with the QR section of the exam. The Math Help Page is great – there are 4 different sections for each math type tested (arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data analysis) and has concepts broken down from easier to hardest. They offer a structure on how to complete each section; however, if you know you’re confident in geometry but not in algebra, you can focus your energy on the weaker subject. What I enjoy about this site is that there is an adaptive exam provided – they’ve coded their answers from easiest-hardest, making it easier to gauge your progress.

For Verbal: VocabularyCoach.com
I was really surprised how terrible I did on the Verbal Section – historically I’ve always been good at them. Then again my vocabulary has been in decline since out of school so a brush-up in old and new vocab is necessary. Anyways, you can chose from easy, medium, and hard vocabulary words to be tested on. There are the traditional ways of learning vocabulary – you get a word, you match it with the definition – but what has really helped me are the games. The jumble game is kicking my ass…

For Comprehensive Studying (aka QR, V, and Writing):
1. myGRETutor: I love this site. Too bad I didn’t find out about it until after my first GREs, but this site is so helpful. It provides you with study plans that cater to the time you have until your GRE (people start reviewing a week before?! I wish I was that brilliant), questions and explanations for the different sections of the test, and vocabulary review via VocabularyCoach. Technically this isn’t free – for a small fee you get access to more than 800 practice questions + 5 computer adaptive test. However, if you have a GRE book like I do (mine is Kaplan), you can cater the information from your book to the study schedule provided.

2. Teach Yourself the GRE: I used the weekly study schedule provided in tandem with my GRE book for my first GRE. I only had 2 weeks left before the GREs and this was very helpful in getting me acclimated to what the GRE was all about. Although not as in-depth as myGRETutor, looking through the site is great when you don’t have all the time in the world to take the exam.

Those are just a few sites I’ve stumbled upon that have helped this money-stretched future student get her act together. There are more out there, so just keep searching for better ones. Study hard (like I need to)!

Currently playing: The Beatles: Rock Band. Goodness I love this game.

GRE, Check!

I did my GREs yesterday, and while I’m happy with my results, I’m taking it again to do better. Should I take it again? I don’t know. My verbal score was really under-par with what I had been doing; then again I really didn’t study vocab as much as I should have. (Note to all: Study your vocabulary!). The QR score was good though – maybe I am better at math than I think I am.

All in all, GRE – check. On to grad school!

Training for (another) Tri

I can't believe I'm gonna try this again...

I missed the chance to compete for the Avia Wildflower Triathlon in May. One of the microbiologists is suggesting that I (and other crazy people) train for the Tri at Perris Lake.

Tonight is Week 1, Day 1 training. It was just getting back into running with the lover and I’m using both what I had learned when I trained for my first tri as well as a beginner tri program sent by my boss/said microbiologist from trinewbies.com. I’m sticking to this again, promise!

Less than two weeks until the GREs! And tomorrow the SOPHAS application is open for the 2010-2011 year. I’m ready for all this shizz. Bring it!

My Favorite Date Place

I was acting like an overstimulated kid in Toys R Us, looking at everything from laptops to video games at Best Buy.

The lover: This is probably a good date place to take you, huh?
Me: Yup.

In other news – does anyone know where I could get a microUSB headset for the LG Xenon? Everywhere I go says that there’s nothing that works; I refuse to believe that.

Studying at Barnes and Noble, productive?

The answer tonight was yes.

I’m usually not one to study in public places. Every time I’d study with people at the library back in college I’d get nothing done – I’d be looking through the glass mirror and waving down people that I knew. Half and hour would go by just talking to said person before I did my 5 minutes of actually studying/work, then back to hailing someone again. It was a vicious cycle and led me to take refuge in the chemistry computer lab to actually get any work done.

I went to Barnes and Noble with the lover and I was very accomplished with reviewing my SOP. I turned of my WiFi to save some battery and not get distracted and the lover was reading through his Kaplan GRE study guide. While we took cheesecake + tea and conversation breaks, for the most part it was all business. It helps when someone is as focused on work as you want to be; I feel bad when I’m the one bothering the group so I fall in line and get work done. That and the WiFi was gone so no YouTube. And the lover isn’t much of a talker..

Anyways, it was a good night. Really, any night with the lover + productivity is a good night

My favorite conversation with the lover

Setting: The movies last Friday. Watching previews of movies coming out Christmas 2009.

Me: So what do you want me to get you for Christmas?
Lover: You.
Me: No really, what do you want for Christmas?
Lover: You, of course.
Me: Really? Aww, you’re so sweet.
Lover: If not you, then I want your PS3. You don’t have to buy me one – I just want to rent yours for 2 weeks. That’s not asking much from their girlfriend, right?
Me: Way to kill the moment.

*playful punch* I love him, I really do

Writing your Statement of Purpose

Also known as “How to make yourself sound amazing without being boring or a douche.” I had to say it.

I’ve finally finished my first draft of my statement and I am so relieved. I put everything I wanted to put in, from my coursework to my research time with Professor K to my lab hours after graduation. Now it’s review time and I have to say one thing…

I wrote a lot. Most of it unnecessary.

Number one rule about writing your statement of purpose for graduate school: Keep it short and concise. It can be difficult when trying to convey how much an event shaped your thinking or how one exposure influenced you to dig deeper. But as the cliche goes, the shorter a piece of prose is, the more effective. Kind of reminds me of the class A training I had the other week…

Another thing that I’ve noticed about my essay is that it doesn’t address what I want to do until the end. Obviously one needs to talk about the means to the end: why I decided applying for Public Health programs instead of pure laboratory-based programs (as my background is) is a good 4 years of evolution. But I read it and I was bored already. Sure the folks reading your statement want to know about your past but they’d probably more interested in how your past is going to shape your future. Sound advice, ne? I know if I were reading this I’d want to know the potential of the person writing this. So rule number two: Tie everything about you to what you want to be in the future.

Those are the two major concepts I kept reading about from “how to write statement of purpose” articles around the internet and the two that make the most sense for me as a reader. Proper grammar and word usage is a given already; people who don’t adhere to this already really need to get their proofreading glasses ready. This applies not only to graduate school SOPs but to personal statements for college as well.

Anyways, getting closer to graduate school (hopefully). I’ve never been more excited and scared in my life.

Current Music: Guitar Song – Ronald Jenkees