Preparing for Medical School

*Recording of discussion between Rahwa Hailemichael and Martha Tesfalul, MD is available under HH education*

How did you decide to go into medicine? 

When my family and I immigrated to the United States, we did not have a good understanding of how to navigate the healthcare system. From a young age, I have advocated for my parents by accompanying them to their medical appointments and regularly communicating with their Medi-Cal social worker. The experience of fighting to have my parents' medical needs met shaped my desire to go into medicine and work with underserved communities of color. 

Preparing for medical school-Academics? 

You do not need to have any particular major to apply to medical school but there are required undergraduate science courses you must complete. Typically those courses are in biology, chemistry, physics, biochemistry, and mathematics. You can find more information on which specific courses are required on the AAMC website. Your college and EOP counselors are also a great resource to see which specific courses meet those requirements at your institution. 

Preparing for medical school-Mentorship? 

Mentorship has played a huge role in my path toward medicine. As a first-generation student, who does not have any physicians within my immediate social circle, there were gaps in my understanding of how to get into medical school. During my earlier college years I was unaware of all the academic and extracurricular experiences I should be seeking and I honestly had no basis on how to acquire that information. That’s when I reached out to my academic counselor about finding an academic mentor that could help guide me in my journey. I think it's important to search for a diverse group of mentors that can fully support you in various aspects. I am equally thankful for my researcher mentors, personal mentors, academic mentors, and upperclassmen mentors that supported and encouraged me in different ways. I was able to have a clearer idea of which classes to take, what summer programs to look into, and even what jobs to apply to because of the mentors I have been fortunate to meet along the way. As with my own experience, my suggestion is to first contact your academic counselor to help find a mentor that is either a physician or a faculty member that has experience guiding students through this path. I would also encourage you to do your own local research of physicians that are members within your fields of interest and simply schedule an informational interview and see where things go from there. 

Preparing for medical school-Extracurricular Activities? 

It is important to take part in volunteer activities, campus leadership, and clinical exposures to have a well-rounded application and also to develop your areas of interest. Some of the activities I partook in were as Health Educator with the International Rescue Committee, I volunteered at a teens health clinic, and also served on leadership on a few campus organizations. I am passionate about working with immigrant and underserved communities so my activities allowed me to develop those interests further. When it came to writing my personal statement and secondaries, those experiences allowed me to talk in-depth about my desire to go into medicine and also allowed me to have a solid story to tell. 

Preparing for medical school-Postbaccalaureate Program? 

Postbaccaulaute programs are post-undergraduate programs that offer additional support prior to applying to medical school. There are two types of programs, career changers, and academic record enhancers. The career-changers programs are for those who not have completed premedical courses and the academic record enhancer programs are best for those who have completed most/all of the required premedical courses but would like to take additional upper-level courses to enhance their overall academic record. Programs last anywhere from 1-2 years, with some programs having a linked medical school attached to the program. 

Financial Aid? 

Medical school is expensive, but there are scholarships and grants available to students who qualify. If you're going to school out of state, those schools tend to be more expensive compared to in-state programs due to out-of-state fees. But don’t let that keep you from applying broadly, because you may still be able to negotiate with specific programs about getting additional aid. Additionally, I would encourage you to look into governmental assistance programs such as SNAP benefits, Medicaid, and utility assistance programs while in medical school. These programs really go a long way in making medical school financially feasible. 

How can family/ friends/ community members support students interested in medical school? 

Getting into medical school can be a long and hard process. It is important for family members/ friends to offer motivational support and to be a resource when needed. For example, if you are able to connect a student with a medical professional within your network that would go a long way in opening up mentorship opportunities for the student. 

General tips about the medical school application process: 

Make sure to take the MCAT exam early enough so that you have enough time to retake it if you need to before submitting your application. Start the process of writing your personal statement and activities early so that you have enough time to get a solid draft that you can send out for feedback. Make sure you send your completed draft to a few family/friends, academic counselors, professors, and anyone that you feel comfortable sharing your story with but who can also offer constructive feedback. When your application is ready, remember to apply on time. Primary application opens in May and you can officially submit your application the first week of June. My personal recommendation is to apply before the end of July, just based on my own experiences and the timelines I have heard from colleagues. Once you submit your application, I would recommend searching some of the program's secondary questions so that you can get a headstart. It can be a bit overwhelming when all of the secondaries from the specific programs start coming in, so getting a bit of a headstart will help you a lot. Creating an excel spreadsheet of all the schools that send you secondaries with tabs on the date it was received can help you stay organized and map out when they each need to be sent back. Ideally, you want to submit your secondary within two weeks of receiving it. 

-Rahwa Hailemichael, M.D. Candidate

Resources: 

Student National Medical Association- https://snma.org/ 

Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students -https://snma.org/page/maps Association of American Medical Colleges-https://www.aamc.org/ 

● Fee Assistance Program- MCAT fee assistance for low-income applicants with access to MSAR database as well as secondary cost coverage 

Internship resources: 

● Gap year opportunities 

○ https://docs.google.com/document/d/1szy16ulKYQz6pjwuBIdaB5Ln4zILF4rpzU f8ZWVcObk/edit?usp=sharing 

● HCC-https://www.healthcareers.org/ 

○ Application due Dec 5th for Summer 2023 

● URI 

https://obgyn.ucsf.edu/medical-student-program/ucsfkaiser-permanente-undergraduate-re search-internship-uri 

IMG resources: 

● https://www.ama-assn.org/topics/imgs-resources 

● https://students-residents.aamc.org/applying-medical-school/applying-medical-school-int ernational-applicant 

● https://www.inspiraadvantage.com/blog/how-to-get-into-u-s-medical-schools-as-an-intern ational-student