Perceptions of medical school among high school students in southwestern Ontario.

INTRODUCTION: Canadian medical students are more likely to come from urban and high-income areas and to have well-educated, professional parents. Physicians who grew up in rural areas are more likely to serve in rural and lower-income areas. We identify perceptions held by rural high school students regarding the affordability and attainability of a medical education. METHODS: We distributed a survey to high school students who attended the MedQUEST Health Career Exploration Program in southwestern Ontario. The survey assessed socioeconomic background and perceived barriers to a medical education (including affordability as well as encouragement and discouragement from others). RESULTS: Of the 119 attendees, 106 (89.1%) completed the survey. Of the students who were interested in becoming physicians, most expected to fund their medical education through scholarships (56 [69.1%]), parental support (50 [61.7%]) or student employment (45 [55.6%]). However, less than half of all respondents (48 [45.3%]) provided reasonably correct estimates for annual medical tuition fees. If at least 1 parent had a postsecondary education, respondents were less likely to cite affordability as a barrier to attending medical school (p = 0.05). CONCLUSION: Although students interested in obtaining a medical education cited affordability as a potential barrier, many were not aware of the actual cost of attending medical school. We found an association between perceived affordability of medical school and parents' level of education. To define this relation further, research is needed to collect more accurate data on family income. Students may benefit from more information about funding opportunities for medical school.

Absence of metabolic rate allometry in an ex vivo model of mammalian skeletal muscle.

Within mammalian species, standard metabolic rate (SMR) increases disproportionately with body mass (Mb), such that the mass-specific SMR correlates negatively with Mb. This phenomenon can be explained in part by reduced cellular metabolic rates in larger species. To better understand the cause(s) of this cellular metabolic rate allometry we have used an ex vivo approach to isolate and identify potential contributors. Skeletal myoblasts from mammalian species ranging inMb from 30 g to over 300,000 g were isolated and differentiated into myotubes in vitro. Oxygen consumption rates, citrate synthase (CS) activity, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity were measured in myotubes under standardized conditions. No correlation of any of these parameters was observedwith speciesMb, suggesting that there is no genetic contribution to between-species differences in cellular metabolic rates. Myotubes were incubated in serum from species ranging from 30 g to 400,000 g to determine whether between-species differences in the levels of metabolically important hormones might produce allometric trends in the cultured cells. However, there was no observed effect of serum donor Mb on any of the metabolic characteristicsmeasured. Thus, there is no evidence for a relationship between skeletal muscle oxidative metabolism and Mb in an ex vivo model.