5 MCAT Prep Tips

The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is a notoriously difficult obstacle in the process of becoming a medical professional. Typically taken during junior or senior year of college, the MCAT is possibly the most influential component of ones application to medical school. This is not a test you can cram for, as most students spend two to four months in preparation. Here are five tips you should consider before starting out on your journey of conquering the MCAT: 1. Know the test You need to figure out exactly what youre up against so you can best formulate a plan of attack. As of 2013 (though the test will soon be changing again), the MCAT is comprised of three sections: Physical Sciences (PS), Verbal Reasoning (VR), and Biological Sciences (BS). Each section is scored from 1-15 with a cumulative score topping out at 45. While you are allotted 70 minutes to answer 52 questions in each of the science portions, the verbal section contains only 40 questions spread over 60 minutes. Perhaps the biggest difference from your college exams is that the MCAT is entirely computer-based. There are no scantrons to bubble in or essays to hand-write, requiring a drastic adjustment in order to efficiently navigate the testing environment. The MCAT directly tests content knowledge with a heavy emphasis on analytical skills. This means you need to be well-acquainted with a variety of college-level subjects. Specifically, the Physical Sciences section incorporates physics and general chemistry topics while the Biological Sciences section involves general biology and organic chemistry, all staple pre-medical classes you should take before considering sitting for the MCAT. 2. Make a study schedule Studying for the MCAT is a marathon, not a sprint. Dedicate a few hours everyday to MCAT prep over the span of a few months; dont plan to confine your studying just to coffee breaks and weekends. Despite already being exposed to the content matter in college, any good study schedule begins with an in-depth review of those topics. Slowly and methodically step through each topic, soaking in the nuances that you may have forgotten over the years. Make sure to integrate as many practice passages as possible into your studies, as they will help you adjust to the MCAT-style questions while also providing valuable diagnostic tools as to which topics you need to spend more time on. Compile your study resources, whether they be helpful websites, review books, or a tutor, and figure out how to effectively combine them all into one cohesive schedule. 3. Use official AAMC resources The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the organization responsible for administering the MCAT, publishes a bevy of resources that can help you ace the test. This includes several past MCAT exams (available at www.e-mcat.com) where you can gauge your progress and predict where you are likely to score on the test itself. In addition to these full-length practice exams, the AAMC offers a Self-Assessment package: five subject-specific tests that exhaustively cover nearly every topic. While these study resources are only available for purchase, other study resources are free. Of these, the official content outlines found here are hidden gems. This lists everything you should know going into test day. If its on the list, it can show up on your exam! Take as many practice exams as you can fit into your schedule, but be sure to simulate actual testing conditions. You cannot text, run to the restroom, or have a quick bite to eat during the MCAT, so apply the same rules during your practice exam. For instance, if your test is in the early morning, develop a morning routine that you can follow on test day. 4. Evaluate your weaknesses The MCAT tests a wide variety of topics, so even the best student will begin preparations with numerous knowledge gaps. The ability to identify weaknesses and focus on eliminating them during your studying is integral to scoring high on the exam. Some of these weaknesses may be apparent before starting out. If you struggled in Organic Chemistry I, be honest with yourself and make sure to concentrate on learning and understanding those topics. Practice exams and passages may reveal weak topics that you were not aware of previously. Closely examine questions you answered incorrectly, or guessed on, and look for patterns. Is kinematics giving you a problem? Go back and review some physics! Be responsible and attentively recognize these weaknesses so you are not discouraged when your least favorite topic springs up on the real MCAT, as they often tend to do! 5. Dont underestimate the Verbal Reasoning section Unlike the science sections, Verbal Reasoning offers less tangible ways of improvement. There are no classes you can take, no review books to read, and no content to master. Its no surprise that this section is typically a premedical students worst nightmare and, unfortunately, tends to drag down many MCAT scores. While you should focus on developing a mastery of the subject material in the sciences, Verbal Reasoning requires a very different preparation technique. Success on this portion of the MCAT is all about gaining an intuition as to which parts of a passage are important to concentrate on and what the test-makers are inclined to ask of you. You should incorporate practice passages into your daily routine and heavily review those in addition to practice exams. Dont be discouraged by an apparent lack of improvement, as Verbal Reasoning scores tend to take longer to increase. Just make sure you keep practicing and don’t ignore it! Jeff Epstein is a professional MCAT tutor and contributing writer for Varsity Tutors. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Molecular Biology from Princeton University.

