Hey, everyone! Hope you are still practicing social distancing. I'm slowly getting use to staying in, and my unending, unsatisfied desire for boba.
I'm being a bit dramatic. Anyways...I am so excited to interview Rose and Ada! If you are in the Instagram med gang, you may know them as @thebiosisters. I have been watching them for awhile through Insta, and I love what they do and everything they stand for. They are such an inspiration!
To avoid confusion, Ada's responses will be in blue and Rose's will be red! Joint responses are in purple. Here's their interview! Hope you enjoy!
1. How do you know each other? How did @thebiosisters come to be? ☺
We are actually sisters! There’s an age difference of about 3.5 years, although people are always guessing that we’re twins. We’re excited to share more about us through this interview.
We started the page to track our premed/medical school journeys. It has since transformed more into a community of advice and motivation. In our Instagram bio, we have “inspire to aspire” as one of our goals because we really believe in the power of positivity. Lifting each other up and supporting others on their journeys is so important.
2. How do you support each other? How can we support our fellow pre-med friends?
Ada: Love this! Going through high school and college, Rose was always a great role model for me. She helped me see the importance of getting involved at school and working hard. Now that we’re both at the same medical school (yay!) we are able to study together and visit each other to hang out. Rose has continued to be there for me as I tackle the first year of medical school. She’ll give me advice for studying, and the morning of each exam day she’ll send me cute/motivational memes wishing me good luck.
As stated earlier, supporting our classmates is so important. Our premed friends helped us make the most out of college, keeping us on task and reminding us that the hours of studying will be worth it. Instead of creating a culture of competition, we found that having a community of teamwork and sharing has made all the difference. For instance, it’s easy to get caught up in comparing your grades to those of your classmates. But remember that everyone’s journey is different and everyone has different strengths and weaknesses. A flower doesn’t think of comparing itself to the flower next to it - it just blooms. Having a strong support system through this premed and medical school process is crucial. Thankfully our medical school classmates are very supportive and helpful. We share notes and help explain concepts to others if needed.
3. Tell me a bit about yourself. What is your professional background? Where did you go to school? What year are you? Where are you from?
Rose : I went to Louisiana Scholars’ College at Northwestern State University and graduated with a BA in Liberal Arts with a concentration in Scientific Inquiry and a minor in Spanish. I’m currently a third year medical student (we call them L3s) at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine in New Orleans.
Ada: I went to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and graduated in Biology with a Chemistry minor. I’m currently a first year medical student (we call them L1s) at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine in New Orleans.
We’re from the southeast Louisiana area and grew up here our entire lives!
4. Favorite food? Movie? TV show? Book?
Soft pretzels are my absolute fave food but I definitely love all things sweet, too. Favorite TV show - House, MD. Book - When Breath Becomes Air was beautifully written and I want to reread it soon.
Fave food - gyros and taco salad are yummy!
5. Do you own a pet? If so, how did you care for him/her during school?
Our family has a precious Boston Terrier dog named Bella. Our parents back home take care of her. We’d love to have her with us at school, but it makes more sense for her to be with our parents given our crazy schedules. We visit her often and sometimes she comes to visit us here! We miss her!
6. What hobbies do you like to do outside of work/school?
Over the past couple of years I really got into running. I was never athletic growing up but recently decided to be more active. I’ve done three half marathons in the past couple years!
Outside of school I usually catch up on sleep and listen to music, haha. Growing up I learned how to play piano, violin, and flute, so music has always been a pretty big part of me.
7. Why medicine? Why did you decide to become a physician (vs. other medical fields: PA, nurse, NP, etc.)?
From a young age we were exposed to the world of medicine, as our dad is a physician. So growing up we were able to come to the office with him and see what being a doctor is like. Then when we got to high school and college we both really fell in love with science. Through shadowing and volunteer experiences we decided to pursue medicine as a career. We think studying to become a physician would give us the most information and skills possible to help treat patients in the future. And it’s what we grew up knowing.
8. What field of medicine did you choose and why? Or what speciality are you thinking of pursuing?
I’m really interested in psychiatry. I loved all of my clinical experiences in inpatient, outpatient, forensic, and emergency psychiatry. I enjoyed spending time listening to patients and hearing their stories. And I am fascinated by how the mind works and the various diagnoses.
As a first year, I haven’t had much exposure to the different specialties yet. In college I shadowed a dermatologist and enjoyed it. I liked the idea of being able to identify the problem visually and fix it rather quickly. Also, I know I’ll want to pick a specialty where I can have continued contact with my patients. So I’m hoping once I get to my rotations in a couple of years I’ll find something that fits my personality.
9. Tell me about a typical day as a medical school student?
L1 and L2 years are mainly spent in the classroom or library/studying. For example, our first semester we learned human anatomy and biochemistry, so we had lectures and cadaver lab for about 20 hours a week. When not in class, basically we had to study our lectures, revise notes, do practice questions, watch educational videos, or go back into the lab to review.
L3 year is full of a series of rotations. We’ll spend about a month working in various specialties: surgery, OB/GYN, psychiatry, neuro, medicine, etc. The daily schedule varies but usually involves early mornings at the local hospitals.
