|
Profile Questions and Answers
|
|
Question
|
Answer
|
|
| Why medicine? What is your story? | Medicine is a career where science is combined with helping others in a way that is exciting, challenging, and rewarding. As a physician, I am able to teach, do research, and work with patients. No other career allows me to do all of this.
Andrew Doan, MD, PhD
| read other replies on this topic |
| Are you in any special circumstances? Anything unique? | I applied for only MD-PhD programs because I worked in a research lab for 5 years before applying to medical school. During my senior year in high school I was selected to participate in a special research program. Participating in research at the age of 18 was the beginning of my journey in becoming a physician-scientist.
Andrew Doan, MD, PhD
| read other replies on this topic |
| What was the hardest part in preparing for med school? | The hardest part for me was preparing for the volume of material taught in medical school. While in college, a topic may be covered over a week. In medical school, the same topic may be covered in less than an hour. Medical students must do tons of reading and studying on their own to acquire and master the topics.
Andrew Doan, MD, PhD
| read other replies on this topic |
| How much did you work while going through pre-med? | I worked in the college library 5 hours a week. I also worked in a research lab during the summers and my vacations. In addition to the above, I also worked at Taco Bell, retail stores, and started small businesses to gain experience.
Andrew Doan, MD, PhD
| read other replies on this topic |
| What did you do for MCAT preparation? | I mainly used the Kaplan review course; however, I didn't go through tons of questions. If I had to do it again, going through questions is the key.
Andrew Doan, MD, PhD
| read other replies on this topic |
| How much did you shadow physicians? | I didn't shadow one physician. I worked with scientists and physician-scientists in the lab.
Andrew Doan, MD, PhD
| read other replies on this topic |
| How much did you volunteer? | I coordinated the Red Cross blood drives at my college along with two other students. I volunteered for muscular dystrophy summer camps as a counselor.
Andrew Doan, MD, PhD
| read other replies on this topic |
| What clinical exposure did you have? | I didn't have hospital experience; however, I worked with children with muscular dystrophy.
Andrew Doan, MD, PhD
| read other replies on this topic |
| What did you do for research? | I had five years of research experience at the Oregon Regional Primate Reseach Center. I wrote a paper as the first author and several other second authored papers. I gave presentations at national meetings.
Andrew Doan, MD, PhD
| read other replies on this topic |
| Do you have any leadership experience? | I organized and coordinated the blood drives while in college.
Andrew Doan, MD, PhD
| read other replies on this topic |
| What suggestions do you have for the personal statement? | Be honest. Use your personal experiences to illustrate your points, which will make your essay unique. For instance, the statement "I enjoy working with people" is generic. However, if you use a personal experience to explain how you enjoy working with people, then you'll have a story that helps to distinquish you from other applicants.
Andrew Doan, MD, PhD
| read other replies on this topic |
| What suggestions do you have for the secondary applications? | Recycle answers! I had a list of answers on my computer and I recycled them to fit the questions.
Andrew Doan, MD, PhD
| read other replies on this topic |
| What suggestions do you have for the interview? | - Practice delivering concise answers.
- Wear a nice suit.
- Maintain eye contact.
- Smile and relax.
- Use "sound bites".
- Have a discussion with your interviewers.
- Prepare a list of questions to ask.
Andrew Doan, MD, PhD
| read other replies on this topic |
| Describe your pre-med schedule, typical day and week | I had a fairly standard pre-med schedule with chemistry, biology, calculus, and english (humanities) during the first year. The second year consisted of physics and organic chemistry.
Andrew Doan, MD, PhD
| read other replies on this topic |
| Did you do any other extracurricular activities? | - College Rugby (10 hours a week)
- Salt Water Aquarium Business (10-20 hours a week)
My entrepreneurial drive later developed a publishing company: medrounds.org
Andrew Doan, MD, PhD
| read other replies on this topic |
| How did you choose your med school? | Hopkins was going through change in their curriculum in 1993. The school was transitioning from an 8-hour a day lecture based format to a less didactic and more interactive format. With this new format of teaching and the name associated with the school, I felt it was a good investment for the future. In the end, it paid off because it helped me acquire an ophthalmology residency at one of the top 5 programs.
Andrew Doan, MD, PhD
| read other replies on this topic |
| Did you take any extra coursework in preparation for med school? | No. I just took biochemistry, genetics, and other advanced biology courses during college. Reed College also requires a written thesis to graduate. This helped prepare me for medical and graduate school.
Andrew Doan, MD, PhD
| read other replies on this topic |
| Any open-ended advice? | Although physicians are paid well, do not be lured into medicine for the money. Medicare, for instance, is cutting physician reimbursements by 4-5% yearly for the next 5 years. Malpractice insurance is expensive. There are many stresses associated with the "high income".
Physicians will continue to make a good income, however, my advice is to:
Do what you love and the money will be icing on the cake... do what you hate and the money becomes the shackle that binds you to the thing you despise.
Andrew Doan, MD, PhD
| read other replies on this topic |