Social Isolation And Loneliness Among Elderly - 1380 Words

Social Isolation and Loneliness among elderly Howetta Queenborrows Introduction to Gerontology Professor: Alda Tee October 27th, 2014 As we get older, our social connections often gets smaller, only having things or people that are extremely important to us. In this paper we will be examining the social-psychological problems; social isolation and loneliness that are faced by elderly by facilitating the response to five main discussion topics. The following discussion will facilitate the understanding of social isolation and loneliness, the risk factors, explore the prevalence of social isolation and loneliness in long term care facilities and the role of occupational therapist assistants and physiotherapist assistants have this emerging issue of social isolation. What is social isolation and loneliness? Social Isolation can be defined as a continual lack of contact with other people. Social isolation and chronic loneliness is one of the indisputable signals of mental turmoil, including major depression. It is the withdrawal of self from social roles directly or indirectly among individuals. Loneliness is the feeling of emptiness and desolation. This issue can immensely negative consequences on older persons such as a wide variation of premature health issues. What are the risk factors associated with social isolation and Loneliness? There are many reasons to why elderly persons can fall at risk of social isolation and loneliness. These factors can range anywhere fromShow MoreRelatedSocial Intervention For Depression And Social Isolation1599 Words   |  7 PagesSocial Intervention for Depression and Social Isolation Among the Elderly Social isolation can be a major health problem for many older adults (Dickens, Richards, Greaves, Campbell, 2011). Social isolation involves, individuals lacking social connections and engagement with others (Nicholson, 2012). Depression in elderly populations has become more prevalent with the aging population (Pittock, 2012). Depression has negative effects on many facets of an elderly persons life, including quality ofRead MoreSocial Isolation And The Elderly1689 Words   |  7 PagesMany of the elderly find themselves living in isolation. There are many reasons why the elderly will find themselves living alone and in isolation. Many times caregivers have difficulty intervening. Social isolation can have many effects on the health status of the elderly. When alone the mental, physical and even the nutritional status of the older person can be affected. Trying to get the person to accept that they are being isolated can be difficult. There are a few resources that can have aRead MoreThe American Loneliness: New Definitions of Friendship in the Silent Era1536 Words   |  6 Pages The American Loneliness The advent of the â€Å"silent era† of friendships via social media accounts has created a totally new definition of friendship and what defines a set of people as friends. Those who are involved in traditional friendships, such as people over the age of 50, find that it has also become quite difficult for them to remain in touch with their friends on a real time level. However, these people do not have the time to spend nor the inclination to learn about the â€Å"benefits† of digitizedRead MoreAging And The World Health Organization2792 Words   |  12 Pagesthe biological time clock for ageing and the calendar/chronological age differs among individuals. However, the World Health Organization accepts 65 years as the chronological age that defines an ‘elderly’ person (World Health Organization 2014). According to the United Nations’ report on population ageing, one of the most distinguishing demographic occurrences of the twentieth century is the fact that the world’s elderly population is growing at a faster rate than the rest of the population and isRead MoreSupporting the Elderly Essay797 Words   |  4 Pagesanother phase of life, but not the end of life. In order to help elderly cope with aging it is important for them to have social interaction. Support from family, friends and the local community can make a difference in the psychological well being of older adults. There is great concern for the increasing amount of elderly people without children. Childlessness can not be directly linked to loneliness and depression in the elderly, but there is some evidence that it can have an effect on theirRead MoreThe Treatment Of Group Therapy Essay1764 Words   |  8 Pagesintegral point being that we, as individuals part of a larger society, are social beings whose lives involve a serious of interactions with others. How we treat those interactions largely determines most every social aspect of our lives. Rationale When the connection to one’s social sphere in any capacity is lost or very poorly maintained, there results a substantial suffering for the individual. Presently, the elderly (aged 65 and older) account for almost 15% of the population in Canada (StatsRead MoreLoneliness : Loneliness And Isolation1814 Words   |  8 