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“Empathy, intelligence, and commitment are crucial traits every doctor must have to succeed. However, there is one trait that stands above the rest. One of the most important aspects of an effective doctor is the desire to be challenged and overcome difficult situations. I feel I’ve exemplified that throughout my life. Whether it be through those experiences, starting clubs, organizing teams, or helping those less fortunate than me, I haven’t backed down.”
Jack Straub is a medical student.
He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, “The desire to be challenged is one of the most important aspects of an effective doctor.”
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Transcript
Kevin Pho: Hi, and welcome to the show. Rate and review at kevinmd.com/rate. Subscribe at kevinmd.com/podcast. Today on the show we have Jack Straub. He’s a medical student, and we’re going to talk about his KevinMD article, “The desire to be challenged is one of the most important aspects of an effective doctor.” Jack, welcome to the show.
Jack Straub: Yeah, thanks for having me.
Kevin Pho: We’ll get to the article in a little bit. First off, briefly share your story and journey to where you are today.
Jack Straub: For sure. Yeah, so I grew up in Frisco. It’s about 35 minutes north of Dallas. I’m very close with my family, and I didn’t want to go too far away from them when I went to college, so I went to SMU, just a little bit down south in Dallas. I spent my four years there and double majored in biology and psychology, and then right out of college I applied and got into UTMB. I’m currently a second-year medical student down here, pursuing, hopefully, ENT. For now, that is what I’m really interested in.
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Kevin Pho: Excellent. And as a second-year medical student, has medical school been what you expected?
Jack Straub: It has and it hasn’t at the same time. I’m sure that’s a very convoluted answer, but I’ll dive into it a little bit. What I really wish I had known is that just because medical school starts doesn’t mean that the rest of your life ends. You still have a lot of time to do all the things that you really care about. As long as you prioritize your studies early on, you’ll still have time to do everything you want to do at the end of the day. Like, I still play soccer a couple of times a week, I still have time to do fun stuff with my friends on the weekend, and I’m still pretty successful in medical school.
Kevin Pho: Perfect. And that’s actually very important, because one of the things that we talk about, even as attending physicians, is that you do have to have a life outside of clinical medicine, because it’s important to have that balance. Ironically, those physicians who burn out are the ones who actually don’t have that balance. So by having that balance and prioritizing it early on, that actually can probably increase your longevity in medicine.
Jack Straub: Yeah, I’d like to think so. I really prioritize the stuff outside of medicine, because I agree with you 100 percent. I think if you take the time to do the stuff you like, you’ll do the school-related and medicine-related stuff even better.
Kevin Pho: Now, what about your colleagues? Do they have that same mindset?
Jack Straub: I think at UTMB the mindset is pretty similar. That’s one of the reasons I picked the school. The mindset is that you get your studies done, but you’ve got to make time to do the stuff you love at the same time, because that contributes to your success just as much as your studying, your research, or everything else. Because if you’re just bogging yourself down in the studies all day, you’re going to get burnt out, you’re going to get upset, and that’s going to hurt you and your studies in the long run.
Kevin Pho: All right, let’s talk about your KevinMD article, “The desire to be challenged is one of the most important aspects of an effective doctor.” Now, for those who didn’t get a chance to read your article, just walk my audience through it. Share the story of why you decided to write it.
Jack Straub: Sure, sure. So it just kind of talks about my journey to medical school and the challenges I faced and overcame on the way to becoming a physician, getting into medical school, that kind of thing. So I started off with this: I got a bad concussion when I was an undergrad, and it really rocked my world. It changed my functioning completely. I had to go to physical therapy and had to do a lot of stuff. It was really hard for me, and I wasn’t sure I was going to keep going, but that was a challenge that I knew I had to overcome.
Kevin Pho: Now, where did you get that concussion? What happened?
