Macdaddy Contraband?? haha.

[Cotterpin_Doozer]

What is up with the email we got today saying:

Please be advised that Macdaddy or any other program that makes use
of copyright material is prohibited by the University. Anyone in
violation of these policies is in violation of the University Code of
Conduct.

What are they referring to? Histotime maybe?

[xentar]

That email doesn't top the BSCE I email that we got...5 months after we had taken the exam haha

[Ishie1013]

Aren't we also in violation of the conduct code for using the internet for entertainment purposes as well, though?

Fehhhh...

[canman]

Bla bla bla bla....

[TraperJohnMD]

That email doesn't top the BSCE I email that we got...5 months after we had taken the exam haha


What did that bsce email say?

[xentar]

Nothing we don't already know...but here's the contents:

FROM THE OFFICE OF THE DEAN OF STUDENTS
Advice for the Current 4th Term Students
Regarding BSCE I and BSCE II
May 2008
The Basic Science Comprehensive Exam is designed to cover the course material presented in the basic science program of the SOM and its purpose is to assure that students meet the necessary level of competence in the basic sciences prior to entry into the clinical program. BSCE I is administered at the end of the first academic year (Terms 1 and 2), and BSCE II is given at the end of the second academic year (Terms 3, 4, 5, and 6). The BSCE II, however, is comprehensive and therefore covers all of the basic science courses from term 1 through term 6. The exams are made up of externally acquired items and internally acquired items. Internal items are written by SGU faculty. External items are obtained from other sources.

Having received your BSCE I results, I'm sure that you have some questions about what the results mean and how you should utilize them. Hopefully, the following information will answer most of your questions.

1. What does it mean to pass the BSCE I?

The BSCE I assesses your knowledge of the courses that you took in terms 1 and 2. The passing cutoff score for your class was a Z score derived from the calculation of the class mean minus 1/2 a standard deviation. As per Z score, the highest score was 2.85 standard deviations above the class mean and the lowest score was -3.87 standard deviations below the class mean. Passing the BSCE I indicates that you have a satisfactory level of knowledge in the courses covered. Because of the comprehensive nature of this exam, a score of 60% or higher is commendable performance. We recommend that every student analyze his/her performance using the diagnostic profile provided and review those subjects in which scores were below 53%. 2. What if I failed the BSCE I?
Failing the BSCE I should be experienced as a wake-up call. It indicates that your overall level of knowledge in the courses covered is unsatisfactory. Students who fail the BSCE I are placed on Administrative Probation, which is removed when the student passes the BSCE II.

Students in this category should critically analyze their individual performance using the diagnostic information provided. This information tells you how you performed in each subject area. Students can learn exactly which subjects contributed to their failure. It is important that students who fail the BSCE I find time to review their areas of weakness. We recommend that you spend some time over the summer remediating your weaknesses.

Failing the BSCE I does not prevent a student from progressing to the next term. It is expected that students will remediate their weaknesses so that their BSCE II performance will be more satisfactory. 3. Can I take the BSCE I again if I failed it?
Students may not retake the BSCE I, but should focus on remediating the deficiencies identified in their diagnostic profiles. 4. How does the BSCE I correlate with USMLE Step One results?
The correlation of BSCE I to USMLE Step 1 is 0.6614. The correlation of BSCE 1 to BSCE 2 is 0.7597. Both BSCE 2 and USMLE Step 1 also correlate highly with cumulative GPA, with correlations of 0.7534 and 0.7555, respectively. 5. What are the eligibility criteria to be certified by the School of Medicine to apply for the USMLE Step 1?
Copy and paste the link below for a copy of the Rules Regarding USMLE Step 1 Certification (posted on SGU POST). Be sure to scroll over to get the complete link.

https://qp2.sgu.edu/QuickPlace/postit/Main.nsf/h_A742C7B115B9BED504256CD10058C057/0515E3C575D953F70425743D0054228E/?OpenDocument

I hope that this information has given you some insight into the Basic Science Comprehensive Exams I and II. I urge you to refer to the Student Manual for additional details. Feel free to contact your Faculty Advisor or the Dean of Students Office if you have further questions.

[TraperJohnMD]

Nothing we don't already know...but here's the contents:


Thanks that's what I thought. I just thought I missed something.

[Ishie1013]

Does posting that constitute a "copyrighted macdaddy"? Heh heh

[PikachuMan]

I wouldn't laugh about it too publically. They might want to make a few "examples" just to get their point across.