Pagesconcept of loneliness Loneliness and isolation have some commonalities so some people misunderstood their meanings and interchanged the term ‘isolation’ with ‘loneliness’. However, they are not synonymous. Social isolation is an objective state. This term refers to people having infrequent social interaction, living solo and can be measured through how many contacts a person have (Cutler 2012, p.7). It can not sure that social isolation makes people have the feelings of loneliness. LonelinessRead MoreA Study of Loneliness in an Old Age Home in India4984 Words   |  20 PagesA Study of Loneliness in an Old Age Home in India: A case of Kanpur Abstract The Indian family has traditionally provided natural social security to the old people. However, in more recent times, the traditional role of the family is being shared by institutions such as old age homes. It is often assumed, and sometimes argued, that the absence of familial care and surroundings induce feelings of loneliness among the residents of old age homes. This study, conducted in an old age homeRead MoreThe Purpose Of This Paper Is To Determine How Social Isolation1435 Words   |  6 Pagesdetermine how social isolation effects on a patient’s health. Social relationship is a basic need of a human being. In this paper, it illustrates the importance of social relationship and the consequences of social isolation. The consequences, including depression, anxiety, anger, loneliness, mood disturbances that effects on patient care and outcome of patient’s health. The paper is divided into four major parts. The first part of the paper looks briefly into the scho larly definition of social isolationRead MoreEssay about Does Social Isolation Adversely Affect Health1168 Words   |  5 PagesDoes social isolation adversely affect health? Social is the term which is best suited for human being. Because they want companionship or like to stay together for may reason such as company, help, recreation, behavioral development etc. Social isolation is the physical separation of a human from a society of a group of people. Jacqueline old outlined the reason for social isolation in modern and developed countries as people want to be independent and do not want to bother friends, family members

Reflection Paper On Pastoral Counseling - 1783 Words

The idea of â€Å"going to see a counselor† is sometimes seen as something shameful. The ideas of things getting so bad in your life that you need to go see a trained mental health professional is seen as humiliating. However a lot of people will be a lot more comfortable going to see a pastor with their troubles. When I become a pastor I know that I will be counseling many different people in many different situations. I need to remember that it is a battle for someone’s mind. I must be concerned with renewing their mind and helping them to change the way they think. My goal is to help God’s reality overcome their perception of reality. 2. Why Pastoral Counseling? As is true with anything I try to accomplish, I know that unless I truly believe it is valuable, I am not going to do it well. This is true of almost every area of life but especially true when it comes to ministry and specifically pastoral counseling. I often use to think of â€Å"counseling† as a secular practice for the mental health field. However, I know understand that secular counseling is very valuable but Christians are the only ones who truly have the answers to some of the most difficult problem people face. One of the most common reasons why people seek counseling is because of self-destructive behavior that seems to be controlling their lives. As a Christian I know that this â€Å"self-destructive behavior† is called sin. Ultimately the only thing that can truly give them freedom is Christ. A secularShow MoreRelatedPastoral Counseling Reflection Paper2323 Words   |  10 Pagesï » ¿ Solving My People Puzzle: Part One Liberty University Abstract Understanding people and their personality can be very complicated; people have different personalities and ways that they view things. The student will identify her own people puzzle by utilizing the resources provided in the course. The resources will help the student answer the three questions provided, as well as, the different assessments. As the student answersRead MorePastoral Reflection paper1611 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿ Pastoral Counseling Reflection Paper University Abstract This paper shares a reflection of my pastoral counseling experiences. My experiences have been while serving overseas as a M, along with my time serving at Church as the Assiocate Pastor. In this paper I will share past events and what I have learned from them when it comes to counseling. I will share what I have learned through reading the assignment required by PACO 500 and how it has changed the way I view my past experiencesRead MorePaco 500 Journal1464 Words   |  6 Pagesseminary JOURNAL ENTRIES A paper submitted to DR. STEVEN BROOKS In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the course PACO 500-C01 By Mark Davis 24587590 emdavis5@liberty.edu september 23, 2012 JOURNAL ENTRIES Week 1 Reference: â€Å"Pastors are also unique among counselors because of their social and symbolic roles. People approach pastors, therefore, with different expectations than those with other helping professionals.