Jack Straub: I was actually at a water park. I was going down a water slide doing a front flip, and it was crazy. It was the surface tension of the water, my head on the surface tension of the water, and then I got a pretty bad concussion. I went to physical therapy and did all the stuff that, you know, you’re supposed to do. It took me a couple of months, actually. And then, obviously, I’m very passionate about soccer, so I went back to playing soccer and then immediately got reconcussed when I was cleared, and that opened up a world of issues again. So then I had to get past that again.
But what this did for me is that it actually inspired me to pursue new challenges. So I actually started the rock climbing club at SMU, because I needed to do a noncontact sport, but I wanted to stay active. It was interesting, because when I first started rock climbing, it was horrible. That was the worst. But it was something I really wanted to be better at, and so I kept going. I kept going until I was one of the best ones at SMU, and at that time I felt I could start the club and be ready for it.
And then I also kind of dived into the next part of my story, as I started doing concussion research at UT Southwestern after this whole incident. And you know, research is tough. We had been working for months, and we thought we had a lot on some publications, and then in the last couple of weeks there, they were like, “Oh, yeah, it’s probably not going to go through.” And we were like, “Oh, man.”
Kevin Pho: Well, what were some of the reasons why all that research didn’t go through?
Jack Straub: Research is tough. You have to submit it to the right journals. It has to go through. Sometimes they want you to change things. It’s very specific little details. But they told us that, and we were able to really kick it into gear and run through it, and quickly work super hard the last couple of weeks and get it good. I ended up getting published in the studies a couple of years later, but at the time I was like, “Oh, well, what was that for?” But it was a challenge, and so we kept going, and we kept trying to do our absolute best, and our best paid off.
It was a very enlightening experience. The research I did there was really cool, because we got to interview patients. It wasn’t like bench work. We actually got to go into the hospital and meet people. It was really cool, and we tracked patients over an extended period of time. When you’re shadowing, sometimes you see a patient once, but with this kind of research, I was seeing patients for weeks, even months sometimes. It was really cool. And then, as I mentioned, you know, even though it looked like it wasn’t going to work out, we put in the extra effort, even though we didn’t know if it was going to go anywhere, and it happened to work out. So it was very good.
And then at the very end of my essay, I mentioned some of the shadowing experiences I had, so the challenges I experienced through other physicians. You know, day to day, a physician has to think fast. One mistake and you’re done. But you know, these people I shadowed were just, they were perfect. They couldn’t make a mistake. They thought so fast, and that really just inspired me, the fact that, like I said, they couldn’t seem to make a mistake in my eyes.
Kevin Pho: Oh, what kind of doctors did you shadow?
Jack Straub: I shadowed an otolaryngologist, an ophthalmologist, and then an allergist and immunologist. Those were the three that came to mind most of all, so completely different specialties. I saw the surgical side and saw the clinical side. And whether it’s something small, like a patient’s wheezing, what do you do, so quick every single time, or something as big as a cornea transplant, there’s no room for error there. These physicians just didn’t make a mistake. Their challenges just seemed like nothing to them, and it was because they were so tuned in to overcoming these kinds of obstacles and not falling into any kind of mistake.
And so then, yeah, my main takeaway from all that was that in order to be an effective physician, you have to have a desire to be challenged, and not just a desire to be challenged, but also the desire to overcome these important, difficult situations. Sometimes, when it feels like the world’s caving in on you, you want to just stop, but you can’t. You’ve got to keep going.
Kevin Pho: So let’s talk about your personal experience specifically. You mentioned the story with the concussion. Now, what are some of the things that you did to kind of persevere and push through that?
Jack Straub: Surrounding yourself with a good social circle is always really important. I lived pretty close to my family at the time. Like I said, I was at SMU and they were up in Frisco, and so it was really nice to have a good support group near me. And then, similar to what I do here, distract yourself from the school or what could be going on. Do the things you love. I was still hanging out with my friends. Even though I couldn’t play contact sports, I was playing video games with them and tossing the Frisbee, just making time to do other things, because, you know, even when the days of life get hard, it makes it easier when you can do something you love.
