Archive for Scott Dobson-Mitchell

Looking for a career where you can rock out in the summer?

Photo courtesy of Rix Anthony

Some students in Hamilton may surprised to learn what their high school art teacher, Mr. Matt D’Alvise, does when school’s out for summer.

“He’s a screamer,” explains grade ten student David. As in, he’s the lead vocalist of Mojave Bloom. The group, which defines itself as a “metalcore/hard rock” band, has been performing for the past six months now, with eight shows under its belt, and six more this summer.

D’Alvise proves that you can be a teacher and still be cool. He also shows how teaching is a great job for rockers, because they can tour in the summer. Interestingly, he’s not the only teacher who does this. Lethbridge University prof Paul Lawton is also a hardcore musician, and the music of Carol Ann Weaver, Associate Professor of Music at the University of Waterloo, has been heard throughout North America, Europe, Africa, and Korea.

“When I first show my music to my students, they are quite shocked,” admits D’Alvise, the group’s vocalist. It’s not often you get to hear a recording of your teacher’s band, let alone one where the teacher is screaming like I do.”

D’Alvise started off as a drummer when, at 12, his parents bought him his first drum kit. “I had to play on a rubber practice pad for almost a year to prove to them I was willing to stick with it,” explains D’Alvise. “After that first year they gave me my first kit and I have never looked back.”

D’Alvise played with a few different bands in high school. Then, after graduatio, he got into underground hip hop — heavily. This led to forming a hip hop group called “The Illiterate Crew,” which released the album Audioperosis in 2006. When the band broke up, D’Alvise started playing guitar for the Robert Desmond Band, which led to a 64 day tour of the Philippines.

“It turned out to be an amazing experience. We played 20 shows, including live performances on popular television and radio stations.”

A few years later in 2008, D’Alvise left the band and went to London, England for teachers college, but he didn’t stray too far from music.  “While I was in England I began slowly getting back into heavy metal, which was a huge culture of it’s own across the pond.”

So how does a public school teacher combine his love for music with a teaching career?

“I find that teaching is a great way for me to stay connected with my artistic side,” says D’Alvise, who describes his band’s sound as “raw.” But it’s obvious that music is more than just a summer gig for this teacher. For D’Alvise, music truly is his passion. When asked about the band’s first performance, at a club in the Hamilton area, D’Alvise says,  ”To be completely honest, we stole the show!”

Mojave Bloom performs in Burlington on July 22, in Hamilton on July 28 and in Toronto on July 29.

New program combines undergraduate and medical school

Photo courtesy of Tulane Public Relations on Flickr

Imagine if there were a way to train doctors more efficiently, effectively, and at a lower cost, increasing the number of primary care providers while decreasing the amount of debt that students face. In other words, imagine a system that benefits patients, doctors, and the health care system.

Officials at the University of Texas (UT) believe they can do just that.

A new program pitched for 2013 will reduce the number of years that are required for students to earn a bachelor’s degree and a medical degree by spreading medical education across seven years, instead of putting most of it in a four year program that follows a BSc. The class would start with 60 freshman who are guaranteed a spot in med school if they do well in the first three years.

There may be fewer electives than a normal science degree, but there will still be some flexibility built into the program, including an entire year to “explore an area of interest” such as public health or medical research.

“Medical education, in general, takes too long, costs too much, it’s redundant, and it also doesn’t necessarily prepare people for practice in the 21st century,” Dr. Kenneth Shine, the UT’s executive vice chancellor for health affairs explained to The Austin American-Statesman. Other UT campuses are planning to try a similar model for nursing and pharmacy students.

The idea of reducing the time it takes to graduate from medical school isn’t exactly new, but it’s not very common. At least one three-year medical program can be found here in Canada. McMaster operates on an 11 months-a-year basis that allows students to qualify for the MD degree at the end of the third academic year. So do roughly 15 per cent of American schools. But the idea of combining undergraduate and graduate has so far been limited to places like Australia and Ireland. This may be a North American first.

Considering that it takes at least eight years between high school and medical residency, there’s another potential benefit to shortened programs for both patients and taxpayers. If doctors enter the workforce a year earlier and stay working a year longer, it would make life easier for the roughly 2-million Canadians who want a family doctor but can’t find one.

Unless the patient is on a train, physics doesn’t help

Train photo courtesy of kaffeeeinstein on Flickr

I forgot how much I hate physics.

If studying for the MCAT only included biology, chemistry, and verbal reasoning, I might have a serious shot. But throwing physics into the mix has me worried.

