Spring Quarter 2020 - Week 9 General Meeting, 5/31/2020 Thank you to those who attended our week 9 meeting! This week, our guest speaker was Garret Long, a 4th year medical student at Midwestern Medical School. During his presentation, he described the role of engaging with the practice of family medicine. Those involved in this career path must interact with patients daily, as they are depended on to get answers for patients and require broad training. Family medicine doctors may participate in a private practice and even work part time. On the other hand, those involved with concierge medicine are considered “round-the-clock physician access” and appointments are highly personalized with comprehensive care. He also compares doctors of osteopathic medicine to doctors of family medicine. While the former has a stigma that competitive residencies are more difficult, the latter is more internationally recognized. Finally, Long offers some advice to anyone who is considering a career in the medical field. He emphasizes the importance of balancing work and life, revealing that time management and sociability are critical aspects to consider. However, one must still be aware about the application process for medical school. He describes how the MCAT is not about what you know or can memorize. Rather, it tests logic and reasoning on the spot. It is crucial to participate in extracurriculars and focus on the experience rather than the number of hours committed. It is also essential to prepare thoroughly for interviews and be aware of resources to contact. For more information, feel free to contact Garrett Long at [email protected]. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram and feel free to email us at [email protected] with any concerns or questions!
Spring Quarter 2020 - Week 8 General Meeting, 5/23/2020 Thank you to those who showed up to our week 8 meeting! This week, we had two UCI medical students speaking about Harm Reduction and the Needle Exchange Program in Orange County. They explained how Orange County is one of the counties with the most opioid overdose deaths, with a majority of these deaths from synthetic opioids. In order to solve this problem, it is necessary to develop syringe service programs. These programs are community based and provide harm reduction services such as safe disposal containers for needles and syringes and spreading awareness through education about safe injection practices and overdose protection. In addition, it is critical to get rid of the stigma and bias in the U.S. about substance use and addiction. While both are generally associated with lack of affordable housing as well as evictions, in reality, substance abuse and addiction can affect anyone. It is important to understand the impact of these issues because they are relevant to our everyday life. As future healthcare professionals, it will be our job to interact with addicts. We can either close our eyes and accept the consequences, or we can educate and inform others about the dangers and impact of substance abuse and harm reduction. For more information, feel free to contact Kelley Butler ([email protected]) or Mahan Naeim ([email protected]). We look forward to seeing you at our next meeting! Like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram and feel free to email us at [email protected] with any concerns or questions!
Spring Quarter 2020 - Week 6 General Meeting, 5/10/2020 Thank you to all who joined our week six meeting! This week, our guest speaker was Dr. Chakrabarthy, director of the MD and Master in Public Health Program at the UCI School of Medicine. He gave us an informative presentation on the MD/MPH Program and an overview of what it offers. He explained how the program allowed him to have the knowledge base to do research, develop programs, and connect with like-minded public health individuals. The program is a dual-degree program where one could obtain their MD and MPH degree. To join the program, one would have to be accepted to medical school and apply to the MPH program in their second or third year. He highlighted the vast amount of research opportunities available in this programs within the campus. He then transitioned to answering some FAQs students have about the MD/MPH Program, clarifying the experience, prerequisites, and grades/GPA recommended to apply, the curriculum, and potential career opportunities. Finally, he gave some tips and advice for current pre-med students. All in all, this was a very illuminating meeting about a worthwhile program! Like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram and feel free to email us at [email protected] with any concerns or questions!
Spring Quarter 2020 - Week 3 General Meeting, 4/19/2020Thank you to those who showed up to our second meeting! This week, we had a former UCI student talk about her journey from UCI to becoming a Molecular Pharmacology PhD candidate at John Hopkins University. Being a first generation college student, she described how she was able to overcome the obstacles she encountered throughout her journey. Initially, she applied under a nursing major but soon fell in love with various topics of biology such as DNA replication. She then decided to transfer schools and declared chemistry as her new major. Although she knew what her passion was, she was uncertain about her career. After talking with her advisor, she found an opportunity to participate in research labs. She describes how, although the experience greatly influenced her, she could not see herself doing that for the rest of her life. She discusses some of her major setbacks, including not having a high enough GPA and not being accepted into the programs she applied for. She talked to her advisor again and, in the end, was able to get into her Master’s program. Finally, she ends the video by offering some words of advice to viewers who may be in a similar situation as her. We look forward to seeing you at our next meeting! Like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram and feel free to email us at [email protected] with any concerns or questions!
