As a current fourth year medical student, one of the main things I look forward to after I graduate is trading in my white coat. For medical students everywhere, it’s a huge sign of accomplishment to shed the short coat…
As a current fourth year medical student, one of the main things I look forward to after I graduate is trading in my white coat. For medical students everywhere, it’s a huge sign of accomplishment to shed the short coat and don the long one. It means you are now a real doctor.
Medical students are required to wear short white coats that might reach to their fingertips, if they’re lucky. …
When the patient jokingly touched my nose, I knew I had muddied the boundaries between us too much and it was too late to go back. (Note: Except for the aforementioned sentence, all of the patient’s details and quotations have…
When the patient jokingly touched my nose, I knew I had muddied the boundaries between us too much and it was too late to go back.
(Note: Except for the aforementioned sentence, all of the patient’s details and quotations have been fabricated. Events from the interview and exam have been drawn from a conglomeration of patients and scrambled to illustrate a general theme.)
It didn’t happen until the end of the interview, …
Harvard University’s Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics has conducted a lecture series focused on Institutional Corruption. In December, Marcia Angell-Relman, M.D., the first woman to serve as acting editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), gave…
Harvard University’s Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics has conducted a lecture series focused on Institutional Corruption. In December, Marcia Angell-Relman, M.D., the first woman to serve as acting editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), gave an hour lecture which focused on conflicts of interest (COI) in academic medical centers (AMCs), and continuing medical education (CME). After the lecture, …
Last year I was assigned to complete a history and physical on a patient in the hospital. Stifling my excitement to be doing this on a weekend night, I walked to the operator's desk and paged the on-call intern, who…
Last year I was assigned to complete a history and physical on a patient in the hospital. Stifling my excitement to be doing this on a weekend night, I walked to the operator’s desk and paged the on-call intern, who — I’d been assured — knew I was coming. “You’re who now for what?” she stared blankly back at me after I’d explained my task.
Today I went to Middle of Nowhere, Ireland for a rural lumps and bumps clinic. I really enjoy the outings to the country, hanging around the little hospitals, and seeing the old farmers who drive in on their tractors (true…
Today I went to Middle of Nowhere, Ireland for a rural lumps and bumps clinic. I really enjoy the outings to the country, hanging around the little hospitals, and seeing the old farmers who drive in on their tractors (true story).
I had the chance to see a nice variety of patients: from swallowing difficulties to sebaceous cysts, urinary retention to infected toe nails. For me the real fun is with …
"How are residents supposed to prepare for real life as a surgeon if they can’t even work twenty-four hours straight now?" I hear this complaint about once a month from a someone trained in the Golden Age of hazing. Outside…
“How are residents supposed to prepare for real life as a surgeon if they can’t even work twenty-four hours straight now?”
I hear this complaint about once a month from a someone trained in the Golden Age of hazing. Outside of anecdote, we’ll never know if surgeons are better trained now or twenty years ago, or fifty. But it’s too painful to imagine every-other-night-call wasn’t of critical importance.
The average week for a medical resident training in Mexico can easily exceed 90 work hours. Mexico is a country that takes pride in offering full health coverage for 100 million citizens. This is a new policy and free public…
The average week for a medical resident training in Mexico can easily exceed 90 work hours. Mexico is a country that takes pride in offering full health coverage for 100 million citizens. This is a new policy and free public medical care is being pushed to the limit. The situation is simple, the work load in outpatient clinics, operating rooms, the wards and emergency rooms across the country is …
As you all know, the personal statement is one of the most important components of the medical school application process. It is one of the first opportunities you have to explain to an admissions committee exactly who you are and…
As you all know, the personal statement is one of the most important components of the medical school application process. It is one of the first opportunities you have to explain to an admissions committee exactly who you are and what you bring to the table. Don’t show up empty handed.
Here are some tips I learned while writing my personal statement.
1. The personal statement on the AMCAS does not have …
I'm going take on the Doctor Nurse controversy. This isn't a new issue, as the doctorate in nursing degree has been around for awhile. But a recent piece in the New York Times gave it new life. The topic is…
So I missed out on the whole CME outrage that came up earlier this year in a Archives of Internal Medicine study, but I do have a theory about it that I’d like to try out. I’m not interested in…
So I missed out on the whole CME outrage that came up earlier this year in a Archives of Internal Medicine study, but I do have a theory about it that I’d like to try out.
I’m not interested in getting into the “perceived potential bias” vs “actual bias” argument – which is a good one and one Tom Sullivan wrote about extensively – but would rather take a look …
Urban myths come in all shapes and sizes. Recent medical scares include a rogue politician claiming that a vaccine is no good, based on someone they met in the audience who was not trained in medicine or science. How many…
Urban myths come in all shapes and sizes. Recent medical scares include a rogue politician claiming that a vaccine is no good, based on someone they met in the audience who was not trained in medicine or science. How many physicians know patients who are scared of taking a medication or getting a needed procedure based on an Internet story or a friend of a friend?
