For medical school admissions, did you know that cuts from primary application submissions will eliminate candidates who fall below a school’s standards for both GPA and MCAT scores? After that, the focus shifts from your intellectual abilities to your non-academic accomplishments.

Check out our article to learn more and find out five MCAT tips to help you get into medical school.

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The AAMC PREview Professional Readiness Exam tests how ready you really are for med school. This test will give the admissions committees an insight to how well prepared you are to take on the challenges that medical school poses beyond the academics which are measured by your GPA and MCAT score.

Read our blog to find out more about this test, how it’s scored, and what the questions will look like.

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Understanding the most important factors when it comes to the exam calendar and medical school application timeline can put you ahead of the game and help you develop a strong plan for your MCAT success in 2025. Take some time now to determine your future test date.

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Ģ����Ƶ applauds President Biden and Vice President Harris for their commitment to remove lead from American homes.

For over 35 years, Congress has not changed or updated the Safe Drinking Water Act to protect Americans from lead. On Tuesday, December 14, President Biden and Vice President Harris fixed that; laying out a plan to modernize American infrastructure by actively removing lead from pipes and paint in our homes.

The Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan has three key strategies. It commits billions of dollars and technical resources to communities to remove lead, strengthen current regulations to ensure equitable protection and access to low income communities, and reduce exposure with increased surveillance and update current strategies to combat environmental health hazards. Over ten federal agencies will coordinate to make this happen. Here are some key action items on the docket:

• Allocate $3 billion in funding to local communities and allows $350 billion from the American Rescue Plan to be used for lead service line and fixture replacement
• Make lead pipe and paint investments publicly available to disadvantaged communities
• Establish regional technical assistance hubs to partner with labor unions and water agencies, creating union paying jobs while training community members to serve their community
• Close gaps in lead testing by increasing blood level surveillance and tracking trends and guide federal investments

For too long, millions of households every year have been exposed to lead and have serious health problems as a result, especially in children. Standard of care in pediatrics is to test for lead at one and two year well-checks, this rudimentary testing is playing catchup for not upgrading local infrastructure appropriately. Lead poisoning is an illness that is difficult to treat, especially because these patients are often re-exposed as soon as we send them home. Ģ����Ƶ supports this initiative to remove all lead pipes and paint over the next decade that will be revolutionary for the health and safety of our patients. This plan addresses the social determinants of health that affect our patients everyday.

Furthermore, we commend the strategy to accomplish this goal through partnerships with labor unions and local water agencies to create training opportunities and good paying jobs, further benefiting our underserved communities. We believe this new initiative will take an important step towards delivering equitable health outcomes throughout our country which is our central mission as future physicians.

At Ģ����Ƶ we believe everyone has a right to live in their own home without fear of lead exposure and applaud the Biden Administration for their commitment to improving the health of all Americans.

If you would like more information see the .

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The quality of our health depends less on the quality of our health care system than on the environment we live in. “You can’t have a healthy population on a sick planet. Our health absolutely depends on environmental conditions, on the health of functioning ecosystems that are providing food and fresh water,” said Dr. Jonathan Patz, director of the Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison, during a recent Ģ����Ƶ Activism Update.

Patz and co-panelist Dr. Ashley McClure MD, FACP, co-founder of , talked about why health care professionals should advocate for environmental health policies and shared thought on how to best get involved.

The Urgency Is Real

Patz, who served as a lead author for the UN-IPCC, the organization that shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore, has been studying the effect of climate change on health for decades. In fact, as a medical student, he led the environmental section of Ģ����Ƶ. “I’ve always been interested in the upstream determinants of health, and promoting health through reducing exposures to risk factors,” he said.

Rising temperatures, rising sea levels, air pollution and other environmental impacts clearly lead to bad health outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic is a perfect example. “I can bookend COVID with environmental factors. On the front end is disruption of ecosystems and spillover from one species to another. On the back end, air pollution leads to an eight percent risk of dying from COVID after controlling from the compounding,” he says. “COVID-19 is such a wake-up call for the world. If you mess with Mother Nature, you’re going to have a deadly pathogen in your living room.”

