For many pre-medical students, the thought of applying for medical school is a terrifying concept.
Many students dread application deadlines, requirement criteria and the most intimidating aspect — interviews.
“The interviews can make or break you,” said Scott Buhler, a biological sciences senior. “They look at what your motivations are, why you want to be a doctor, why you think you can be a doctor. It’s a time when they actually get to know you personally.”
This is where the campus organization Alpha Epsilon Delta comes in.
The organization works as part honor society and part service society to help pre-med students prepare for medical school while allowing them a venue for community service.
As one of the largest organizations on campus and one of the largest AED Chapters in the nation, AED has about 200 members, according to Buhler, president of the organization.
AED members participate in community service projects, such as donating to food drives, decorating Our Lady of the Lake Hospital during holidays, visiting residents in area nursing homes, tutoring elementary school students and serving food to the needy at the St. Agnes Soup Kitchen, Buhler said.
“Doctors serve the community throughout their whole lives,” he said. “[Through AED], a student learns how to serve other people, and it helps the student to realize the needs of others.”
Buhler said to be an active member of the organization, students must perform a certain amount of volunteer work.
During organization meetings, students receive valuable information about the medical field by those involved, said AED Secretary Danielle O’Bannion.
During the AED meeting Tuesday night, guest speaker Dr. Michael Teague, a plastic surgeon, shared his feelings about the field and its impression on medicine and society.
Past meetings have included guests such as the deans of the LSU Medical Schools in Shreveport and New Orleans, Dr. Scott Kennedy and Dr. Robert Eubanks, O’Bannion said. Also, recently a panel of medical students fielded questions and talked about their experiences.
“We try to have a variation of doctors that attend, because students don’t get to learn much about the different specialties once they are in med school,” O’Bannion said.
Dr. Eubanks will return for the Nov. 14 meeting to conduct a mock interview.
“It gives students the opportunity to see what kinds of questions the med schools will ask,” said Dr. John Lynn, AED faculty advisor.
Buhler said the organization provides many opportunities for students to understand the field.
“[AED] helps prepare me to know what to expect and the types of adversities and challenges I’ll be faced with,” Buhler said.
O’Bannion said the University intimidated her at first when she saw the amount of excellent pre-med students.
“But, once I got involved in the organization, I found out that everyone is really on the same level,” she said.
The organization’s next service project is the Halloween Food Drive this Thursday in the Kenilworth subdivision from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
For more information about Alpha Epsilon Delta, students can visit its Web site at biology.lsu.edu/organizations/aed.