Foundations of Medicine I

This course is designed to help students as they prepare to take the MCAT and apply to medical school. One major goal of the course is to facilitate MCAT preparation. Outside of class students will work on their MCAT content review including concept checks and practice questions and take two full-length practice exams. During Tuesday classes students will learn and practice test-taking strategies with iClicker questions. Another major goal of the course is to thoughtfully prepare the personal statement and other documents necessary to successfully apply to medical school. Thursday classes will be spent reflecting on personal characteristics and experiences and how to best arrange these on the AMCAS or AACOMAS application to tell the story of why you'll make a great physician. In addition, one class period will be a panel discussion where community physicians discuss and answer questions about their paths into medicine, and current practices. A third goal of the course is to prepare for the different ways medical schools evaluate interpersonal and intrapersonal skills through AAMC PREview (Professional Readiness Exam formerly SJT), CASPer and interviews. Students will work on a research project that addresses a potential CASPer prompt and present it. We will complete and discuss practice AAMC PREview questions in Thursday classes, and students will have multiple opportunities to practice interview questions and receive feedback. The last and final goal is to emphasize that you cannot be helpful to someone without first understanding their perspective and wishes. This course does not count towards Biology major credit. You cannot take this course pass/fail. Pre-req 1/2: BIOL-101 & BIOL-102 Pre-req 3/4: CHEM-103 & CHEM-104 Pre-req 5/6: CHEM-223 & CHEM-224 Pre-req 7/8: PHYS-103 or PHYS-151 & PHYS-104 or PHYS-152 Must be completed prior to taking this course.