Recently on Friday September 30^th, the Pine Crest Pre-Med Club was honored to have Dr. Michael Gleiber, a highly distinguished orthopedic spine surgeon. Dr. Gleiber currently serves on staff at five hospitals in South Florida, including the University of Miami Hospital and locations in Jupiter and Boca Raton.

As a young child, Dr. Gleiber made it his goal to become a spine surgeon, and after fourteen years of arduous training, all his scrupulous work has paid dividends. Dr. Gleiber has treasured every minute of his job, saying, “It is one of the most gratifying professions; there is no greater feeling than helping a patient. Most people just think that being a doctor is all about the money but for me, the paycheck is only an added bonus.”

Dr. Gleiber spent the first portion of his lecture on the years before med school, the all-important undergraduate degree and the MCAT (the standardized test for medical students). Dr. Gleiber was once on the committee of a medical school acceptance board, so he  is quite familiar with the acceptance process. He emphasized the importance of the MCATs, which are very strong indicators for colleges to measure a student’s potential and work ethic.

Dr. Gleiber also stressed that in recent times, prestigious medical schools have been accepting not only students who major in science (biology, chemistry, physics, etc.), but also those who major in the arts, history, english, math, and more. “These colleges are now looking for the well-rounded student, not just their major, their GPA, and the college they attended,” said Dr. Gleiber. A good example of this would be a foreign language major, who would be able to communicate with significantly more patients than  a doctor who only speaks English. Finally, and most importantly, Dr. Gleiber emphasized that it’s not what college one attends, but what one does in college in order to earn acceptance  into medical schools. “There was a situation where we had a Harvard student applying and his GPA and MCAT scores were under our qualifications, so we did not accept that student.”

The second part of Dr. Gleiber’s lecture focused more specifically on his profession, as he gave a talk about the structure of the spinal cord and its major parts and functions. He also highlighted the many unknown effects and consequences that certain activities (such as smoking or football) have on the back.

The PC Med Club was extremely pleased to have Dr. Gleiber come in and give valuable insight into his profession and the medical school process. At the next Pre-Med Club meeting, held on October 25^th after school, Pine Crest alum and neurosurgeon Dr. Evan Packer will be discussing his profession.