Postgraduate Study BIOE 1010 Professional Development

Postgraduate Study

BIOE 1010

Professional Development

We bring life to engineering!

So you really love taking classes …

Majority of BioEs continue coursework with some form of graduate study– Necessary to get ahead in many jobs

Many options available – med school, grad school, business, law, etc.

Keep an open mind (and pay attention …)– Many students change their minds about what

they want to do– Just ask the graduating seniors what they plan on

doing after graduation today vs. 2 – 3 years ago


Why medical school?

Required to practice medicine as a licensed M.D. or D.O.– Both M.D.s and D.O.s can perform surgery and

prescribe medication– D.O.s typically use chiropractic or holistic methods

for diagnosis and treatment of disease

Perform basic or medical research in academic or industrial setting

Health care administration and public policy


Medical school prerequisites

Complete the following courses– One year of Biology– One year of Physics– One year of English– Two years of Chemistry through Organic

Chemistry Take the Medical College Admission Test

(MCAT) Volunteering, extracurricular activities or work

experiences (industry or research)


MCAT

Standardized test (like ACT/SAT) Day long (8 hr) test with the following sections

– Verbal reasoning (comprehension, evaluation, etc)– Physical sciences (physics, chemistry & math)– Writing sample (grammar, logical thought, etc)– Biological sciences (molecular, cellular and human

biology; organic chemistry) 15 points / section + separate writing score http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/start.htm

for more information

http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/start.htm


AMCAS application

Uniform application for medical school admission

Can apply to many schools with one application

Over 100 schools use AMCAS application– Includes all OH & MI medical schools

You should still check with individual schools for any additional application requirements– Ex: MCO may request secondary application with

recommendation letters


AMCAS application

Biographical information Essay (one page limit)

– Why you have selected the field of medicine– What should medical schools know about you that is

not mentioned elsewhere in the application– Special hardships, challenges or obstacles that may

have influenced your educational pursuits– Explain significant fluctuations in your academic

record not mentioned elsewhere in the application Post-secondary experiences – jobs, volunteer

positions, awards, extracurricular activities


AMCAS application

List schools attended Request official transcripts - use AMCAS form List all post-secondary courses you enrolled in

regardless if credit was received GPA calculation – includes transfer credits and

repeated courses! See http://www.aamc.org for more details

– Instructions for students applying for Fall 2003 admission are already available

See http://www.ada.org and http://www.adea.org for dental school admissions information

http://www.aamc.org/

http://www.ada.org/

http://www.adea.org/


What to expect in medical school

First two years are spent in class 8 hours per day, 5 days per week

First year courses are basic sciences– Biochemistry and cell biology– Anatomy, histology and immunology– Neuroscience and physiology– Clinical skills, ethics, etc.

Second year courses are medical sciences– Pathology, pathophysiology, pharmacology

Take Part I of Board Exam after second year


What to expect in medical school

Last two years are spent in the clinic Clinical rotations are full-time positions

– Include nights and weekends on call Required clinical rotations in third year

– Medicine, surgery, pediatrics, psychiatry and obstetrics/gynecology

Elective clinical rotations in fourth year Apply for residency and take Part II of Board

Exam


Life after medical school

A minimum of three years spent in residency to receive further training in an area of specialization

Take board exam for your area of specialization

Can do fellowship after residency, usually for research or extreme area of specialization

Then earn the big bucks and play golf every Thursday (yeah, right …)


Financial considerations

Money should not be your primary goal in becoming a physician– Medical school is expensive– First real paycheck comes 7 years after graduating

from college– Requires substantial commitment and desire to

become a practicing physician Money should not be obstacle to attending

medical school– You can repay much of the debt when you are a

resident


Why business school?

To learn management principles for supervising employees

To understand the business aspects (such as finance and marketing) of product development

Many engineers obtain M.B.A.s to pursue management positions in larger corporations


Business school prerequisites

Required coursework varies by school– Your engineering education should be

sufficient for most schools– You may need an economics course

Take the GMAT examIndustrial experience (co-op or full-time)

is desirable


GMAT

Half day long (~4 hr) test with the following sections– Analytical writing– Quantitative reasoning– Verbal reasoning

Complex scoring - total scores range from 200 – 800

See http://www.gmac.com for more information

http://www.gmac.com/


Business school courses

Typically a 1 ½ - 2 year programCurriculum varies widely

– Investigate coursework before you applyCore courses

– Accounting, finance, marketing and management

Elective courses to specialize in one of the core areas listed above


Why law school?

To practice criminal lawTo practice civil lawTo work on patents for new productsTo work on legal and tax issues for

corporationsLaw school results in a J.D. degree


Law school prerequisites

A bachelor’s degree in just about any program

Take the LSAT examStandardized application – LSDASSee http://www.lsac.org/ for more

information

http://www.lsac.org/


LSAT

Half day long (~4 hour) test with the following sections– Reading comprehension– Analytical reasoning– Writing sample

Score ranges from 120 – 180See http://www.lsac.org/ for more

information





Law school courses

Typically a 3 year program Core courses

– Contracts, property, constitutional law and criminal law

Electives for specialization– Business, civil, criminal, labor, estates, patents,

family, property and tax law

Must take state bar exam to obtain license to practice law


Why graduate school?

To specialize in a technical area– Allows you to do more technical work– May help you advance in your job

To do research in an academic or industrial setting

Grad school results in a masters degree or a Ph.D.


Graduate school prerequisites

Varies with each programMany programs require the GRE exam

– Two sections: Verbal and Quantitative – Also have engineering subject test– Scoring ranges from 200 – 800 for each

section, 200 – 1000 for subject test– See http://www.gre.org/ for more

information

http://www.gre.org/


Graduate school curriculum

Courses vary by program and schoolTwo types of masters programs:

coursework intensive and research intensive

Research intensive masters program may require a thesis

A PhD program is research intensive and requires a thesis


How do I decide on a graduate program?

Talk to the experts– Students in various programs– Professionals in your area of interest– Advisors and counselors

Visit schools, hospitals, etc.If the classes look interesting, the work

probably will be too!


Timeline for graduate study

This is a general timeline to apply for graduate study Take home message – start thinking about this at least a year

before you graduate– Not much time and effort required– Can always apply now and decide not to enroll later– Easier than not applying now and deciding you want to go later

Assumes graduation in Spring of 5th year– April of 4th year – take the applicable standardized test(s)– Summer of 4th year – retake test(s) if needed– Fall of 5th year – obtain recommendation letters if needed– Fall of 5th year - send out applications to various programs– Fall of 5th year – apply for scholarships if applicable– Spring of 5th year – interview and select program to enroll in

Documents

Postgraduate Study BIOE 1010 Professional Development