Determined to Succeed

[freeandstudying]

A Good Read | How does one fall in love with a book? All I know is that this book is perfection. It broke my heart. I’ll admit it, I cried shamelessly through the last 70 or so pages of it. But any string of words, whether written or spoken, that can weave their way around our hearts and evoke so much emotion out of us must be pretty incredible, wouldn’t you think? I’ve never seen the movie, and I don’t plan on it. It pleases me to know that the last thing I’ll remember about The Book Thief is from that remarkable string of words. #goodread

[freeandstudying]

An afternoon spent reading, journalling and taking photos.

[freeandstudying]

Attempting to get some work done before bed so that I have time for the gym tomorrow morning. Note the sweat pants and wool socks; -25 degrees Celsius here in Canada

[empresscixi-deactivated20151220]

1) Read: Educate yourself about the history of your science. Work hard to ground yourself in the historical and current context of your scientific question(s). 2) Your sense of reason is actually your greatest scientific tool, far more useful than any other instrument in your laboratory. Use it. 3) Adopt an issues-directed, rather than a method-directed approach to science. If the fastest way to make progress is to apply a new method, don’t be cowed by your methodological ignorance. Learn it, or find a collaborator to help. 4) Develop an organized plan for your own personal training and development. There is a lot for you to know and understand, and multiple methodologies that you must master, if you are going to operate in science at the highest level. It is crucial that you systematically prepare yourself for your future great good works. 5) Work on the creation of a logical superstructure that extends widely across your scientific arena. Don’t forget to water and fertilize your logical garden. Measure progress by how far, how fast, and how securely you can advance that logical frame. 6) Take the carefully collected data of other scientists seriously. Work to sharpen your ability to distinguish between their observations, and their arguments. Respect the former; the latter are just arguments. Remember that carefully collected data (yours or others’) that do not fit your logical frame can be more valuable than data that do. 7) Most modern science is team science. Work on the development of your leadership and mentorship abilities, because they will critically enable – or limit – your ‘personal’ achievements. 8) Actively seek extensions of your science out into the ‘real world’. If you discover one, see that you (or someone else with the requisite ability and energy) exploit(s) it. 9) Science is not just a career. It is an honored profession. Your value as a scientist is not measured by job security or external acclaim. What counts: Studies that make a difference. Studies that advance our understanding. Studies that last. 10) Be a good citizen-scientist. Accept your responsibility for playing an active role in educating the wider public about the importance and societal value of real science.

Michael M. Merzenich on his advice to young researchers [x] (via petrichorals)

Inspiration

[freeandstudying]

Ohhhh mahh gawdd 🙏... Read this book before you watch the movie. Seriously though, just read it, you'll see. #goodreads thanks for another great suggestion @tooba27k 👍

[miss-sassmaster]

10 things to ask at your med school interviews

Also applies to many professional school!

Since being a student ambassador I’ve learned at lot things that are really important to medical school applicants and what it important for them to know when choosing a school. I have also learned what potential students find important to their personal experience. Luckily, I’m more informed than the average first year (thanks to the medblrs!) so I’ve been able to answer many of these questions effectively!

So (hopefully) I’ve complied some useful questions that can help you figure out if a school is the right place for you. Everyone has different wants and needs, and that’s just fine, but maybe you’ll see something you didn’t think of. If you have any to add, please do! 

1. Ask the current students how they like their curriculum

The internet is a wonderful place, where many schools are kind enough to port either their curriculum or at least the type they employ. Its a great first past to knowing if a school is right for you. But simply knowing what type of curriculum a school has won’t let you know if it’s really giving the students what they need.  This is definitely a case by case basis and each student will tell you something different. But if you ask enough people you will get a feel for how the curriculum effects the students as a whole and how well the information is taught. This way you can get a feel whether its a situation you can see yourself succeeding in, and hey, you might even change your mind.  

2. How heavily focused is the school on board prep 

Ask about how the testing is done (block or individual class exams, computer or written, classroom or school testing center), and are questions written boards style? Do they have focus on things besides boards? Half of the battle of boards (as I understand it, correct me if I’m wrong) is being able to correctly approach these specific types questions. Some schools build up to it and some throw you right in. Some school might be too focused on boards (the students might not be as great clinically). Do they offer any boards prep besides a kaplan discount? It seems far off, but trust me, it’s worth knowing sooner rather than later.