10. What extracurriculars did you hold in undergrad?
In college we were both heavily involved in various organizations - Honors societies, religious, pre-professional, etc, and held multiple leadership roles. We also were both involved in research.
11. What are leadership roles and are they really THAT important?
Serving as an officer for a society or organization is really important and something our med school interviewers asked us about. They want to see that you went above and beyond to get involved and were able to work well with other people.
12. How many hours of shadowing do you recommend?
You definitely need to expose yourself to the medical field before you apply to medical school. Shadowing was a big way for us to solidify our desire to go into medicine. You get to see what a day in the shoes of a doctor looks like, how to interact with patients, and ask the physicians what they like about their jobs.
At least 20 hours with a doctor would be a good starting amount to really get a taste for what they do. And around three different physicians would give a good sampling. Definitely start with primary care, something general, and then find physicians who specialize and get some experience there as well.
13. How do you apply to medical school (DO vs MD)? Residency? How were each (or just applying med school) of these processes for you personally?
Applying to medical school is an important and thorough process. The AMCAS requires you to enter in your personal background information, Activities (15 undergraduate accomplishments/organizations/projects, etc), a Personal Statement (why you want to go into medicine), your coursework and GPA, and of course your MCAT. You will also need letters of recommendation from professors, physicians with which you shadowed, or other mentors.
We recommend meeting with your school’s premed advisor to make sure you are doing everything on time and correctly. I remember starting my personal statement pretty early on because I wanted to make it as meaningful as possible and have my advisor and some teachers read it for me. You’ll also want to start identifying teachers or employers with whom you truly connected, people who have seen you develop as a premed, so that they can write a strong letter of rec for you.
Once your application is submitted, the next hurdle is acquiring a medical school interview. Being invited to come interview is a big accomplishment and is so important - this is your chance to show the admissions committee that you are more than your resume, more than a series of numbers. They want to get to know you as a person and see if you would fit well at their medical school. There is a post on medical school interviews on our LinkTree if you would like our advice!
14. How important are grades and GPA when considering a career in medicine?
Grades are BIG. Your GPA shows the admissions committee that you are capable of synthesizing information and applying it to exams. They want to know that you can handle a heavy workload, since medical school is pretty focused on studying and testing, especially in the first two years. If you are worried about your GPA, see what you can do to change your study habits, or meet individually with your professors for their advice. Now, GPA isn’t everything. You are more than a set of numbers. Do not get discouraged. If you have a strong set of extracurriculars, an upward trend in your GPA, good letters of rec, and a nice MCAT score, this will help you tremendously.
15. The MCAT. What, how, when, where, and why?
The MCAT is basically one of the last major hurdles premeds must tackle before applying to medical school. It is a way for medical school admissions committees to see that you can do well under high-pressure situations. The test incorporates information from biology, biochemistry, general and organic chemistry, psychology, sociology, physics, and more. There is also a section called CARS which examines your critical analysis and reading skills. It’s a lengthy test and requires hundreds of hours of preparation.
I’ll share my experience since it was a lot more recent. My entire MCAT Journey is posted on our instagram LinkTree if you’d like to read more. But basically, I took my MCAT the summer before I planned on starting medical school. Based on my learning style, I decided to study independently using the Princeton Review book series along with online resources like Khan Academy and Leah4Sci videos. Rose opted for taking the online Princeton Review class. Both worked well for us.
I decided to take it at the end of June. Some people will say that that was way too late and I should’ve tested in April or May. But I knew myself and knew that I didn’t want to be rushed and risk having to retake it. So I carved out time in the summer, once classes were finished, to study full-time, and that ended up working well for me. I’m thankful that I had the opportunity to do so.
16. Finally, do you have any special words of warning or encouragement as a result of your experience?
We really like to focus on the positive to get through the difficult challenges of the premed and med school journeys. There’s no doubt that the process of becoming a doctor is hard. Otherwise everyone would do it. It is definitely a calling. But it is so worth it. And think of all of those who have gone before you and succeeded - it is possible. A big piece of advice that we’d like to focus on: make sure you take care of yourself. Burnout is real and has been experienced by us. You cannot pour from an empty cup. The only way to do your personal best is to make sure that you are in the best health, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Take breaks for yourself. Spend time with your family (they are sacrificing, too) while you can. Do something that brings you joy in your free time. Pace yourself - the books will still be there for you while you’re taking a break.
Remember: It will require work, but consistency yields results. Don't stop, keep moving forward, and remind yourself that you are capable!
17. What can we follow you both on?
We post mainly on @thebiosisters on Instagram. Don’t have a blog or YouTube channel but have definitely thought about it. We have some links in the LinkTree in our Instagram bio that also have some more important posts re: medical school interviews and the MCAT studying process.
Thanks, Ada and Rose for sharing! You both are awesome! I love the advice you give. If you want to hear more of this amazing advice, follow them @thebiosisters on Insta for more! Remember, you got this!
Thanks for visiting my blog! Be sure to check out my other posts. There is more to come soon! Until then be kind and remember tomorrow depends on what you do today. Hope you enjoyed reading! — Taylor ❤
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