Best products from r/premed
We found 70 comments on r/premed discussing the most recommended products. We ran sentiment analysis on each of these comments to determine how redditors feel about different products. We found 167 products and ranked them based on the amount of positive reactions they received. Here are the top 20.
1. Organic Chemistry As a Second Language, 3e: First Semester Topics
- Used Book in Good Condition
Features:
3. The Health Care Handbook: A Clear and Concise Guide to the United States Health Care System, 1st Edition
- Disc included
- Third Edition
- For ArcGIS 10.1
Features:
5. A Med Students Guide to Getting In: A step by step analysis of the application process and how to develop a competitive application, from a student's perspective
6. BS/MD Programs-The Complete Guide: Getting into Medical School from High School
- Used Book in Good Condition
Features:
8. Organic Chemistry As a Second Language: Second Semester Topics
- Apple iOS 8, 10-Inch Retina Display, 2048x1536 Resolution
- A8X Chip with 64-bit Architecture, M8 Motion Coprocessor
- Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n/ac): 16 GB, Capacity: 2 GB RAM
- 8 MP iSight Camera, FaceTime HD Camera
- Up to 10 Hours of Battery Life
Features:
10. The DOs: Osteopathic Medicine in America
- New and improved! You spoke, we listened! Brand new Lego bricks! Straight from the factory!
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- New square bottom tote holds up to five pounds! Perfect for any builder on the go! (Color varies.)
- The best value available on Amazon!
Features:
11. The Heart Healers: The Misfits, Mavericks, and Rebels Who Created the Greatest Medical Breakthrough of Our Lives
- St Martin s Press
Features:
12. The Medical School Interview: Secrets and a System for Success
Used Book in Good Condition
13. The Mold in Dr. Florey's Coat: The Story of the Penicillin Miracle
- W W Norton Company
Features:
14. Medical School Essays That Made a Difference, 4th Edition (Graduate School Admissions Guides)
Used Book in Good Condition
15. Organic Chemistry As a Second Language: First Semester Topics
- Brand-new authentic merchandise.
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17. The Health Care Handbook: A Clear & Concise Guide to the United States Health Care System
- Dell E172FPt 17-Inch TFT LCD Flat Panel Color Monitor General Features: Midnight Gray Color
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- Response time: 25 ms Horizontal scan range: 31 kHz to 80 kHz Vertical scan range: 56 Hz to 76 Hz
- Resolution: 1280 x 1024
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18. The Medical School Interview: Secrets and a System for Success
- Used Book in Good Condition
Features:
19. Extreme Sports High Altitude Oxygen Deprivation Training Mask - One Size
- Increases in Lung capacity as your lungs have to work 9 times harder to get the oxygen in
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I enjoyed this book: Multiple Mini Interview (MMI): Winning Strategies From Admissions Faculty https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C4FP99A/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_COAQBbN856MEV
It’s well reviewed and rated. It has a ton of examples to help get you thinking about what kinds of questions you might get and how you could answer. The book, as well as most others will advise you to not try and over prepare or memorize answers. Instead, if you choose to practice, practice your answer structure. Restate the scenario in your own words to make sure you understand it right, talk through all of your thought process in a coherent and sympathetic manner, and answer the question as honestly as possible. Don’t give the answer you think they want to hear, answer how you truly feel. Leave 2-3 min for any follow up questions depending on time allotment.
Beyond that the best advice I’ve heard is to make good eye contact, be present with your interviewer, don’t make up an answer if you don’t know, and convince yourself you’re just happy to be there and don’t let the nerves ride you.
If you are looking for a book to maybe help you out with preping for the interview they I could recommend you Medical School Interview Secrets to Success. Its a really small book and you can finish it in like one sitting, but I found it super helpful in getting your brain in the interview mentality. It gives you a bit of homework too as a form of prep. Its not super groundbreaking or anything, but it is very helpful for compartmentalizing what you need to cover over an interview. I'm 3 for 3 right now on interviews and acceptances, and I do attribute it to this book.
