• Law of Mechanical Repair: After your hands become coated with grease your nose will start to itch or you'll have to pee.
• Law of the Workshop: Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.
• Law of Probability: The probability of being watched is directly proportional to the stupidity of your act.
• Law of the Telephone: When you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy signal.
• Law of the Alibi: If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the very next morning you will have a flat tire.
• Variation Law: If you change lanes in a store (or traffic lanes), the one you were in will start to move faster than the one you are in now. (work's every time)
• Bath Theorem: When the body is fully immersed in water, the telephone rings.
• Law of Close Encounters: The probability of meeting someone you know increases when you are with someone you don't want to be seen with.
• Law of Bio-mechanics: The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.
• Law of Logical Argument: Anything is possible if you don't know what your talking about.
• Oliver's Law: A closed mouth gathers no feet.
• Wilson's Law: As soon as you find a product you really like, they will stop making it.

It seems simple enough�. You go to college, get a degree, and apply to medical school. The truth is though after going through the process with my daughter it seems much more complex.

Starting in high school one needs to show leadership abilities and volunteer activities. Good grades are a must. Summers spent in a third world country look good on your application. College must be filled with science courses to prepare for the MCATS. A GPA above 3.5 is essential. A Caplan review course for the MCATS may be considered helpful. A second language especially Spanish is becoming more important. Summers filled with medically related activities such as shadowing other physicians and hospital volunteer work are all helpful.

The test is taken during the Junior or Senior year. Then starts the long application process. These tedious forms cost up to $100.00/school and include a personal statement and letters of recommendation. If the initial application is accepted a secondary application is sent and for an additional fee it too is processed. If one makes this cut an interview is requested. These half to one day encounters are conducted by faculty and students and include an overview of the school. They may be relaxed or confrontational and one might feel elated or depressed following the experience. Travel and lodging costs are born by the student. Then starts the long wait and finally in March or April letters of acceptance or rejection are received. Some students go on alternate lists. Some of the schools that one felt the best about and gave you the best feedback turn you down. Others accept you when you felt less than stellar about your interview.

In my opinion the whole process is much too expensive and long with continuing excessive emphasis on GPA and MCAT scores. This forces a student into taking many science courses when I think more emphasis should be given to a broad based liberal arts undergraduate education with emphasis on communication skills and writing. Character traits of compassion, honesty, and self-discipline should be sought in addition to evidence of a strong moral compass which may keep one grounded when faced with the many ethical issues facing medicine today. We should strive to find those students wishing to share the burdens and suffering of people and reject those applying for merely worldly motives.

Students from Idaho have an especially difficult time given the competitive nature and our limited number of seats at Washington and Utah. I feel fortunate that my daughter secured a spot at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha next year.

John J. Mohr, M.D.