Spring Quarter 2020 - Week 1 General Meeting, 4/5/2020 Thank you to everyone who joined our first meeting of Spring Quarter! We hope everyone is staying safe and healthy! For this meeting, our guest speaker was a practicing OBGYN doctor who gave us an overview of the field of OBGYN and its various sub-specialties. She explained how an obstetrician-gynecologist specializes in female reproductive health and treats patients with a variety of different problems such as infections and tumors. In addition, she detailed the lengthy process of completing a 4-year residency training after medical school for those interested in becoming an obstetrician-gynecologist. We also learned about the different jobs within the field of OBGYN. For example, one can work as a laborist, which is a generalized practice, or one can specialize in a particular area and participate in fellowships. To conclude the meeting, she gave advice to students wanting to pursue a career as an obstetrician-gynecologist. Overall, this was a very informative and fun meeting! Like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram and feel free to email us at [email protected] with any concerns or questions!
Winter 2020
Winter Quarter 2020 - Week 9 General Meeting, 3/3/2020Thanks to everyone who attended our week 9 meeting! This week we got a very informative presentation from Shelby Kunz, a first-year medical student here at UCI, regarding her involvement with the Harm Reduction Institute. Working with the American Addiction institute and under the expertise of Dr. Faried Banimahd, HRI is working to eradicate the opioid epidemic in Orange County by providing the members of our community who are struggling with addiction with the necessary medical assistance and support. In the near future, HRI is seeking to offer a full-service syringe exchange program! Students who are interested in volunteering for this incredible cause can email Shelby at [email protected] for more information. After this presentation, Shelby discussed her path to becoming a medical student. She referred to herself as a “nontraditional student” because she applied to medical school after working in the biomedical engineering industry for a few years. As the meeting came to a close, she answered the students’ questions with regards to the application process and what to expect during medical school interviews. With that said, we look forward to seeing you all again in Spring! As always, be sure to like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, and feel free to email us at [email protected] with any questions.
Winter Quarter 2020 - Week 8 General Meeting, 2/25/2020Thank you all for attending our Week 8 meeting! We had an official university recruiter from Western University of Health Sciences Medical School as our guest speaker. The speaker, Lucas Christiani, gave us an abundant amount of useful information during this meeting such as admission stats. Of the incoming class, 21 students came from UCI – making UCI the biggest source of their medical students! Zot! Zot! Zot! He also discussed the requirements for applying to WesternU, such as prerequisite courses and two required letters of recommendation, one from a MD or DO and another from a science professor. We learned that while only 2 letters are required, most people submit about 3-5 letters. He also went over alternative pathways for those whose application was not competitive enough for medical school by exploring other fields such as podiatry, optometry or pursuing a Master of Science in Medical Sciences (MSMS) which is a program specifically designed for pre-meds whose undergrad GPA may not be competitive enough for medical school. Overall, the meeting provided valuable information and Lucas even invited the club to the WesternU Preview Day which will be on March 7th! See you all at our Week 9 meeting.
Winter Quarter 2020 - Week 7 General Meeting, 2/18/2020Thank you to everyone who came out of our Week 7 General Meeting. This week we had a very exciting hands-on Stop the Bleed workshop by Anteater Emergency Medical Services. The instructors of the course provided very insightful and helpful information about the proper procedures that must be followed when stopping a life-threatening bleed. This training prepared our members on what to do in case of an emergency situation where they are able to provide immediate help to someone who is bleeding out until first responders are able to take over. The instructors provided very detailed and clear instructions on the proper method of applying a tourniquet onto a patient and knowing when its use is appropriate and when it can do more harm than help. The instructors also provided alternatives to stopping a bleed and knowing how to deal with bleeds in different areas of the body. At the end of the presentation, our members were able to apply their newly gained knowledge, by doing simulations where they had to apply tourniquets and perform packing of gauze in an open wound. Our members walked away gaining knowledge that can hopefully help them save a life one day. We look forward to seeing you all at our week 8 general meeting. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, and feel free to email us at [email protected] with any concerns or questions.