What Can Physicians Do?

As part of their duty to save lives, physicians have an obligation to advocate for environmental health policies, said McClure. But how can doctors and other health care professionals make the most difference?

In general, McClure suggested that the medical community address policymakers directly. “I think the greatest yield of our powerful voice is not in direct patient care counseling about climate change,” she said. “The patient can’t do anything about it.” For example, if a patient lives in a food desert, moving is not often a realistic treatment option. Instead, she says, “the right venue is doctors organizing and talking to policymakers … the place to focus is in collective policy solutions.”

As one example, McClure’s organization is part of a coalition of health groups that are “calling on health insurers in the U.S. to divest their investments from fossil fuels because there’s a major conflict of interest.” In other words, health insurers shouldn’t make money by investing in companies that actively make communities sick.

Regardless of you get involved, she told the audience not to squander its power. “Nurses and physicians have a climate superpower, which is trust, and no other profession can bring that trust to the discussion,” she said. “We have to leverage that trust to the greater good, which climate solutions will do.”

Patz agreed: “We are doctors that care about protecting people. We don’t have a vested interest except that we care about the population and our patients. It’s a health issue that’s important to communicate.”

Watch the recorded video for the panelists’ entire unedited conversation.

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Dear Patients,

As your physicians and nurses, your well-being and safety is our greatest concern. We take oaths to protect you from harm. It is therefore our responsibility to counsel you about the risks that climate change poses to your health– and to future generations.

People are already suffering from the harmful health effects of climate change. Across the country we are seeing climate change’s devastating impact on:

• A 10-year-old child with asthma and allergies who must quit her beloved softball team because breathing polluted air — made worse by a warming climate — makes her too sick.
• A 55-year-old postal worker who suffers heat stroke carrying mail during another extreme heatwave.
• A 65-year-old man with a heart attack triggered by wildfire smoke exposure.
• An 80-year-old woman who broke her hip trying to evacuate before yet another 500-year hurricane hit.

We see children, teenagers, parents and grandparents suffering from increasing anxiety and depression as they attempt to recover from loss of their homes and livelihoods due to extreme weather events and as they grapple with what the future will look like in the face of climate change. Chances are, you or someone you know may have already experienced such impacts.

Every American’s health is at risk due to climate change, but some populations are at greater risk, including infants, children, seniors, pregnant women, low-income communities, many communities of color, people with disabilities, and many people with chronic diseases. Evidence and experience show that these populations will disproportionately bear the health impacts of climate change. In 2020, at 1ºC of warming, we already see that health harms are widespread. If we let the temperatures continue to rise, we will only see more harm and suffering.

Fortunately, there is reason for hope: if we take action now, we can prevent many of the most terrifying health harms. However, we must act together to create the future that our children deserve. By working together we can convince our nation’s leaders to enact policies that accelerate America’s transition from a dirty energy economy (based on coal, oil and gas) to a clean, renewable energy economy (based on solar, wind and geothermal). The sooner we do this, the sooner we will all enjoy the benefits of cleaner air and water, better health, and a more vibrant and sustainable economy.

We need leaders to protect our health and our climate by:

• Prioritizing your health and the health of future generations over the profits of the fossil fuel industry.
• Listening to health experts, climate scientists, and members of communities already most impacted by climate change and using their knowledge to protect our communities.
• Solving our climate crisis with policies that speed up the transition to a clean energy economy and create millions of family-supporting jobs in the process.

Learn how your candidates stand on issues that matter to you by checking legislative scorecards and climate report cards.

Your voice matters. Please vote by November 3rd.