I put the amazon link here.
https://www.amazon.com/Medical-School-Interview-Secrets-Success/dp/097795594X
btw, i dont make any money from recommending this, it was honestly a good book
"Then you wouldn't understand" and "In Indian culture" where you related it back to your own ethnicity. That's literally all I had to read to get the impression. And I'm not saying that that it's east Asians, but these challenges shouldn't be isolated to certain ethnicities. Anyone who researches into the degrees, MD/DO would have similar concerns and that's perfectly fine. But it's also important to understand the motivation and reasoning that led to the "condescending" view of Osteopathy.
I highly recommend The DOs: Osteopathic Medicine in America , not just to you, but anyone that is curious about the degree.
Granted my experience is from my father, who is a practicing MD, but even in the 90's when he was completing his residency, DOs were still seen as similar and equivalent at least in the medical field. Of course, the patient's perspective was probably condescending, but in the medical field as long as you produced similar results and work with scientific backing, all was good.
You've got plenty of time to bring up you grades, don't worry. In, addition showing a positive trend overall is very powerful so as long as you begin to improve from this point medical schools will notice. Do you have any ECs? With the strong possibility that your GPA won't be stellar you are most likely going to want to have very strong experiences, (shadowing, volunteering, research, etc.) and crush the MCAT. Since you're so young, here is a link to a great book which really helped me to develop a competitive application and earn acceptance. You may also want to check out the timeline, I pretty much based my whole undergrad off of this.
Book:https://www.amazon.com/Med-Students-Guide-Getting-application-ebook/dp/B07BD45JTN/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1521161058&sr=8-1&keywords=a+med+students+guide+to+getting+in
Timeline: https://masteringmedicaleducation.wordpress.com/sample-timeline/
When Breath Becomes Air - Paul Kalanithi
Being Mortal - Atul Gawande
Better - Atul Gawande
Honestly anything by Atul Gawande
Start With Why- Simon Sinek (Just finished this one today. Phenomenal read. Not medicine related, but a great perspective on what leadership means and how you can inspire those around you)
The White Coat Investor - James Dahle (Financial literacy is always a good thing)
​
I have quite a bit more book suggestions if you're ever curious, but those should keep you busy for a while. Feel free to DM me if you want more!
I am currently completing my two semesters of organic after completing gen chem seven years ago. I spent the summer reviewing the gen material and I felt pretty well prepared for organic. Like some of the other users have said, a good class will pull you up to snuff on what you need to know. Besides, organic has a lot more to do with the illustrative way that say, a hydrogen atom binds with an oxygen, and its effects, than with numbers. It often feels like it's more of an art class with puzzle-solving than a science class.
I would highly recommend getting a copy of Organic Chemistry as a Second Language. Amazing reference and clarifying tool. It will carry you through about 2/3rds of the 1st semester material, as well as give you a good foundation for everything. Not having that foundation is where most people flounder at the end of 1st and all the way through 2nd semester organic. Hope this helps!
They're all super, super selective - and I'd say they're probably about equally selective! If you're in Pennsylvania or very close by, you might have a solidly higher chance at all the Drexel ones (though I bet you could aim for somewhere higher ranked if you keep up your performance in undergrad/MCAT)
If not, apply to the main ones - Northwestern, Brown, BU, Case Western, Rochester, etc. I would highly recommend this book https://www.amazon.com/BS-MD-Programs-Complete-Guide/dp/0983213240 - it's a little old now but it has all the acceptance numbers and stuff, helped me get interviews when I applied (though I wasn't ultimately accepted at any LOL)
Good luck!! Remember, you'll probably do great in undergrad anyway.
If you are looking for something to help you better understand those kinda topics The Health Care Handbook might be your best option
I thought it was a pretty good quick review to help you understand any ballpark health care related questions
As far as the helping people thing goes its like if you want to get a girl in bed you cant just straight up ask her you have to take her out and spend some money and hope she falls for it. Same goes for this, of course you want to "help people" you wouldn't want to be a PA if you hated em. As far as what to say I would pick up this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Medical-Difference-Edition-Graduate-Admissions/dp/0307945278
It's the best $8 you can spend and it helped me a lot. It has some what are considered "good statements" that left an impression. I think yours is memorable because of your mom and I would embellish on that more even if you have to embellish a bit. In my opinion I think the first paragraph is good just improve the rest and you're good to go.
What style of interview is it? I had one standard and one MMI interview last year and prepared for each one a little differently.