Winter Quarter 2020 - Week 6 General Meeting, 2/11/2020Thanks to those of you who came to our Week 6 General Meeting. This week, we had a representative from The Princeton Review who gave us valuable and pragmatic tips on how to make your resume stand out, do well at interviews, and how to depict your strengths on Medical School applications. The representative also introduced us to an important and conducive tool called “Medical School Management Tool”. She explained that this tool can help the students to have a better understanding of what medical schools look for in a candidate. Furthermore, the club members will get a fifteen percent discount code on most Princeton Review products including MCAT test prep material so if you are interested, ask a board member how you can take advantage of this discount. Most importantly the representative went over all the specific details on how to complete medical school applications and when to take the MCAT exam. See you all week 7. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram and feel free to email us at [email protected] with any concerns or questions.
Winter Quarter 2020 - Week 5 General Meeting, 2/4/2020Thanks to those of you who came to our Week 5 General Meeting! This week, a fourth-year medical student from Midwestern University of Osteopathic Medicine led a CPR and Heimlich workshop for the club. He first introduced us to the Heimlich Maneuver so we could help save a choking person and explained the anatomical and physiological reasons as to why it works physiologically. After that, he provided information about CPR. He taught us about the techniques to begin CPR and the correct rate at which you have to do compressions (the beat of the song Stayin Alive by the Bee Gees). After this, club members had the opportunity to practice CPR on dummies. This was a very informational and fun workshop! We look forward to seeing you all at our week 6 general meeting. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, and feel free to email us at [email protected] with any concerns or questions!:)
Winter Quarter 2020 - Week 4 General Meeting, 1/28/2020Many thanks to those of you who came to our Week 4 General Meeting. This week, we had the pleasure of having Dr. Kim, a practicing physician working in the field of Forensic Pathology, as our guest speaker. She currently works in the Orange County Sheriff's Office. She talked about her career pathway, attending medical school, working in obstetrics/gynecology before switching to complete her medical residency in Pathology and then sub-specializing in Forensic Pathology. She gave us a wonderful presentation on the field of Forensic Pathology and discussed the differences between working in Orange County and Los Angeles County. She introduced us to some of the terminology used in the field and discussed some of the interesting cases that she has dealt with in her career as a forensic pathologist. We look forward to seeing you all at our week 5 general meeting. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, and feel free to email us at [email protected] with any concerns or questions!:)
Winter Quarter 2020 - Week 2 General Meeting, 1/14/2020This was our second meeting of the Winter Quarter. The guest speaker for this meeting was Dr. Annasha Vyas, a fourth year medical student from UCI School of Medicine. Dr. Vyas discussed various healthcare careers, such as MD, DO, Nurse Practitioner, Physician Assistant, and Ph.D. She also gave us tips on how to improve our chances of being accepted into medical school by volunteering, getting involved in research, maintaining a strong GPA, and scoring high on the MCAT. Dr. Vyas also emphasized the importance of having high-quality letters of recommendation to make your application stand out. She also provided greats tips on how to ace your medical school interviews and went over the general structure of the medical school curriculum as well as what is life at medical school like. Finally, Dr. Vyas encouraged all of us to work hard and make the most of our experience at UCI. Altogether, a wonderful presentation about the good, the bad, and the ugly of medical school and all the important aspects to consider when applying. Dr. Vyas also answered students’ questions at the end of her presentation. Towards the end of our meeting, a representative from Tutor Doctor came and introduced us to all the amazing employment opportunities that the Tutor Doctor company provides! See you all next week at our social/fundraising event at Blaze Pizza at 5pm on January 21st. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram and feel free to email us at [email protected] with any concerns or questions!
Winter Quarter 2020 - Week 1 General Meeting, 1/9/2020Welcome to Winter Quarter PHA! Hopefully you all had a wonderful winter break and are ready for a great quarter and year ahead! For our first General Meeting, we had a UCI alumni who is currently a fourth-year medical student at Midwestern University of Osteopathic Medicine come to talk to us about D.O. (osteopathic) medical schools, which are in some ways different from the MD (allopathic) medical schools. He went over the medical school application process as well as what to do to be a competitive applicant. He also gave us medical school interview tips and questions, as well and some ways to make your personal statement standout. Furthermore, he discussed study skills and tips on how to succeed in school like doing questions to practice and test your knowledge. All in all, a great way to start the quarter and learn more about the medical school application process! See you all next week with a guest speaker from UCI Medical School! Like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram and feel free to email us at [email protected] with any concerns or questions!