Read More

[freeandstudying]

For later

[freeandstudying]

Morning View | I didn't think her little paws could get any cuter #socks #sleepcute

[freeandstudying]

|Afternoon tea and cake| Made a Mixed Berry Explosion Cake 😊 #itwasbomb ☕🍰

[stories-yet-to-be-written]

Steve McCurry: India

Source: http://stevemccurry.com/galleries/india

[stories-yet-to-be-written]

Steve McCurry: India

Source: http://stevemccurry.com/galleries/india

[freeandstudying]

Amazing

[lifeandtimesmed]

Reblog and DM me for resources of you are taking the MCAT this year

I have the complete set of the new 2015 Kaplan books on PDF. Reblog to save a Premed life

LifeTimesMed

[freeandstudying]

Save me

[scienceknowledge]

Mock MCAT test questions

Sorry for the long post. As promised, here are some questions scanned directly from the mock MCAT 2015 exam I took. This was the Canadian-based exam, given by the princeton review. I have no idea if the U.S. exam would be similar to this one (but would still make some good study material), and I doubt any schools of any other continent would have this format.

  Chemical and physical foundations of Biological systems section:

These Physics-based questions through me a bit off guard, as a question like this was not expected, but was really interesting nonetheless.

There were 59 questions in this section, and time allotted is 95 minutes. Touches on inorganic and physical chemistry (about one or two questions from each field).

Critical analysis and reasoning skills section:

Sorry about cutting off the above. I didn’t care for this section. I mainly guessed all the answers. I had taken a logic course, which the instructor said would help me in this section, but I was taking too long to sort out the logic behind the passages, so I went from slow-thinking to fast-thinking, using heuristics to formulate answers. There were 9 passages and 53 questions. This section is 90 minutes. ANY type of passage can be given in this section as you are required to be analytical of literature, and be able to assess and extract info from documents correctly.

Biological and biochemical foundations of living systems section:

This section was more biology-based. There were also questions on respiration, genetics, the visual system, embryology and early development, hormones. 95 minutes, 59 questions.

Psychological, social, and biological foundations of behavior section:

95 minutes, 59 questions. I think this section is a great addition to the MCAT exam. Medicine, and society is starting to recognize the importance of psychology in the medical profession, as patients require physical, as well as mental care. In my belief, is that most problems stem from a psychological perspective. I think all professions dealing with people’s helath and safety should have some psychological training (police, doctors, teachers, first responders). You never know when you have to deal with an acute psychotic or suicidal attack.

In this section were many graphs, and data to sift through, as well as theory and psychological assessment. Minimum 1 full year of intro psychology recommended, maybe a sociology course. Concepts such as object permanence, a bit of developmental psychology (child psychology), touches on social psychology (bystander effect (kitty Genovese), biological psychology(minor knowledge of neuropsychology/ brain biology)  some behavioral and psychological experiment knowledge (dependent/independent variables, placebo, correlations, double blind experiments).   

In the exam, there are periodic tables provided in each section, no calculators are required (or allowed). This is just a pencil and paper (or computer based) exam. No eating, drinking, and  smoking allowed. Any type of question can be given, so the exact content will differ in the real exam, but the structure and format will be very similar and weighed very close to this.

If requested, I will post the answers to all the questions above at the end of the week to allow time for those who want to attempt these questions to do so.

[esthet]

Kash Harvest, India Photograph by Biswajit Patra

[castiel--for--king]

People laugh when I try to explain Canada’s vast climate and geography:

Like how in Manitoba, we have sand dunes in the Spruce Woods Provincial park

They just kind of hang out in the middle of the prairies.

Then there’s the desert in Drumheller, Alberta, complete with wild cacti:

And then there are the rain forests in British Columbia:

…where you can find cute little fluffies like the Spirit Bear.

And then of course we have the tundra we’re so famous for.  It looks a little different in the summer though:

but  in the winter it looks just like you think it would

Then, of course, the Rockies and all their many, many lakes

There’s the fjords in Newfoundland

Our boreal forests look particularly stunning in the fall

We even have beaches…really nice ones too!

…anyway…I think it’s really cool. It’s not all igloos and snow drifts, you know!

[freeandstudying]

Sleepy pup

[vegan-sky]

"I'm completely against animal cruelty but I eat meat."

[freeandstudying]

Cognitive Dissonance #mcat

[tinyortho]

Medical School Secondary Essay Prompts Database

The 2014 medical school application cycle has officially begun! PDr has compiled a database of past and current medical school secondary essay prompts to help you get a head start on your secondary applications. Bookmark this page for all your essay needs...

HEY GUYS. If you submitted your AMCAS primary, you don’t have to wait until you get your secondary to start thinking of what to write.

As someone who filled out 40+ secondaries last cycle, trust me when I say that you want to start early on them. Note that a lot of schools have overlapping prompts and that YOU DON’T HAVE TO WRITE ALL OF YOUR ESSAYS FROM SCRATCH. DON’T DO THAT. YOU WILL REGRET IT.

I’d say good luck, but luck really does favor those who are prepared. So be prepared.

[drdessertfox]

Reblog to save lives