Sincerely,
Your Current, Retired and Future Doctors and Nurses

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This post is a series of mental health pieces from the Ģ����Ƶ WSL Committee

Extreme weather events, such as heat waves, hurricanes and floods, are becoming increasingly more common as Earth’s climate continues to change.�� Weather events and natural disasters can affect health by exacerbating symptoms of chronic conditions and destroying infrastructure that allows for access to safe housing, power, water, and transportation, to name a few.

These events cause those who experience them varying degrees of stress. Many find the stressor of such an event to be manageable but more recently research has linked extreme weather and natural disasters with mental health consequences such as anxiety, depression, and post traumatic stress disorder.��

Natural Disasters Affect on Mental Health: A Real World Example

Perhaps the most well studied example of a natural disaster’s effect on mental health was captured in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Affected communities experienced significantly after the hurricane had hit America’s gulf coast. Events, like Hurricane Katrina, that involve are particularly challenging for one’s mental health. In those affected by Hurricane Katrina, the rate of in the 18 months after the hurricane’s landfall. This trend in suicide rates is true in other hurricanes such as Hurricane Rita as well as other natural disasters, like droughts and wildfires.��

The Indirect Effects: Link to Domestic and Substance Abuse

Climate change and extreme weather events are recognized as an against women and children. Around the world, climate change induced crises of all types have been linked to higher rates of domestic abuse. Researchers have postulated that in times of disaster the powerlessness that individuals feel due to job loss, food insecurity, and familial tensions can rooted in an attempt to exert power in some aspects of a perpetrator’s life.����

In the wake of natural disasters, affected individuals must find a way to cope with the trauma they have experienced. Some will look to exercise or social engagement for stress relief, but others may establish unhealthy coping mechanisms. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration warns that after surviving a major disaster, individuals are at an . In fact, during the weeks and months following extreme weather events and natural disasters, the rate of hospitalization related to substance abuse has been seen to i. ��

Those Most at Risk

Within populations that are affected by climate change some of negative mental health consequences. These groups include children, women especially those that are pregnant or postpartum, the elderly, those of low socioeconomic status, and those with preexisting mental illness, just to name a few. Being engaged within a community, having an understanding of climate change, and having a positive view of one’s self efficacy are all in the face of climate change.��

Remember to Take Care of Yourself

Not only can climate change directly impact mental health during times of disaster, but thinking about climate change and how it will continue to affect our everyday lives and the lives of the generations to come can be distressing in and of itself. Stay informed about climate change, but also acknowledge your feelings. As climate change becomes increasingly prevalent in our everyday life, we must remember to care for ourselves and support our communities.��

For more information, visit these websites:

Or visit our website: /advocacy/action-committees/environmental-health/

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Dear Class of 2024,

You are embarking on a career in medicine during one of the most pivotal times in our nation’s history. Each of you has an intimate experience with COVID-19, whether through first-hand contact with the disease or through the efforts to minimize its spread. And over the course of the next four years, your understanding of this coronavirus will only deepen.

The venerable institutions you are attending have put forth their best efforts to ensure that you’ll graduate as intellectually competent physicians. You’ll be armed with the knowledge of exactly which cells and cytokines interact to produce the cascade of chemicals that cause the signs and symptoms you’ll come to recognize as COVID. By the time you reach your residency, you’ll know the pathophysiology, histology, clinical features, diagnostics, treatments, and complications of this and hundreds of other diseases, syndromes, and pathologies that afflict humankind.

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As we recognize the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, we want to call attention to the stark but unsurprising health disparities seen as a result of climate change. These disparities parallel those seen in the COVID-19 pandemic. This is no coincidence.

The novel coronavirus and climate change are both public health emergencies that disproportionately affect marginalized communities. This same trend is seen across a myriad of illnesses. Ģ����Ƶ, as the collective voice of over 30,000 future physician members, will not stand on the sidelines as another invisible public health threat approaches our doorstep.

As medical students helped lead the way on the 1st Earth Day’s clarion call to protect public and climate health, on this 50th Earth Day, Ģ����Ƶ commits to escalating actions to protect our patients, our colleagues, our communities, and our environment.