4. How does the BSCE I correlate with USMLE Step One results?
The correlation of BSCE I to USMLE Step 1 is 0.6614. The correlation of BSCE 1 to BSCE 2 is 0.7597. Both BSCE 2 and USMLE Step 1 also correlate highly with cumulative GPA, with correlations of 0.7534 and 0.7555, respectively.What does that mean? :eek:

I got a raw % score for BSCE1... but how does that translate into USMLE 1 predictions?

[Cotterpin_Doozer]

what's copyrighted about the mac daddy anyway...its all student notes.

[shadyhtown]

I got a raw % score for BSCE1... but how does that translate into USMLE 1 predictions?

Basically that means the higher your raw % score BSCE1 is, the higher your USMLE 1 score is expected to be.

They must have calculated this based on previous scores, and found that students with higher BSCE1 scores ended up having higher USMLE scores than students with lower BSCE1 scores - in general.

[PikachuMan]

Basically that means the higher your raw % score BSCE1 is, the higher your USMLE 1 score is expected to be.

They must have calculated this based on previous scores, and found that students with higher BSCE1 scores ended up having higher USMLE scores than students with lower BSCE1 scores - in general.

Yea I got that, but I'm confused how they worked that correlation out to a number with 4 decimal places. :eek:

More precisely, I'm trying to figure out if let's say someone got 70% on BSCE1, what sort of USMLE scores would that historically correlate with? 270? 250? 200?

Meh, or maybe I should just go back to reviewing Biochem and forget about that silly counts-for-nothing exam. =\

[mortigitempo]

Basically that means the higher your raw % score BSCE1 is, the higher your USMLE 1 score is expected to be.

They must have calculated this based on previous scores, and found that students with higher BSCE1 scores ended up having higher USMLE scores than students with lower BSCE1 scores - in general.

Man, those BSCE's are a joke and nothing compared to the USMLE. I say there is no correlation coz I barely barely got by my BSCE but killed my steps. So much for correlations, right?

[shadyhtown]

Man, those BSCE's are a joke and nothing compared to the USMLE. I say there is no correlation coz I barely barely got by my BSCE but killed my steps. So much for correlations, right?

Or maybe you slacked off during BSCE but slogged hard for the steps. How about that?

[mortigitempo]

Or maybe you slacked off during BSCE but slogged hard for the steps. How about that?

Yeah, good one. Haven't heard that before. No, I took the BSCE 1 serious... but in retrospect, most of the questions are written by SGU profs and are nothing like what you will see on the USMLE. I know people who did well on the BSCE and pooched the Steps and vice versa. I can see the point of having the BSCE but SGU needs to re-evaluate the questions esp. ones written by the esteemed neuro department

[Wh0Kares]

how in the world can BSCEI be correlated to step 1 when students have like only 3 days to study for BSCE ? doesn't make sense to me at all

[argazul]

you are right, the scores can't be correlated. But it would be nice if the questions were similar to the usmle style (which they aren't from what people are saying). Does SGU use the NBME shelf exams?

[shadyhtown]

In general, when it comes to smart people, or disciplined people, they'll do well on any exam, regardless of the material or format. And vice versa for slow/lazy people. (Of course there are exceptions - else the correlation would be a perfect 1.0)

Apparently they've also found a correlation between your MCAT Verbal scores and USMLE scores, which is why many US med schools now tend to focus on Verbal scores slightly more than the other two.

[xentar]

1) correlation != causation
2) There are 3 kinds of lies: Lies, damned lies and statistics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lies%2C_damned_lies%2C_and_statistics) ... furthermore, there was an example in term 3's stats class which demonstrated that one can infer a complete opposite conclusion to the same set of data based on a different route of analysis.
3) There's also an assumption that people bothered to study for the BSCE 1

[aspiring in alaska]

I heard the reason why SGU, specifically the path department, is doing anything at all about the Mac Daddy is because a student actually turned in a complete copy of the Mac Daddy to the Path department. :omg:

And that now, they have to make up new questions to the tests. So I'm thinking that instead of well thought out questions that are relevant to our medical education, more random irrelevant questions are in order! :-smiley7

[Ishie1013]

Who in the world would do that?

And what department in the world would reward that? "Hey guys, I know you're busy, but I wanted to rat out what has been well known among the faculty for a long time, so you can enjoy digging through 13 gigs of largely worthless stuff to find a few pearls"?

If I were a prof, I think I'd knock ten points off that student's grade on the principle they clearly have way too much free time.

[mortigitempo]

Who in the world would do that?

And what department in the world would reward that? "Hey guys, I know you're busy, but I wanted to rat out what has been well known among the faculty for a long time, so you can enjoy digging through 13 gigs of largely worthless stuff to find a few pearls"?

If I were a prof, I think I'd knock ten points off that student's grade on the principle they clearly have way too much free time.

