Boston University School of Medicine Dean, who also serves as provost for the medical campus, Karen Antman met with the Minority Association of Pre-medical Students on Tuesday to discuss challenges facing minority students hoping to attend medical school.
The group of about ten students asked questions about applying to medical schools, particularly focusing on the grades needed for admittance into the top tier.
Applicants from highly ranked undergraduate universities have a clear advantage over students applying from lesser-known schools, Assistant Dean for Pre-medical Studies and MAPS advisor Glen Zamansky said. Zamansky’ assured students of BU’s strong reputation, which he said is due in part to BU’s policy of grade deflation.
‘If a student at BU gets a good grade, it is earned,’ Zamansky said. ‘It is not a gift.’
However, Antman said it is not all about the grades. She stressed the importance of learning the material, ‘because somebody’s life depends on it.’
‘We are really looking for people who are smart, committed and empathetic,’ Antman said. ‘There are a variety of ways you can excel.’
MED has one of the highest percentages of minority students in the country at 20 percent, Antman said.
Antman told prospective students that it would take hard work to become a doctor.
‘Nothing worthwhile ever comes easy,’ she said. ‘Keep at it.’
When asked how being woman affected her experience in the medical field, she said her gender has caused her to feel discriminated against, but there were also times being female worked to her advantage. She said minority students entering the field could expect the same.
‘It helps to have a sense of humor,’ Antman said.
Raising children while finishing school and residency is a balancing act that requires well-thought planning and timing, Antman said.
Antman said the cost of medical school could act as deterrent for some hopefuls, but provided insight.
‘Medical school is one of the best investments you can make,’ she said.
An aging population with increasing medical needs will increase the U.S. demand for doctors, Antman said.
Students asked about specialization, including the public health sector. Antman described the differences between doctors and public health care workers by comparing how they would react were they to discover people drowning in a river.
Doctors would pull individuals out of the water, Antman said, while public health workers would investigate the cause of the people falling in the river. Ultimately, the best outcome will result in the two professions collaborating, she said.
The number of students involved in MAPS has been increasing every year, MAPS member Luwam Ghidei said. Ghidei, a CAS sophomore, had originally come to BU hoping to study law, but was captivated by her biology and chemistry classes and said MAPS helped her decide on a medical career.
‘It helped me prove to myself that this is what I really wanted to do,’ Ghidei said.
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
