Welcome To the Official BYU Hawaii Pre Medical site

The BYU Hawaii Premedical resource and events guide is designed with the future medical school student in mind.  The information contained on this website will aid applicants in preparing for a career in medicine.  You will find everything you need to know from information regarding the application process, medical schools, career exploration, the MCAT as well as advice to realize your dream of practicing medicine.  Comments and suggestions are encouraged to help us help one another find success in such a competitive field.

Friday, September 25, 2009

A good thing to do!

For those of you who are planning on applying to medical school (or any graduate school) you should follow the lead of our co-founder and fist president Will Ellis and document every hour you serve. Trust me, you will thank me later because the application process is way longer than you think and you don't want to make it any longer by trying to track down all your hours, through digging through your email inbox, your family calender, etc. So my advice to you is take time each week to log your hours somewhere safe and where you'll be able to find it. Below is just a sample from Will's service hour log to give you an idea of what you should being recording.

Will's Service Hours and Activities

Date

Service

Start to End

Total Time

8/18/07

TVA Farm- weed-wacked, organized equipment

8:30-10:30am

2 hrs.

Student Orientation- Campus tour

Student Orientation- PCC tour

1 pm- 6 pm

5 hrs

9/15/08

Kapaka (Welfare) farm

6 am- 1 pm

7 hrs.

11/3/07

Honors program- USS Missouri yard work

7:30- 2 pm

6 ½ hrs.

11/8/08

Wrote essay for honor’s program newsletter (Hokuloa)

10 pm- 4 am

6 hrs.

11/9/08

Research for Dr. Gold

3- 3:30 pm

½ hr

11/16/08

Phi Kappa Phi meeting- conducted meeting

6-8 pm

2 hrs.

11/26/08

Donated blood

10-10:30 am

½ hr.

11/21/08

Research for Dr. Gold

4-4:30 pm

½ hr.

11/27/08

Research for Dr. Gold

8-9 am

1 hr.

Brainstorm- BYUH college bowl academic competition

6-10 pm

3 hrs.

1/12/08

Club presidency training

8-11 am

3 hrs.

1/14/08

Pre-med club presidency meeting

5:30-6:30 pm

1 hr.

1/15/08

Pre-med club booth set up

9- 11:30 pm

2 ½ hrs.

1/16/08

Pre-med club booth (Club sign ups)

12-1 pm

1 hr.

1/17/08

Pre-med club booth (Club sign ups)

10-12 noon

2 hrs.

1/18/08

Pre-med club booth (Club sign ups)

12-2 pm

2 hrs.

1/26/08

MCAT student prep session

2-3 pm

1 hr.

1/29/08

Donated blood

2:45-3:15 pm

½ hr

2/17/08

Pre-med club presidency meeting

2-3:30 pm

1 ½ hrs

2/22/08

Babysat for Hung family

1- 2 pm

1 hr

2/16/08

BYUH Food-fest- Sanitation booth

5-9:30 pm

4 ½ hrs

3/15/08

TVA Farm- helped build shelter

8-10 pm

Blood Donation sign-ups- Pre-med club

12-2 pm

2 hrs.

Blood Donation sign-ups- Pre-med club

1-3 pm

2 hrs






Tuesday, September 22, 2009

WORLD FEST (club sign ups)


Come by our table in the Aloha Center any time between 10-3 and join our club this week

Thursday, September 17, 2009

H1N1 medical provider handout from the Dept. of Health



Clinical Definition

1. Infection with the H1N1 virus can lead to influenza-like illness (ILI), which is similar to the symptoms of seasonal flu.
2. Influenza-like illness (ILI) is defined as fever with temperature of 100o F or greater, and cough and/or sore throat in the absence of a KNOWN cause other than influenza.
3. Other common symptoms of influenza or H1N1 may include runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills, fatigue, diarrhea, and vomiting.

Diagnosis


1. Rapid diagnostic testing for influenza A should be done IF the results will affect clinical decision making. Samples should be collected within the first 4 days of illness. Most of the rapid tests that can be done in a physician's office are approximately 50-70% sensitive for detecting influenza and approximately greater than 90% specific. False negative results are more common than false positive results. A positive test is believable, but a negative test may not be accurate.
2. At this time, the Washington State Public Health Laboratories are only testing influenza A lab specimens for subtype H1N1 for hospitalized patients and high priority public health cases.

Treatment


1. Treatment of hospitalized patients and outpatients at high risk for influenza complications should be prioritized. Mild uncomplicated illness should not be treated with antivirals. For those whom antiviral treatment is indicated (see below), treatment should be initiated as soon as possible after the onset of symptoms. The benefits of treatment are strongest when treatment is started within 48 hours of illness onset. Treatment for high-risk patients who are seen more than 48 hours after illness onset and are not improving is permitted.
2. Use of antivirals for treatment of patients at higher risk for influenza-related complications should be considered for:
Children younger than 5 years old. The risk for severe complications from influenza is highest among children younger than 2 years old.
Adults 65 years of age and older.
Persons with the following conditions:
Chronic pulmonary (including asthma), cardiovascular (except hypertension), renal, hepatic, hematological (including sickle cell disease), neurologic, neuromuscular, or metabolic disorders (including diabetes mellitus);
Immunosuppression, including that caused by medications or by HIV/AIDS;
Pregnant women;
Persons younger than 19 years of age who are receiving long-term aspirin therapy; or
Residents of nursing homes and other chronic-care facilities.

Prevention 1. The prevention methods for H1N1 influenza are the same as for seasonal flu:
Cover your cough. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
Wash your hands frequently with soap and water or use hand sanitizer.
If you have a fever, stay home for at least 24 hours after the fever has ended without use of fever reducing medications.
Get the seasonal flu and H1N1 vaccines when they become available.
2. When H1N1 vaccine is first available, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that medical providers vaccinate the following high risk groups first:
Pregnant women;
People who live with or care for children younger than 6 months of age;
Health care and emergency services personnel;
People between the ages of 6 months through 24 years of age; and
People from ages 25 through 64 who have chronic health disorders or compromised immune systems that put them at higher risk for H1N1.