Wait until you start clinicals. You'll see the real *********s in our school turn up. Rat other students out, cutthroat folks....

As for the MacDaddy, it will still be there. What is SGU going to do? Kick out the whole school????

[Ishie1013]

Awww, that's a shame.

Our class seems primarily nice and helpful to each other, with a few exceptions. I thought it was one of the perks of not going to UCSF (that, and having absolutely no chance in h*** of getting accepted), but I guess it'll come out, eh?

[mortigitempo]

Awww, that's a shame.

Our class seems primarily nice and helpful to each other, with a few exceptions. I thought it was one of the perks of not going to UCSF (that, and having absolutely no chance in h*** of getting accepted), but I guess it'll come out, eh?

After St. Vincent term, people's true colors come out. I remember someone telling me that when I was a first termer and I thought she was just being bitter and angst ridden. Boy oh boy... when my last day in Vinnies came, I was sure as hell happy to get on the plane and never see 99% of the SGU kids.
Once clinicals rolls around, you meet a new set of people and things are cool except for one or two *********s per rotation. You see the nasty side of things come interview/application season.

But you know, this happens to everyone in every medical school. SGU is no different.

[aspiring in alaska]

Apparently Dr. B's wife is asking various students if they have MacDaddy, and if they will turn it in to her.

I'm not sure what the deal is, I know when I interviewed at several state schools that the people interviewing me specifically mentioned that you would be receiving a CD w/ past students notes and tips.

Are they worried about "high yield" notes? I mean...isn't that was lecture is "supposed to be"? :shock:

[Ishie1013]

How could they have not known about this until now? They've asked about them here, advertised them as club incentives; heck people get them from their Footsteps buddies and their CPR instructors!

And she's asking for them? "Pardon me, student. I know you're cramming for finals and making your preparations and everything, but could you take some time out to transfer many many gigs of information that it's looking like will get you in trouble to my computer?"

I hope people are making deals with her, like "Okay, I'll give you the scanned-in tests from 1985 that are available in the library, if you add forty points onto my path grade."

[PikachuMan]

I think the issue they have with MacDaddy is with copyright or some other legal issue. I would guess those faculty asking about it are just unaware of what specific material might be in question. Note: I do not possess, nor have I ever used MacDaddy, nor am I in any way acknowledging its existence.

The school is probably covering it's own tail by cracking down on it. I advise you all to "cover your rear" as well with regard to this issue. Better safe than sorry, eh?

[Ishie1013]

Sounds like it, and of course, I have never seen or owned a macdaddy myself. I only knew about them because I saw all the bad kids skipping class and doing macdaddies in the parking lot one day when I was out campaigning for the War on Copyright.

On a completely unrelated note, is it copyright infringement to rip unaccredited images off of webpath and use them on exams or in lecture handouts? I'm just curious is all...

[sleebs]

what gets me, is that I have never seen someone so concerned about copyright issues and being sued. For crying out loud we are in Grenada. i highly doubt anyone is checking all the way down here if images are being used in an unlikely manner.


Sounds like it, and of course, I have never seen or owned a macdaddy myself. I only knew about them because I saw all the bad kids skipping class and doing macdaddies in the parking lot one day when I was out campaigning for the War on Copyright.

On a completely unrelated note, is it copyright infringement to rip unaccredited images off of webpath and use them on exams or in lecture handouts? I'm just curious is all...

[aspiring in alaska]

I also have never partaked in a "MacDaddy", although I did see a group of students doing MacDaddies on the cliff near the blacksand beach ;)

I think these MacDaddies are performance enhancing drugs! I heard there where some questions from the nutrition book that helped students focus their studying, thus getting "high"...er grades.

[AngryBaby]

how in the world can BSCEI be correlated to step 1 when students have like only 3 days to study for BSCE ? doesn't make sense to me at all
3 days? Not sure what the usual allotted time is but ours was taken the day after our last final at the end of this past term. I studied for about 45 minutes...well I stared at a book for 45 minutes.

[Ishie1013]

Oh, we had a full day and a half. I studied by hanging out in St. George's for a friend's birthday and drinking wine.

[dunsoon]

My mama told me that if I sat on a Macdaddy I might get pregnant. Or herpes.

[Ishie1013]

In micro we learned that 80% of the SGU students are seropositive for macdaddies. Most don't show symptoms though.

[Kongakut]

I think Pfizer is making a pill for that.

[argazul]

i think a resistant strain might have spread at SGU.

[Ishie1013]

I think Pfizer is making a pill for that.

So 20 bucks a pill and not covered by our insurance?

[Kongakut]

Well, you can always switch to the generic cream.