Way back in first year, almost three years ago, I thought I was saying goodbye to physics. Forever. After writing my exam, I would never have to see its face again. No more calculating the distance traveled by a projectile. Or determining how long it takes a soccer ball thrown from a height of 80 metres with an initial velocity of 10 metres per second to reach the ground. As for those two trains —the ones that are speeding towards each other, with hundreds of hypothetical passengers’ lives at stake — who cares what their final speed is, or how long it takes them to collide? Not me.

At least, I didn’t care until this summer. Now that I’m studying for the MCAT, physics has returned from the past — like a bad guy in an action movie who I thought was dead, but instead of shooting him a second time (just to be sure), I turned my back and didn’t notice the ominous music.

The problem is that the last time we saw each other, it didn’t end very well. Every time I tried to patch things up, physics would bring up the centrifugal force. Now, I’m asking myself: why is physics even tested on the MCAT?

Biology makes sense. Mostly. Some of the specifics seem a little irrelevant, like the details of cellular metabolism, but hey, med school is all about biology, right? And as much as I hate chemistry, I grudgingly accept the fact that it has a place in med school, too. Sure, I’d like to lie to myself and claim that chemistry has no real-world applications in medicine. But then I’d have to ignore the existence of pharmaceuticals (even the boring sections in my organic chemistry textbook are important for future doctors).

But for some reason, back when the MCAT was being created, someone stupidly invited physics to the party. I just don’t see how physics can help a doctor treat their patients. Unless the patient is a passenger on a train. A train that is heading south at a velocity of 80 kilometers per hour, on the same tracks as a train that is heading north at a velocity of 72 kilometers per hour…

What you need to know about MD-PhD programs

Thousands of students apply to medical school across Canada every year, and the vast majority of them will never even make it to an interview. The chances of success improve for repeat applicants, but the fact remains: even with high marks and stellar extracurricular activities, applying to a Canadian med school is an uphill battle against discouraging statistics. After completing their undergraduate degree and receiving a rejection letter, the big question facing these students is: now what?

Mike Saccone, a fourth-year Health Studies Co-op student, already has a plan B.

“My back-up plan is research based. I will pursue a Masters in Health Research Methodology from McMaster University,” he says. The Masters degree could even hit two birds with one stone.

“Hopefully, this will improve the chances of me getting into medical school, along with fulfilling a degree requirement that I will eventually pursue.”

Saccone says he was exposed to both sides of medicine- research and patient care- while working with a research-focused orthopaedic surgeon, and then working with a surgeon whose primary focus was on patient care.

Colleen Shortt, a fourth year Health Studies and Gerontology student, isn’t considering research as a backup plan to med school. She recently applied to graduate school programs at the University of Toronto, the University of Western Ontario, and McMaster, and is hoping to pursue a career in cancer or HIV/AIDS research. Shortt says that once she’s through grad school she may be interested in applying to med school.

“I thought about applying to med school and originally it was my plan A. But once I started looking into research opportunities I found that this may be a more effective way of reaching more people.”

Khuram Bhatti, a fourth year arts and science student, says he has considered numerous programs and careers, including optometry or pharmacy, and even programs in the States.

“I am considering schools such as the osteopathy programs in the United States, or other types of up and coming schools which have a schooling regiment which is sort of ‘newer,’ comparatively to something such as the MD career field.”

For med school hopefuls who don’t make the cut, pursuing a grad school program is a win-win: it improves their chances on a second application, and at the same time, they’re developing the skills for a different career path. Many med schools look for research or medically-related experience, and some even award additional points to applicants who have completed a graduate degree. McMaster gives an additional 1% to the pre-interview score of MSc students, and an additional 4% for PhD students. Others, such as the University of Toronto, lower the GPA cutoff for graduate students.

Keith Colaco, a third year Biomedical Sciences student, says that although he has always wanted to attend med school and become a physician, in high school he considered becoming an optometrist because of the challenges of pursuing a career in medicine.

“As I started taking more medically-related courses in university, volunteering in hospitals and speaking to medical students, I quickly changed my mind because I was so intrigued by the field and strongly felt the need to help those with medical problems.”

This summer Colaco will be working at the Holland Orthopaedic and Arthritic Centre in Toronto, where he hopes to gain insight into pursuing a medical career. Ultimately, he may combine his passion for medicine and research.

“I am very interested in clinical research rather than focusing on just research in the lab because I have always enjoyed interacting with patients in past volunteer experiences,” he says. “By working in a patient-care setting, it allows me to evaluate patients and conduct research at their bedside.”