I grew up playing a variety of different organized sports. Looking back now, I notice that no matter what the sport my best performances were always on teams which were led by inspiring coaches. The same could be said about…
I grew up playing a variety of different organized sports. Looking back now, I notice that no matter what the sport my best performances were always on teams which were led by inspiring coaches. The same could be said about my education, with teachers replacing the coaches. Whether I knew it at the time or not, throughout my life I have had a number of mentors who have brought the …
A recent article in the New York Times business section discusses an increase in the number of doctors getting M.B.A.'s in addition to their M.D. degree. In fact, there have even been many new programs that combine getting both of…
A recent article in the New York Times business section discusses an increase in the number of doctors getting M.B.A.’s in addition to their M.D. degree. In fact, there have even been many new programs that combine getting both of these degrees together. The article emphasizes the importance of seeing that “healing is an art, medicine is a profession and health care is a business.” However, is adding more …
Our first assignment for medical school involved reading and discussing Anne Fadiman's The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, which describes how a clash of two cultures (medical and recently immigrated Hmong), miscommunication, and misunderstanding led to tragedy. Poignantly…
Our first assignment for medical school involved reading and discussing Anne Fadiman’s The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, which describes how a clash of two cultures (medical and recently immigrated Hmong), miscommunication, and misunderstanding led to tragedy. Poignantly narrated, the book had the take-home message: if a patient does not agree with a physician’s reasoning why a disease developed and how it can be cured, then even the best …
I’m a doctor. My mail comes with the Dr. prefix and my checks have Dr. on them. People introduce me as Dr. and when I go to conferences I am Dr. SuFu. However as of a couple months ago I’m…
I’m a doctor. My mail comes with the Dr. prefix and my checks have Dr. on them. People introduce me as Dr. and when I go to conferences I am Dr. SuFu. However as of a couple months ago I’m no longer a doctor. With the donning of the white coat I paradoxically lost a degree and became a first name or Mr. SuFu. My name badge makes no …
The Atlantic published an article about the growth of quackademic medicine in our teaching institutions and it's celebratory more than critical. It profiles the integrative medicine clinic of Dr. Brian Berman. That's right, this Dr. Berman. I blogged about him…
The Atlantic published an article about the growth of quackademic medicine in our teaching institutions and it’s celebratory more than critical. It profiles the integrative medicine clinic of Dr. Brian Berman. That’s right, this Dr. Berman. I blogged about him four years ago and it seems his clinic at the University of Maryland is still going strong. Stronger, apparently.
The article, like integrative medicine itself, is a mixture of quackery …
A second year medical student reader asked me to comment on what rotations to take in medical school to prepare for an internal medicine or hospitalist medicine career. I am a second year medical student, very interested it practicing the…
A second year medical student reader asked me to comment on what rotations to take in medical school to prepare for an internal medicine or hospitalist medicine career.
I am a second year medical student, very interested it practicing the art of Hospital Medicine, and I was wondering if you had any advice/comments on any specific electives to consider to help prepare me for an Internal Medicine residency.
An interview by Curaspan Health Group with Marilyn Gugliucci, PhD. Every summer, a handful of medical students spends two weeks in a nursing home as a patient. That’s part of what’s been called "the life-altering education" established by Marilyn Gugliucci,…
Every summer, a handful of medical students spends two weeks in a nursing home as a patient. That’s part of what’s been called “the life-altering education” established by Marilyn Gugliucci, Ph.D., the director of geriatrics education and research at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Gugliucci spoke with Curaspan Connections about the inspiration for her unique approach to …
Let’s face it, medicine is slow to change – the profession has produced successful physicians for centuries using an education system based on grueling hours and unwavering dedication. Many established medical schools boast impressive Step 1 scores and match rates,…
Let’s face it, medicine is slow to change – the profession has produced successful physicians for centuries using an education system based on grueling hours and unwavering dedication. Many established medical schools boast impressive Step 1 scores and match rates, so why should they modify what works?
Change is necessary because our society needs the next generation of physicians to be technologically savvy and driven toward innovation. With the increasing prevalence …
In most other professions, once you’re halfway through your education, you begin to develop confidence; slowly, but surely, fitting into shoes that once seemed too big for your petite, newbie feet. Not so in medicine. Three years into it, and…
In most other professions, once you’re halfway through your education, you begin to develop confidence; slowly, but surely, fitting into shoes that once seemed too big for your petite, newbie feet. Not so in medicine.
Three years into it, and I still feel unsure – unsure of the answer to a rather simple question asked by an attending and unsure of whether I’m fit to be doing this in the first …
I’m going take on the 