† (Benner, 33) Reflection: This quote reminds me thatRead MorePastoral Care And Pastoral Counseling Process1805 Words   |  8 Pagesadministration, liturgical leadership and pastoral care. Indeed one of his problems in attaining self-knowledge is the necessity of coming to terms with so many demands and the discrepancy between what he conceives as his chief ministry and the preoccupation with running the church. Two points concerning the vocational aspect of the minister’s self-knowledge need special attention. First, the pastor must work out his definition of what of what is distinctive in his counseling as pastor. Second, the pastor mustRead MoreBereavement And Pastoral Counseling : The Loss Of A Loved One Through Death1543 Words   |  7 PagesBEREAVEMENT AND PASTORAL COUNSELING The loss of a loved one through death is one of the most difficult situations that people must cope with. People need the support of others during their time of bereavement. Because of this, pastoral counseling plays a vital role in helping people overcome feelings of grief. It is important for pastoral counselors to be able to provide consolation and hope to those who are undergoing the process of bereavement. Death is a natural part of life because everyoneRead MorePACO 507 CP Adams TS Essay1925 Words   |  8 Pagesï » ¿ Comparison Paper: Adams: Nouthetic Counseling Tammy T. Smith Liberty University PACO 507 SUMMARY David Powlison’s book, â€Å"The Biblical Counseling Movement: History and Context† (Powlison, 2010) highlights the historical context and impact of Jay Adams’s Positive System theory of Biblical Counseling. Adams makes three striking claims in his anti-psychiatry movement in support of counseling being a pastoral call versus a psychological practice. First, he claims that modern psychologicalRead MoreCoun 500 Personal Identity Paper1469 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿ Professional Identity She’la S White Liberty University Abstract This paper will provide the reader with a reflection of my professional identity. This will focus on the role of a professional counselor and the differences between a professional counselor and other related professionals. It will also integrate how religious and spiritual beliefs can impact professional counseling. It will summarize my beliefs and values and what I plan to do so that I will not impose my beliefsRead MoreAnnotated Bibliography On Family Therapy1629 Words   |  7 PagesThe purpose of this paper is to prepare an annotated bibliography on family therapy with emphasis on ethnicity and sociocultural influences on the problems of communication. This research includes twelve resources on authors with the following annotations: Delineation of the main focus or purpose of each author s work; Background and credibility of each author; Intended audience for the work; Any unique feature of the work; Theoretical understandings; Family therapy strategies or techniques; andRead MoreConcentric Circles of Concern 11509 Words   |  7 PagesLiberty Baptist Theological Seminary A Critical Review of Concentric Circles of Concern A Paper Submitted to Mr. Mark Traeger In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Course Personal Evangelism EVAN 565 By Robert C. Stilwell, Jr. Feb. 7, 2010 Bibliographical Entry Author Information Oscar Thompson, the original author of Concentric Circles of Concern, was a pastor for twenty years before teaching personal evangelism at Southwestern Baptist TheologicalRead MoreCompassion Fatigue : Symptoms And Pain1225 Words   |  5 Pagesothers to also pay attention to their own needs. Taking care of your own needs means that you will be healthy and therefore be more able to care for others. The caregiver needs to be able to recognize and discuss compassion in order to avoid it. This paper will describe the warning signs for five concepts of compassion fatigue, the background and the cause of this problem, the physical, spiritual, and emotional needs of the care provider, and finally provide the examples coping strategies and resources