Students like Colaco, who want to combine research with patient interaction, are in luck: an MD-PhD program offers the best of both worlds, allowing students to complete the MD curriculum while pursuing a PhD, training them for careers ranging from medical research to the design of healthcare delivery systems. Most of the programs describe their graduates as ‘clinician-scientists,’ with the curriculum juggling between academic course work, training in basic sciences and research, and clinical rotation. Dr. Norman Rosenblum, Director of the MD/PhD Program at the University of Toronto, says that applicants should have “considerable background with some area of science” in addition to experience that “demonstrates an interest in medicine and a knowledge of the clinician-scientist role.”

Some programs, such as the “MD Plus” Leaders in Medicine program at the University of Calgary, go beyond the basic sciences and allow students to pursue any graduate-level field of interest, including a Masters in philosophy or business.

Most med schools across Canada offer the MD-PhD program, with many being created in the past several years. The only drawback? Getting in is even tougher than med school. The program requires students to be accepted into both a medical and a Masters program (or in some cases, a graduate program) and enrollment is extremely limited, with most MD-PhD programs only having enough spots for a handful of students. For example, there are only five spots available in the University of Toronto MD-PhD program, while the University of Ottawa program only has room for four.

It’s coming in 2015. So write it now.

Although I’m feeling more and more nervous as the Medical Colleges Admission Test (MCAT) looms closer, a part of me is glad that I’ll be writing it soon.

Not just because I’ll be glad to get it over with, like ripping the band-aid off as quickly as possible. There’s an even bigger reason: even though the MCAT already covers biological sciences, physical sciences, verbal reasoning and writing, it’s about to become even more comprehensive.

For the first time in nearly 25 years, the MCAT is undergoing a revision.

Although the MCAT has gone through four major revisions in the past, it has supposedly been unable to “consistently predict personal and professional characteristics.” Meaning, although it can test someone’s knowledge of organic chemistry, it can’t evaluate their bedside manner.

The Association of American Medical Colleges recently released preliminary recommendations for the new test, such as lengthening the exam by 90 minutes and including questions on disciplines such as sociology and psychology. According to the article in the New York Times, questions about how “someone living in a particular demographic situation… might perceive and interact with others” could test analytical and reasoning skills in areas such as ethics, philosophy and cross-cultural studies.

In other words, by adding additional material, the new test will require additional studying. So try to write the MCAT before 2015, when the changes come into effect.

-Photo courtesy of gadl

The most important test I’ll ever write?

Even though it’s been more than a week since my last exam, I can’t relax and fully embrace summer vacation. Some of my marks haven’t been posted yet, but that’s not the problem. And I’m pretty sure that I’m not suffering from Post-Exam Stress Disorder, which is usually caused by physics or chemistry exams (I only had biology courses this semester). The reason I can’t relax is because I’m now studying for one of the most important tests that I’ve ever written: the MCAT.

For most schools across Canada, a high GPA and solid extracurricular experience are usually given more weight than the MCAT. Some schools don’t even consider MCAT scores, such as the University of Ottawa and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. McMaster University only considers the Verbal Reasoning portion of the test, and although the University of Toronto requires applicants to write the MCAT, their score isn’t included in the overall academic calculation. Instead, it’s just used as a “flag” during the admissions process, with less than minimum marks possibly disqualifying the application.

When it comes to medical school admissions, an applicant’s MCAT score isn’t a universally-important deciding factor. But it’s still going to be one of the most important tests I’ve ever written.

For one thing, the MCAT is much more important to med schools in the States and abroad. And even if some schools don’t consider the MCAT in their admissions process (or they only use cut-off scores), it’s still important for many Canadian schools, such as the University of Western Ontario. This is especially true outside of Ontario- the University of British Columbia, the University of Calgary, and the University of Manitoba all consider MCAT scores, just to name a few.

So unlike my last summer vacation, the next couple of months won’t just be a combination of part time jobs and relaxing- I’ll also be preparing for the MCAT. And stressing out about the physical sciences section.

The perfect cross between a final and a term project

When a course doesn’t have a final exam, there’s usually some sort of a drawback. Like a gigantic, time-consuming term project that requires lots of research and a half-hour presentation.

Meaning, the kind of thing that’s left until the last second, on the same day your lab report and term paper are also due.

On one hand, anything is better than a final exam. On the other hand, you’re going to have to read a bunch of Wikipedia articles and then find some journal articles to cite in your references.

But there is a middle ground. Something that’s a perfect cross between a final exam and a term project.

