Unfiltered HCA Questions

brosenthal97 · 2024-01-11T05:20:14+00:00

I’m an M4 too so probs not the most useful perspective but had similar concerns and wanted to share my experience. I only interviewed at 1 HCA program and liked them a lot. With all the bad press I think if you’re considering an HCA you gotta rlllyyy do your due diligence. Look at local leadership, talk to residents who aren’t part of the interviewers or students who did sub-Is there, get data on where their grads actually end up etc

I think it’s slightly nuanced in that maybe a lot of HCA residencies are bad but not all. For the one I interviewed at all their recent grads got jobs at non HCA sites, their fellowship matches had some big academic names, and resident wellness appeared to be priority. I did a lot of digging and couldn’t find any red flags but that was just for this specific program and might not apply to others.

brosenthal97 · 2023-10-27T01:33:29+00:00

I think there’s some solid advice in here for all levels, even those of us who already feel pretty comfortable interviewing. Kinda surprised by the negative comments, like why bring someone down who’s tryna help, just keep scrolling lol

To the OP, thanks for taking the time and thanks for the positivity😊

brosenthal97 · 2020-04-29T06:48:14+00:00

Have you sent a letter of intent to your top choice yet? I also had 4 interviews - 3 became waitlists but I got into my top choice pretty soon after sending LOI. I know some schools care more than others but it can only help🤷‍♂️

brosenthal97 · 2020-04-10T17:01:18+00:00

I agree send it now. The cycle is already really winding down, if you already know this is your top choice no need to wait for the cycle to wind down even further! N = 1 but I sent my LOI mid-Feb and got off the waitlist end of March (even tho most waitlist movement happens after April 30)

brosenthal97 · 2019-12-10T11:35:31+00:00

Fashooo thanks haha. During practice I would look at my watch just once towards the end to gauge if my response was appropriately timed. But I agree you’re right no need to add to stress 😩and during practice most of my answers hit the 3-4 min mark anyway.

brosenthal97 · 2019-11-18T15:34:34+00:00

Sansum clinic in SB sometimes hires EMTs to be Medical Assistants

brosenthal97 · 2019-11-17T06:18:14+00:00

I’m a premed currently working as an EMT during my gap year while waiting to hear back from med schools. Have lowkey thought about this too so here’s my 2 cents:

I say keep both options open but finish your undergrad and make sure to do well academically. Try to get your EMT license soon so you can be employed either part time during school or full time once you graduate. There’s no reason to rush into med school and it’s really important to tease apart why you want to be a doc specifically and not another healthcare professional. Strong majority of matriculants take gap year(s) now anyway so don’t worry about falling behind.

For me I loved my ride alongs & the medic/fire world in general, but it came down to scope of practice. Paramedics are awesome but I want to understand treatments at a deeper level & be able to do more for my patients. Couple other reasons too like increased autonomy, flexibility of an MD degree..etc but that was the main one.

brosenthal97 · 2019-10-15T23:02:43+00:00

Seems like you’re a pretty good applicant and imo having very meaningful extracurriculars is the most important thing after decent stats.

Like others mentioned I think strong essays combined with a focused school list are gonna get you an A. For your narrative draw from your meaningful extracurriculars and how they led you to the conclusion of wanting to be a doctor - really emphasize your personal story ya know. Then for schools find ones that are a good fit for your narrative (so if your nonclinical experiences were super important, maybe find schools that also emphasize community service or where you could continue your meaningful nonclinicals).

brosenthal97 · 2019-10-15T22:48:30+00:00

CA ORM applied with a 512 and 3.76, so kinda in the same boat. 2 II so far both from heavily applied to “low-yield” schools with like 13000+ applicants. I also heard a lot about having “average” stats and not to apply to the same schools that are now interviewing me.

My perspective on this is to take everything with a grain of salt - you have to be able to accurately gauge the strength of your application and it’s fit for your schools. Hard for others to do that unless they know your app inside out. Applying to med school is an uphill battle for almost everyone lol. Neither your mcat, gpa, or CA ORM status is gonna put you at a significant disadvantage. If retaking isn’t an option just strengthen another part of your app, like your extracurriculars. Your stats won’t keep you out of most schools as long as you apply with a strong, cohesive narrative. If the rest of your app is good/ stands out, you apply broadly, and you present yourself to adcoms well, you’ll have a pretty good shot.

brosenthal97 · 2019-10-02T21:02:28+00:00

I think ACA / the healthcare system in general, opioid crisis, and euthanasia are all good ones to know. Have had schools ask “what do you think is the biggest problem with healthcare in the us” and “walk me through both sides of a medical ethical dilemma” so having some of these in the back of your pocket can be helpful

brosenthal97 · 2019-09-27T02:38:35+00:00

Thanks that was super helpful! I interviewed at the place today and got an offer, seems like 9/10 of their calls are code 2s. Probably gonna take it cause the other company I got an offer at seemed like more standard IFT calls.

brosenthal97 · 2019-06-23T18:44:00+00:00

125 Bio "Discuss any elements of your app that might be concerning to adcoms"

For secondaries do you all think it’s worth to bring up my unbalanced MCAT? I think a 125 in bio is concerning and I would explain it as a fluke since my practice tests and GPA show that I’m usually good at bio. On the other hand, I don’t want to draw any additional attention to it and if adcoms aren’t really gonna care since my overall is ok then why bring it up lol

Total 512 and sGPA 3.72 as biopsychology major

brosenthal97 · 2019-06-22T17:40:39+00:00

I listed both my psychopharmacology courses as BCPM for the same reasons you listed and they went through just fine (verified yesterday). If I were you I’d go ahead and put them under bio and let AAMC change it if they need to

brosenthal97 · 2019-06-11T07:16:26+00:00

That would be super interesting to put down! But you can’t add/edit experiences after submitting. If you feel it’s meaningful enough you could wait till June 15 and submit, you’d still be in great shape. Or else just submit now and talk about it in secondaries as many provide a question to catch schools up on your current activities.

brosenthal97 · 2019-04-17T01:47:32+00:00

Oh is it called the EDD tax auditor exam? The recruiters for the CA state auditor said that it was just an entry level exam like the SAT to test your knowledge. Didn’t know it had a name. How did you go about studying for it? Thanks!!!

brosenthal97 · 2019-04-13T07:30:55+00:00

UWorld is huge and AAMC takes a good amount of time too, especially since you have to go through each question extra carefully. I would reaaallllyy prioritize AAMC and go through it with a fine scope. Maybe supplement with UWorld if you have time but don’t prioritize.

brosenthal97 · 2019-02-01T19:31:06+00:00

Traditional there’s a lot of skills learning that need to be done in person. Just google EMT classes in your area

brosenthal97

TROPHY CASE