The Complete Medical School Admission Guide: From High School to Doctor. Dr. Paul Jr. Toote

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      The Complete Medical School

      Admission Guide: From High School

      to Doctor

      By Dr. Paul Toote, D.O.

      Copyright 2012 Dr. Paul Toote,

      All rights reserved.

      Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com

       http://www.eBookIt.com

      ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-0776-0

      No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

      Introduction

      You want to be a doctor. At least, that is what I am assuming. Otherwise you would not be reading this book!

      Well, becoming a doctor is a very laudable goal. I don’t say that merely because I shared that goal – I say it because a physician does a lot of good in the world. When you are able to heal the sick, you are performing a wonderful duty for all humanity. Fortunately, with all the breakthroughs in medicine and technology, we doctors are able to do more for our patients than at any other time in history! As our knowledge and resources continue to grow, I am sure that positive trend will continue.

      Unfortunately, it is not just our knowledge and resources that are growing by leaps and bounds – the world’s population is as well. By the time you read this, it will undoubtedly have crashed through the seven billion mark. That means many more health care professionals will be needed, not only here in the U.S., but also around the globe. That’s why reaching your medical objectives is important not only for yourself, but for everyone you will hopefully be able to help when you’ve graduated from medical school.

      First…you must successfully pass the admissions process at a medical school. And I’ve designed this book to help you do just that, beginning with your first steps in high school and taking you all the way through the admissions process itself.

      If you think you don’t really need this book, that all the steps to becoming a doctor are fairly self-evident, I would urge you to reconsider your feelings in this matter. Getting into medical school is not an easy process – I know this first-hand.

      My dreams of becoming a doctor began when I was in high school – and at the time, I had no idea how daunting that challenge was. The fact is that there are only one hundred and fifty-nine medical schools in all of America at the time of this writing – and they routinely reject over half of their applicants. That’s why being accepted at one is most likely the most difficult task any would-be doctor has in front of him or her – yes, I’m saying it’s harder to get into a medical school than it is to graduate out of one!

      I won’t say I was lucky to have succeeded in my goal of becoming a doctor, because I know how hard I worked to reach that goal. I have often reflected on those days of struggle and thought to myself, “If I had only known then what I know now….it all would have been a lot easier.”

      That idea stayed with me after I became a board-certified Emergency Medicine Physician and began working in many different top-level clinics and hospitals all across Texas. As I got to know many medical residents still working their way towards being a full-fledged M.D. or D.O. (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, as I am), I found I enjoyed interacting with them and being able to give them the benefit of my experience going through the process of becoming a doctor.

      Those encounters and my own continuing love of education gradually made me realize I wanted to not just be a doctor – but also help others who wanted to become doctors. I knew there were thousands of people - high school students, college students, and others who just wanted a career change - that wanted to attend medical school for the purpose of becoming a physician. I also know that most of them really had no idea what was really important as far as getting them accepted into these schools.

      Understanding the process from the inside out – as I have been able to do, through going through it myself and researching it extensively with other doctors and medical school administrators after the fact – has given me valuable insight not only into what things you need to do, but how you need to do them. One is as important as the other.

      For example, one of the most critical hurdles you must jump over is the submission of an outstanding personal statement to the medical school admissions board. Most applicants to medical schools have already achieved at an elevated level academically, both in high school and as a college undergrad. The downside to that fact is that there is a certain equality to those applicants’ records that makes it hard for the medical school to distinguish one student from the other. What ultimately differentiates the applicants, in the medical school’s eyes, is the personal statement they submit. The content of that personal statement can easily make or break an applicant’s chances of admission.

      That’s just one example, but an incredibly important one, of the inside knowledge you should leverage to help separate yourself from the crowd. Well, I have made it my mission in this book to make that inside knowledge readily available to you – so that your medical school admission will become less a matter of chance and more a matter of completing specific and substantial requirements I will be suggesting in the chapters to come that will make you the most attractive candidate possible.

      I hope you enjoy this book and I wish you the very best luck in attaining your dream of becoming a doctor. I also sincerely hope that you follow the advice I’ve given in this book - so that luck won’t even be needed!

      Sincerely,

      Dr. Paul Toote, D.O.

      President & CEO

      National Premed Consulting

      Chapter 1: Facts about the Field of Medicine

      As you contemplate your goal of becoming a doctor, it’s important to be familiar with all the relevant facts about your future choice of profession. This chapter will provide “the basics” about doctors in today’s society – the average length of training, the number of doctors practicing today, the different kinds of doctors you can become, and so forth. With this sort of “big picture,” you’ll be able to gain a broader perspective on this career choice and what it entails.

      THE TYPES OF DOCTORS

      Let’s begin by defining what exactly a doctor is, and then breaking down that definition further into the various types of physicians that practice medicine today.

      The U.S. Department of Labor characterize the general profession as follows: “Physicians… diagnose illnesses and prescribe and administer treatment for people suffering from injury or disease. Physicians examine patients, obtain medical histories, and order, perform, and interpret diagnostic tests. They counsel patients on diet, hygiene, and preventive healthcare.”

      Going deeper, there are two basic types of doctors: M.D. (Medical Doctor) and D.O. (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine). What exactly is the difference? Well, СКАЧАТЬ