If it's a standard, you don't need much time at all honestly. I would say I prepped maybe an hour a night for the week leading up to the interview, mostly looking at common questions and formulating some ideas for answers. You shouldnt be trying to memorize answers, but I'd definitely make a list of personal traits and activities that you want to bring up in your interview and see where they would fit in with the usual interview questions.
For MMI, I would highly recommend this book and practice with someone on the format and timing of the questions. I started prepping seriously for the MMI for a few hours (maybe 1-3) a night for about 2 weeks leading up to the interview.
Good luck!!
The Healthcare Handbook
Blurb:
> The American health care system is vast, complex and confusing. Books about it shouldn't be. The Health Care Handbook is your one-stop guide to the people, organizations and industries that make up the U.S. health care system, and the major issues the system faces today. The Handbook's five chapters (250 pages) cover:
> * Inpatient and outpatient health care and delivery systems
In my opinion, this book has a great balance of completeness/readability - I had a pretty fragmented knowledge of the healthcare system, and this book tied everything together and filled in the gaps.
Full disclosure: The Healthcare Handbook was written by two students at the med school that I attend, and our class was given free copies of the book - but I totally think it's worth the $8.
I read the review on amazon and someone reported there being several significant errors that were not corrected in the CD's. Here's just a couple of examples:
CD #7 Track 2: While discussing melting Jon says "It is interesting to relate thermodynamics to the heat curve... ...But the enthalpy change is NEGATIVE"
Jon should have said "It is interesting to relate thermodynamics to the heat curve... ...But the enthalpy change is POSITIVE" Both enthalpy change and entropy change are positive during melting. Everything else in the track still applies. If both entropy and enthalpy change are positive, delta G depends upon temperature.
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CD #7 Track #8: Jordan says "Lewis acids: donate; bases: accept." This is backwards. Lewis acids accept a pair of electrons and Lewis bases donate a pair of electrons.
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CD #7 track #10: Jordan says that the pH of a solution with a hydrogen ion concentration of 3.6x10^-4 is 4.5. It is 3.5.
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CD #7 Track #11: Jordan says "The log of A times B equals the log A times the log of B." He should say "The log of A times B equals the log of A plus the log of B."
http://www.amazon.com/Examkrackers-MCAT-Audio-Osmosis-Jordan/dp/1893858235
For orgo, there's just a ton of reagents and solvents you have to memorize, along with some other things. Know nucleophiles well, because that becomes the majority of what Orgo II is about. Resonance is always good to know.
Biology is really just about understanding the ins and outs of life cycles, reproduction cycles, etc. Know all the little details and what happens at every step. This will be helpful when you learn Kreb's Cycle, plant life cycles, etc. A lot is also just memorization. Finding diagrams to label is also helpful.
For orgo, I HIGHLY recommend a book called Organic Chemistry As a Second Language, I used it for my first semester of Ochem, and it helped a ton.
Khan Academy is really helpful for Chem, Ochem, Bio, and probably physics.
I only studied a meager 26 months, so trust me when I say there's definitely some raw talent required. I'll post my practice test scores:
AAMC 3: 45 (15,15,15)
AAMC 4: 45 (15,15,15)
AAMC 5: 45 (15,15,15)
AAMC 7: 45 (15,15,15)
AAMC 8: 44 (15,15,14)
AAMC 9: 45 (15,15,15)
AAMC 10: 45 (15,15,15)
AAMC 11: 46 (15,16,15)
The MCAT really isn't that big a deal, you just have to be smart about it. For example (and I've given this advice before with successful results except for the guy who died) you should be doing VR passages with an O2 deprivation mask, like you're training on the top of a mountain. I used this one [1]. Maybe if you didn't break 40 this time you can use your Amazon gift card to buy it.
My grandmother died the day I took this test.. actually during the VR section, so I had to give her CPR during the break between that and BS, and only finished the rescue breaths and "called it" about halfway through the BS section. Rough day
Called up AAMC and corrected one of their VR answers, so I got an extra point for that.
[1] http://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Altitude-Deprivation-Training-Mask/dp/B004WYJZ3I
Jack,
Firstly, take a deep breath!