Competitive Strength and Position Of Timbre Group †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Competitive Strength Of Timbre Group. Answer: Porters five forces analysis (Singapore) Five Forces Model presented by Michael Porter can be used for the purpose of exploring business environment in which product or company functions. Porters five forces can help in analysing competitive position using a simple framework for assessment and evaluation of competitive strength and position of Timbre Group. Timbre Group is essentially a music lifestyle corporation that operates in food and beverage, music education businesses, concerts as well as festivals promotion. In essence, the business operations of the company consists of music restaurants (live) as well as bars, intercontinental festivals, pizza restaurant and delivery service, artist administration agency and music academic. The theory is founded on the notion that there are five different forces that can ascertain the competitive strength along with attractiveness of the market (Takata 2016). Threat of new entrants In itself, the easier it is for new corporations to enter the market, the more stiff competition there will be. The food as well as beverage market in Singapore can be said to be maturing swiftly and there is little room for growth. Particularly, the size of the market also limits the process of expansion of different retailers who have to handle increasing variety of products. Reports reflect that there are around 7260 establishments in Singapore that has added $3230 million value and contributed towards 0.8% of GDP. The substantial rate of growth of this segment in current years was upheld by opening of two prominent assimilated resorts and shopping malls, which presented opportunities for various new players in this sector to enter the market, and for subsisting operators to expand (Mwangi 2013). Nevertheless, future rate of growth in the total number of outlets is expected to remain slow at 0.7% during the period (2011 -2016). However, the retail as well as the market of food ser vice is said to be highly competitive and not easy to go through (Frynas and Mellahi 2015). Thus, it can be said that the threat of new entrants for Timbre Group is high. Threat of substitute products or services Substitute products refer to those products that can necessarily replace a specific product but are not specifically a direct competitor. There are around 7260 players operating in the food and beverage industry and adequate opportunities for new entrants. Therefore, the threat of substitute products as well as services are said to be high (E. Dobbs 2014). The food and beverage retail segment of Singapore consists of 3000 hypermarkets, department stores, provision shops, supermarkets that market agri-food, processed food as well as drinks. Furthermore, Singapore has around 1300 specialty food along with drink outlets. There are two major supermarket chains that control Singapore retail sector namely Cold Storage and the NTUC fair price chain of supermarkets. Therefore, threat of substitute products in food and beverage industry in Singapore can be considered to be very high. Bargaining power of buyers: There are quite a large number of players operating in the industry and there is low cost of switching since there is no incentive for customer incentive (Durand et al. 2017). Analysis of the operations of the firm Timbre Group reveals that more number of customers is these days more willing to consume beer at home in place of bars.Management of Timbre Group might take into account the expectations of customers from various providers of service. Thus, it can be hereby said that there exists high bargaining power of the buyers. Bargaining power of suppliers: An evaluation of how uncomplicated it is for suppliers to escalate prices. Essentially, this is necessarily driven by the total number of buyers present in the market, significance of each individual purchaser to the organization, cost of switching from one supplier to another. In case if a specific supplier has adequate influence to affect margins as well as volumes of a company, then they necessarily hold substantial amount of power (Deresky 2017). The supply chain framework of Timbre Group can be said to be proper and the company can get all its requisite ingredients from Singaporean suppliers. Despite various challenges, there are several suppliers who are placed in an accurate position that help in handling local demands. As there is low cost of switching, bargaining power of suppliers are said to be moderate. Rivalry among existing competitors There are several players operating in the segment of food and beverage approximately 7260 in number namely, Arcadian Foods Pte Ltd, Arco Marketing Pte Ltd, Aries Fresh Pte Ltd and many others. Therefore, there is said to be stiff competition in this specific market owing to presence of several players who can act as rivals of the firm. Singapore can be said to be extremely competitive landscape that put forward challenges of market entry. Also, continuous innovation can be said to necessity for anticipating tastes as well as demands of consumers in a bid to remain one step forward (Dalken 2014). In that way, it can be said that the rivalry among existing competitors in this market segment of Singapore is said to be high. Porters five forces analysis (China) Threat of new entrants The food and beverage industry in China developed at an average rate of approximately 30% during the period 2006 -2012. Again, rapid advances in areas of transportation, counting rail developments and road arteries are augmenting the overall economic potential of both second as well as third tier cities. In terms of food and beverage, it is enhancing distribution times, efficacy and costs, and