To begin with in 2020-2021 Ģ����Ƶ will:

• BUILD a core of future physicians with skills and resources needed to effectively engage with local, state and federal policy makers
• EXPAND our COVID-19 Speaker Series and Roundtables for Medical Students through the lenses of health disparities and climate change
• LAUNCH a new Ģ����Ƶ Health Disparities Scholars Program that will include exploration of the impact of COVID-19 and how climate and environment impact health

Just like the COVID-19 crisis, we must take action for our patients’, our colleagues, our communities’ and our environment’s health now — before it is too late. Add your name to the , find links to additional action resources below.

The actions we take now to protect our communities will ensure the survival and health for tomorrow. We have already seen the ramifications of denying the existence of a public health emergency in this COVID-19 pandemic. Our elected officials cannot make this same mistake with global climate change. It is up to us, as the next generation of physicians, to ensure that we have a future with healthier and cleaner environments.

TAKE ACTION:

• Join ���ѳ���’s Environmental Health Action Committee and take action to address climate change.
• Tune-in for Ģ����Ƶ’s COVID-19 Video Series on Earth Day – 7:00pmE, Wednesday, April 22. Bring your ideas, comments, and questions to this interactive offering an engaging discussion on COVID-19 and climate change with , Director of the and Director of the Program for Climate and Health, Center for Climate Change Communication.
• Highlight environmental health as a public health issue with your Ģ����Ƶ Chapter. Use the to host virtual events, action days and seminars with your classmates. Get connected and sign up for leadership opportunities.
• Make your pledge to support climate solutions & health equity! . This is no time for denial–we must take action!

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Research comes out on a daily basis on how single-use plastics, the lack of recycling on a global scale, and the improper elimination of plastic waste are harming our health and the health of our children with . I am not writing this to instill fear, though some fear is expected, but to note what is and isn’t being done in the US and abroad to keep our world habitable for our future generations. At today’s rate, considerable action is needed fast.

By 2050, the weight of plastics in the ocean will outweigh the fish. Imagine going fishing with your friends and catching a water bottle. The number of fish will most likely diminish to a point where catching one is not only impressive, but a miracle.

Thankfully, 34 U.S. states are considering over 200 pieces of legislation to address plastic pollution. For example, Maryland . will prohibit a store of food establishment from providing single-use plastic carryout bags starting July next year. Such legislation, though focused on the state level, is monumental. We must begin to address the areas of plastic pollution that occur in everyday life. For example, . These 60 plastic bags are typically used for less than 15 minutes.����

The hope is that other states in the US will also ban single-use plastic and limit the production of harmful plastics like polystyrene, but let’s also look at the global scale. Though high-income plastics countries generate the most plastic waste per person, the mismanagement of plastic waste is what determines the risk of plastic entering the ocean. Unfortunately, China contributes the most to plastic pollution (28%) due to mismanagement. Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam contribute to 10, 6, and 6% of the plastic pollution. There have been non-profit efforts and even government efforts to improve this. “24 categories of consumer waste, including commonly recycled post-consumer plastics and paper products” in 2017. This, ironically though, meant other countries had no place to export their plastic which led to . Plastic mismanagement is a very complicated and interdisciplinary issue that needs to be assessed on a constant basis.����

The projection of plastic and the amount of pollution is quite daunting, but let’s now look at the bright side. Plastic pollution awareness has caught on, and there is continuous research on creating plastic alternatives. We also need to remind ourselves of the pros and cons of plastic use in hospitals. Estimates have shown . This is for sterile equipment and to save financially. As a hospital there are many advantages of plastic use, but these advantages are being abused.

Plastic pollution is a problem largely due to the lack of industrial and large governmental efforts. As consumers and as the future, it is our job to fight this issue head-on. I urge you to investigate how your state legislation, industries, and even global communities are fighting for you and your planet.

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