Yup, I’m talking about a take home exam.

Unlike a term project, it doesn’t involve weeks of procrastination followed by a single night of stress-filled research. And unlike a final exam, you don’t have to mentally photocopy your textbook and then regurgitate everything within a two-hour time limit.

-Photo courtesy of Alex France

More students using drugs to enhance academic performance

A story in the National Post suggests that illicit drug use to enhance their performance on exams and academic demands is on the rise among university students across Canada.

The article cites a random survey done at McGill University, which revealed that 5.4 per cent of 400 students had used a “study drug” to enhance their academic performance at least once. However, some estimates of drug use to increase student performance are even higher. According to the Post, “study drugs” are slowly becoming “entrenched on campuses” across Canada.

But do they actually work? Do the drugs help increase student performance on tests and assignments?

“It was definitely extremely helpful. I’ve never focused like that before in my life,” said a first-year student at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. “I was able to sit in a chair for eight hours, concentrate on the work, brainstorm more effectively.”

Another student quoted in the article claims the use of drugs to improve academic performance is wide-spread among numerous schools, including the University of Toronto and Wilfrid Laurier in Waterloo, Ontario.

The student claims the drugs come from other students who have a prescription for some of the commonly used drugs, including Adderall and Ritalin. A psychiatrist at the University of Toronto said that an estimated one in four of his university patients admit to sharing some of their prescription drugs to friends.

“I think it’s becoming a bigger difficulty in universities, particularly around entry to professional schools,” said Dr. Jain. “This is something that needs to be addressed, both in terms of university policy and in terms of physicians prescribing . . . These are not innocuous medications.”

Claims the rant was an ‘attempt to produce a humorous YouTube video’

Alexandra Wallace, the third-year political science student from UCLA who posted a video on YouTube in which she complained about Asian students speaking on their cell phones in the library, recently announced that she would no longer attend the university. The announcement was part of an apology letter released to the Daily Bruin on Friday.

“In an attempt to produce a humorous YouTube video, I have offended the UCLA community and the entire Asian culture. I am truly sorry for the hurtful words I said and the pain it caused to anyone who watched the video,” her statement said.

Wallace says that her “mistake”- which included mocking students who were trying to reach family members the day of the disastrous tsunami and earthquake in Japan- has “lead to the harassment of my family, the publishing of my personal information, death threats, and being ostracized from an entire community,” prompting her to no longer attend classes at UCLA. Earlier on the same day, UCLA announced that it will not discipline Wallace for the video.

At one point in the YouTube video, Wallace speaks in a fake Asian language, saying “Ching, chong, ling long, ting tong.”

Fortunately, someone has recently attempted to explain what “ching chong, ling long, ting tong” actually means in a new YouTube video.

Asian students mocked for ‘checking on everybody from the tsunami thing.’

A student at the University of California in Los Angeles recently posted a video on YouTube in which she ranted about Asian students at her school, complaining about the “hordes of Asian people” who talk on cell phones in the library. She spoke in a fake Asian language at one point, and complained about Japanese students calling home about the tsunami and earthquake.

“I swear they’re going through their whole families, just checking on everybody from the tsunami thing. I mean, I know, that sounds horrible. I feel sorry for all the people affected by the tsunami,” she said during the three minute video.

“But if you’re going to go call your address book, like you might as well go outside, because, if something is wrong, you might really freak out and you’re in the library, and everybody’s quiet. Like, you seriously should go outside if you’re going to do that.”

After the video went viral, gathering millions of views and creating a serious backlash, Alexandra Wallace, the third-year political sciences student who posted the video, issued an apology on Monday. Apparently campus officials are still considering whether the video warrants disciplinary action.

When I first heard about the video (a commenter posted a link in my last blog post) I was shocked and disturbed that someone would not only think this way, but actually post a three minute rant on YouTube. But it gets even worse: the student was apparently planning on creating a series of videos.

“My daughter wants to start a blog,” her father wrote on Facebook, saying that she’s asking for domain suggestions for “Asians on their cellphones in the library.”

An editorial in the New York Times argues that although the student is rightly being criticized for her racist video, “the university would do a great disservice to itself and the First Amendment if it goes ahead and disciplines her for the content of her words.” The editorial categorizes her offensive words as an “ethnic slur” rather than a “form of harassment against a group of students.”

In other words, the First Amendment could protect her from being officially sanctioned in any way by her university. Of course, her racist rant on YouTube might follow her around for a while, providing an unofficial document for future employers to one day consider.