more generally, assisting to stimulate regional economies and therefore enhancing demand of consumers for higher product value (Bertozzi et al. 2017). Therefore, it is generating opportunity for new entrants in the identified market of food and beverage in China. Threat of substitute products or services In China, food as well as beverages are normally imported and consumed by people in bars, restaurants as well as hotels in different cities and Chinese consumers are increasingly developing preference towards western food at the time when they decide to dine out. Majority of the western style restaurants that were originally targeted at various deportees nowadays have predominantly Chinese customers (Armstrong et al. 2015). Bargaining power of buyers In China, an important driver of growth is the rapid increase in mean household incomes. The average urban household yearly earning per capital augmented from CNY 1516 in the year 1990 to CNY 23979.2 in the year 2011. Essentially, individuals having high income expend higher fraction of income on product products of higher value, counting dining out, various pre-packaged foods, diverse milk products as well as imported foods. Again, the trend observed in per capita yearly purchases of food reflects a considerable decline in consumption of grain and enhancement in consumption of dairy. Reports suggest that steady growth in volume of consumption of basic ingredients has led to increased expenditure on pre-packaged food as well as more regular restaurant meals. Particularly, the urban segment of the market is thus more likely to be interested in new as well as imported products. Thus, it can be said that the customers has the power to switch to other players the power of bargaining of t he purchasers can be said to be high (Armstrong et al. 2015). Bargaining power of suppliers There are companies that have their own import as well as distribution teams that can source products directly from different foreign suppliers. There are several suppliers of high end products. Again, import as well as distribution channels are intricate and change repeatedly (Bertozzi et al. 2017). There are regional suppliers for the products of the firm as well. Therefore, the power of the suppliers in the food and beverage can be considered to be moderate. Rivalry among existing competitors There are several retail channels that operate in this segment and there is increase in regional competition and opportunities for several foreign players to market to sell their products in China. This is mainly driven by augmenting disposable income as well as urbanisation, an enhanced system of logistics, increasing concerns on safety of food and increasing taste for diverse foodstuff. As such, China can be considered as the worlds fourth largest food importer and United States is now the largest exporter of food to China. The industry of food and beverage in China developed at a mean rate of 30% from the period 2006-2012 and yearly total value of production in the industry is over and above USD $1.2 trillion. Therefore, it can be hereby said that there are dearth of local players in the Chinese, although there are several exporters that drive the food as well as beverage sales in China. Therefore, rivalry among existing competitors can be said to be low to moderate (Armstrong et al. 2015). References Armstrong, Gary, Philip Kotler, Michael Harker, and Ross Brennan.Marketing: an introduction. Pearson Education, 2015. Bertozzi, Federica, Chauhdry Mehr Ali, and Fahad Ali Gul. "Porters Five Generic Strategies; A Case Study from the Hospitality Industry."International Journal For Research In Mechanical Civil Engineering3, no. 2 (2017): 09-23. Dlken, Fabian. "Are porters five competitive forces still applicable? a critical examination concerning the relevance for todays business." Bachelor's thesis, University of Twente, 2014. Deresky, Helen.International management: Managing across borders and cultures. Pearson Education India, 2017. Durand, Rodolphe, Robert M. Grant, and Tammy L. Madsen. "The expanding domain ofstrategic management research and the quest for integration."Strategic Management Journal38, no. 1 (2017): 4-16. Dobbs, Michael. "Guidelines for applying Porter's five forces framework: a set of industry analysis templates."Competitiveness Review24, no. 1 (2014): 32-45. Frynas, Jedrzej George, and Kamel Mellahi.Global strategic management. Oxford University Press, USA, 2015. Indiatsy, Christopher Masinde, Mucheru Stephen Mwangi, Evans Nyamboga Mandere, Julius Miroga Bichanga, and Gongera Enock George. "The Application of Porters Five Forces Model on Organization Performance: A Case of Cooperative Bank of Kenya Ltd."European Journal of Business and Management6, no. 16 (2014): 75-85. Morden, Tony.Principles of strategic management. Routledge, 2016. Takata, Hidesuke. "Effects of industry forces, market orientation, and marketing capabilities on business performance: An empirical analysis of Japanese manufacturers from 2009 to 2011."Journal of Business Research69, no. 12 (2016): 5611-5619.