Secondly, regarding your statement in your post, yes I got an A in OChem 2 - it seemed impossible as I was as stressed as you are! What really helped me was doing practice problems out of Organic Chemistry as a Second Language (because it really is)! In addition to this, I combed google for any practice exams or quizzes related to the topics covered on the exam (i.e., googled Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution Exam with Solutions) and went over those. For topics that I had a really hard time with, I researched for a conceptual understanding in addition to the mechanism (like why do the NMR spectropscopy present as they do, instead of memorizing where the peaks would come up) and made it a point to know that well in addition to the exam studying.
From reading your post, it sounds like your first professor was a conceptual teacher that then focused on the specific mechanisms (understanding the why and how to the mechanism). Your second professor seems like a mechanism writer, which I am sorry for as it does no justice to the beauty that is chemistry.
I hope this has helped!
Came here to say Oliver Sacks (neuroscience).
I picked up a used copy of the DSM-IV casebook; it's very cheap since the DSM-V has come out. Diagnoses may be outdated but the stories are still there!
There are casebooks in other fields, too-- Surgery, multiple specialities, medical ethics, [pediatrics] (http://www.amazon.com/Files-Pediatrics-Fourth-Edition-LANGE/dp/0071766987/ref=pd_rhf_se_s_cp_9_EQ6W?ie=UTF8&refRID=1WJ16SB6971PCJ94TK2S). Your college library ought to have new-ish ones you can read for free.
I'm also encouraged by reading scientific journal articles in medical fields (research is exciting).
Other stuff: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks isn't about a doctor, but it's about a patient and the HeLa cell line that's been so important to medicine. My decision to go into medicine was affected by The Plague, a novel by Albert Camus about a plague-stricken city. (Main character is a doctor, though not exactly a modern MD.)
If this is the case, you should look at your application. Did you reach out to your dream lab before you applied? Did you ask one of your strongest references for an introduction to some of the professors at the school?
This is something I wrote about extensively in a book I recently published. Applying isn't enough. You need to work your entire network. Don't hope to get accepted, guarantee your acceptance by putting in the time and effort to build relationships with influential people in your field.
https://www.amazon.com/Organic-Chemistry-As-Second-Language/dp/1119110661
This is like a little workbook that explains the material and has review questions throughout! I worked through this before my semester of ochem started and I felt like the semester was a breeeeeze. Highly recommend, and my professor asked what I was using to study and she said she loved this book too!
The Heart Healers - great book about the history of cardiology
[Link.] (https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Healers-Mavericks-Greatest-Breakthrough/dp/1250058392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1505426456&sr=8-1&keywords=heart+healers)
Check out MCAT Audio Osmosis (http://www.amazon.com/Examkrackers-MCAT-Audio-Osmosis-Jordan/dp/1893858235) if you like studying this way. They go over pretty much everything, and while I did not use the recordings, I really liked the Examkrackers books.
This book is good for focused interview prep and strategy
This book is good for common sense interview skills
I am using both of these books myself, and I like them a lot. They really only deal with traditional interview formats however. No books for group interviews or MMI format.
I used this book to get a good idea of what med school personal statements look like. The ones in the book aren't exactly groundbreaking (in fact, a lot are pretty cliche), but it was still useful to at least have that framework to look at.
This is a bit unrelated because it's more focused on research, but The Mold in Dr. Florey's Coat is a great read about the development of penicillin and, essentially, the birth of modern medicine.
You might find more book suggestions in r/medical school. Also, here's a list from Washington University Medical School
I always recommend Dr. Samir Desai's book on MMI strategies. He also has a book for the traditional interview, but I never read that one. I'm sure it's just as helpful.
These two books helped me through Ochem: Organic Chemistry as a Second Language Vol. 1 and Vol 2. The guy also has a very good text book that comes with an absolutely ENORMOUS answer book that has every single problem in the textbook mapped out. I don't recommend the Wiley Plus/Orion online homework system thing, but these are great resources.
I bought The Medical School Interview: Secrets and a System for Success last year and it seemed to be pretty helpful in my preparation.
Nice. Also, try and check out Klein's book, Organic Chemistry as a Second Language I found it tremendously helpful
I recommend Barron's Essays That Will Get You into Medical School. Very helpful guide and they give you a dozen or so essays written by past applicants.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1119110661/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_mUrPBbBDTZMQV
Organic Chemistry as a Second language.