Kevin Pho: Now, when you talk about these experiences, the concussion and the research, what are some things that you learned about yourself?
Jack Straub: Some things I learned about myself: Really, don’t get discouraged. It’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. That’s really my take-home message at the end of all this. I’m starting to see it more now, because I’m a little bit farther down the road, but I acknowledge that I still have a lot more to go, and my tunnel is very long. Obviously, medical school is a long journey. But don’t get discouraged, because there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel. Even though you might not always see it, it’s there.
For example, I have a friend who took 10 years to get into medical school. He’s one of my best friends. He’s in my class, and he’s top of the class now. It took him a while to get here. He went on some other journeys before now, and now he’s top of the class, doing exactly what he wants to do. With stories like that, you just can’t get discouraged. You’ve got to keep trying.
Kevin Pho: Now, we often hear that medical students have been top of their class through high school, through their premedical years, and sometimes medical school is the first time that these students experience failure, right? So do you see that yourself among your classmates and other medical students across the country? And if so, what kind of advice can you impart to them?
Jack Straub: Oh, for sure. I mean, for medical students, at least, the stigma is tip-top. It’s the top of every school. And so obviously, whenever you get put into a school with all the tip-top people, not everyone’s going to be tip-top anymore. I think that’s OK. There are fantastic physicians who are not fantastic test takers. There are fantastic physicians who still have a few things to learn about patient interaction. I think it’s just always being willing to learn the next step, or recognizing maybe the things that you’re not as good at and then trying to pursue and get better at those things. That’s really what I would say to these people, because it’s tough, and sometimes medical school can seem toxic just because there are so many good people. I mean, that’s the whole point, to get all the best people.
But yeah, I would say realize and understand that everyone has a fault. Everyone has something they’re not as good at. Then focus on that and try to make it better. And even if you’re not the best, strive to be the best. Some people are very gifted at certain things, and you can always keep improving.
Kevin Pho: Now, in terms of people that you could talk to, you mentioned your social circles, of course. But in medical school, are there any formal channels that these students can reach out to, any counseling, for instance?
Jack Straub: Yeah, yeah. UTMB actually has a free counseling service, and it’s free to all students. It’s included, insurance or no insurance. I know it’s used very widely across campus. In fact, when you get in there, they say that most students take a trip there at some point, and it really helps a lot of people. On top of that, UTMB has a lot of organizations, so even if you don’t think you fit into one organization, there are a hundred more that you could, you know, hop in on that will give you a very good social circle and people to be around whenever things get hard.
Kevin Pho: Now, when I was in medical school, I don’t know how many years ago, almost like 25, 30 years ago, you probably heard, there’s a stigma when people talk about behavioral health issues or when they go to counseling. What’s that like now?
Jack Straub: It’s definitely gotten a lot better. I think the world is trending in the right direction in that respect. I think mental health has become a lot more important. Personally, I’m a huge advocate for all that stuff, especially after my concussion. I had to introspect a lot, and I’m a huge advocate for getting help if you think you need it, always finding someone who can help you. Don’t take on those burdens alone. It’s very normal. You never need to feel like, “Oh, I’m the only one feeling this way. I can’t share with anyone.” That’s definitely not true. Yeah, I’m 100 percent for all that, and I think the stigma is changing, which I think is very beneficial.
Kevin Pho: We’re talking to Jack Straub. He’s a medical student, and his KevinMD article is titled “The desire to be challenged is one of the most important aspects of an effective doctor.” Jack, what are some of your take-home messages that you want to leave with the KevinMD audience?
Jack Straub: I would say our greatest hardships and failures often pave the way for our greatest successes. Sometimes, when you think that something is the end of the world, and it seems like, as I mentioned, the world is bearing down on you, that’s going to pave the way for something even better. Our highest highs are often preceded by our lowest lows. So that’s always something to keep in mind.
Kevin Pho: Jack, thank you so much for sharing your story, time, and insight. Thanks again for being on the show.
Jack Straub: Thank you for having me.
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