Fall 2019
Fall Quarter 2019 - Week 8 General Meeting, 11/21/2019 What an amazing quarter it's been, and many thanks to everyone who came to our last meeting of the Fall Quarter! This meeting saw a representative from InGenius Prep talk about what the medical school admissions organization has to offer in aiding students for their academic endeavors after college - detailing timelines of when to apply for medical schools, the various misconceptions many students have when applying, and the logistics of what InGenius Prep can do for prospective students. Staffed by former admissions officers, InGenius Prep offers counseling and resources to those wishing to bolster their applications when applying for medical school. Additionally, thanks to an exclusive partnership between InGenius Prep, members of Pre-Health Alliance will get a discounted prices when purchasing InGenius Prep admissions packages! Feel free to email us at [email protected] to learn more!.
Fall Quarter 2019 - Week 6 General Meeting, 11/7/2019Thanks to everyone who was able to make it to our fourth meeting of the Fall quarter! For this meeting, we had a representative from The Princeton Review who gave us an overview of the Medical School Application Process. She went over the Pre-med Admission Timeline and information regarding MCAT prep. Furthermore, many great resources were provided, including a Med School Management Tool (link provided: Bit.ly/medschooltoolkc), as well as information on an MCAT Winter Bootcamp (Bit.ly/mcatwbuci). Most importantly, club members will get an exclusive discount on Princeton’s test prep material that will be sent out by email! Lastly, the PHA President gave a presentation on AMCAS (American Medical College Application Service) by comprehensively going over the all the sections of the medical school application in detail with an informative overview of what is needed for the application and tips on when and how to approach it. See you all at our Social/Fundraising Event next week. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram and feel free to email us at [email protected] with any concerns or questions!
Fall Quarter 2019 - Week 4 General Meeting, 10/24/2019Thank you to everyone who made it to the Week 4 General Meeting! This week we had an informative presentation from Lori Muramoto, the Sr. Associate Director of Admissions for Ross University | School of Medicine. Muramoto explained about the highlights, benefits, admission requirements, and opportunities that Ross University provides for medical students. Ross University is a medical school is the Bahamas and that prepares students to pursue their road to residency (92% of their students match for residency). With current, state-of-the-art technology and a RUSM Alumni Network of 14,700+, students who attend Ross University are able to work towards obtaining residency in the many prestigious teaching hospitals and leading medical institutions in the US. Some residency placements in California & the West include: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Stanford University, UCLA, UCI, UCSD, USC, UCSF, and more. The meeting concluded with Muramoto answering questions relating to admission requirements for medical schools and giving critical advice on what students can do to prepare for it.
Fall Quarter 2019 - Week 2 General Meeting, 10/11/2019Great turnout this meeting! Many thanks to everyone who showed up this week. This week we were given a wonderful presentation about "Project Horseshoe Farm" - a program for students who want to take a gap year after finishing undergraduate studies, but still want to be involved community and volunteering wise. In the program, individuals are able to cater to the health and well being of a community with programs for both senior citizens and their local youth. Afterwards, the PHA Board introduced themselves to all our new members! (See our "Officers" page on our Website). Finally we ended with a presentation on various ways for getting into research here at UCI - covering SURP, UROP, Excellence in Research, and even how to obtain Letters of Recommendation. No meetings next week! See you all week 4! Like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram and feel free to email us at [email protected] with any concerns or questions!
Fall Quarter 2019 - Week 1 General Meeting, 10/4/2019Many thanks to everyone who was able to join us both new and old! This meeting we had two guest speakers to talk about amazing volunteering opportunities: Anthony from "Karate For All" and Mitchel from "COPE Health Scholars". Anthony gave us a great presentation on volunteering in an occupational therapy based martial arts program - where volunteers get to gain great experience building relationships with special needs children and adults by teaching. Mitchel spoke about his organization, "COPE Health Scholars", to those interested in working in a hospital environment - with varying intensities of responsibilities, alongside an overview of the application process and the benefits of working at one of the many hospitals the program has access to. Finally, PHA President Ali gave a very insightful look at Medical Ethics - important knowledge to have that rarely gets taught at schools. All in all, a great way to start the quarter! See you all next week! Like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram and feel free to email us at [email protected] with any concerns or questions!