Learn it
Live it
Love it
I read Medical School Essays that Made a Difference. The nice part about it was that it shows other application stats and where they applied/were accepted with their various essays.
I bought this to use for inspiration. I would be cautious though--it can be tough to come up with an original idea if you've been reading examples.
I enjoyed Nathan Moore's book: http://www.amazon.com/Health-Care-Handbook-Concise-United/dp/0692244735/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419057637&sr=8-1&keywords=Nathan+Moore
Get this:
https://www.amazon.com/Organic-Chemistry-As-Second-Language/dp/111801040X/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1494750631&sr=8-3-fkmr0&keywords=ochem+as+a+se
Ochem 1 was pretty memorization and concept heavy. Not much to do other than practice and get concepts down.
For Ochem 2, do a lot of practice problems until you see the patterns. Treat it as math rather than chemistry. Each reaction is an equation that can be applied to specific situations. Learn to see those situations and apply the equation to it. Get help when you need it, go to office hours for the hell of it, and stay on top of things. And you dont really need to memorize the reactions. If you know the reagents, just remember that nucleophile attacks electrophile, e source to e sink. Just think and look.
The class itself isnt that hard. Theres nothing special about it. Its just chemistry. Go in with a good attitude rather than thinking its the hardest subject in the world and you will do just fine.
woah... reapplicant?
I recommend this book: http://www.amazon.com/Medical-School-Interview-Secrets-Success/dp/0977955907
Hit the Atul Gawande stuff first. He's a tremendous writer, and his books have implications fay beyond the internal mechanics of the medical establishment. I recently finished 'Better', and before I bought the book, I used the Amazon Look Inside feature to read the introduction. I was hooked. http://www.amazon.com/Better-Surgeons-Performance-Atul-Gawande/dp/0312427654/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450735227&sr=8-1&keywords=better+atul+gawande
Here are some links for the product in the above comment for different countries:
Link: http://www.amazon.com/Organic-Chemistry-As-Second-Language/dp/111801040X
|Country|Link|
|:-----------|:------------|
|UK|amazon.co.uk|
|Spain|amazon.es|
|France|amazon.fr|
|Germany|amazon.de|
|Japan|amazon.co.jp|
|Canada|amazon.ca|
|Italy|amazon.it|
|China|amazon.cn|
This bot is currently in testing so let me know what you think by voting (or commenting).
https://www.amazon.com/Health-Care-Handbook-Concise-United/dp/0692244735/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483150487&sr=8-1&keywords=healthcare+handbook
https://www.amazon.com/Organic-Chemistry-As-Second-Language/dp/1119110661/ref=dp_ob_image_bk
This? It's so much more expensive.
https://www.amazon.com/Organic-Chemistry-As-Second-Language/dp/111801040X
https://www.amazon.com/Organic-Chemistry-As-Second-Language/dp/111801040X
Buy it
"Organic Chemistry as a Second Language" .... got a 3.7 in O Chem using this book. You definitely have to do a bunch of problems though.
http://www.amazon.com/Organic-Chemistry-As-Second-Language/dp/111801040X
You could buy this book but if you don't want to just read the wikipedia article on Osteopathic Medicine.
Sorry, I screwed up the title! Here is the proper link
Organic Chemistry As a Second Language, 3e: First Semester Topics https://www.amazon.com/dp/111801040X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_almNDbJMVD438
I did both Organic Chemistry classes over 1 summer (5 weeks/class). It was easily the most brutal classroom experience of my academic career.
If I could go back I'd definitely start by completing the Organic Chemistry as a Second Language books (http://www.amazon.com/Organic-Chemistry-As-Second-Language/dp/111801040X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377566755&sr=8-1&keywords=organic+chemistry+as+a+second+language). There is one for each class, and they are enormously helpful. Aside from that, do all the practice problems from your textbook. Unlike some of your other science classes it can be difficult to memorize the rules and then apply them... you will learn the rules by doing problems.
When it comes to stereochemistry, use models. After you have the 3-dimensional structures down, it is doubtful you will need to come back to the models again.