Education

Student advocacy through the Student Osteopathic Medical Association (SOMA)

Education
August 5, 2022

“Nerves ablaze, my voice cracked as I ended my remarks outlining the need for equitable data collection. I leaned towards the screen, adjusted my eyeline to make eye contact, and asked Representative Thomas Suozzi to support The Equitable Data Collection and Disclosure on COVID-19 Act. Representative Suozzi paused for a second, appeared to think over, or perhaps through the points of my argument–and then responded resolutely with, ‘I will cosign …

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What makes up the ideal residency program for you?

Education
August 2, 2022

As we continue through the summer months, medical students are putting the finishing touches on their elective rotations for their fourth year.

These rotations, also known as audition rotations or sub-internships, enable students to “showcase” their talents, meet faculty and residents and put their best foot forward prior to submitting their electronic application.

A 2016 study showed that rotating improved a student’s chance of matching at that program by a factor of …

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To fight medical student burnout, focus less on the clinic and more on life

Education
July 24, 2022

Medical training has historically been known for its intensity, during which work-life balance is traded in for intensive study sessions and early morning rounds. In recent years, medical schools have become increasingly interested in programs to improve student wellbeing. Many of these programs teach students the importance of wellness, touting the value of exercise, hobbies, and spending time with friends and family without providing the time …

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Top 10 things new interns should do

Education
July 16, 2022

New resident physicians who have earned their MD degrees will be heading to hospitals to start their residencies during the last two week in June and the first week in July. What can a beginning doctor do during the first month of internship to get his or her career off to a good start, and in so doing, also learn to provide the best care to patients? Here are 10 …

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Should your child try for medical school?

Education
July 15, 2022

An essay from 1989.

Some day one of my children will likely ask what I once asked my stepfather, “Dad, do you think I should try for med school?” I feel that it will most likely be our inquisitive middle child, Clayton John (“CJ”). And, when that time comes, what will I say to Mr. CJ?

For many physicians in the past, the answer to this question would have been a resounding, …

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Delivering unpalatable truths in medicine

Education
June 18, 2022

Many providers enter medicine to comfort patients and their loved ones. However, much of what I do doesn’t live up to that intention. In the past few months and particularly the past few weeks, I’ve spent most of my afternoons making little difference in the course of my patients’ hospital stays, and instead of having multiple conversations with the loved ones of these ill patients, providing daily updates, reiterating expectations …

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The MMI: 3 strategies to help you prepare

Education
June 7, 2022

You’re feeling pretty confident as you walk into your medical school interview– but then you meet your interviewer. “Why did it take you so long to get here?! I’ve been sitting here, waiting and waiting, and I’m in so much pain.”

Welcome to the world of the MMI. The Multiple Mini Interview, commonly known as the MMI, is a newer type of medical school interview, and it’s increasingly being used in …

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To be effective leaders, physicians need to be trained as entrepreneurs and encouraged to innovate

Education
June 1, 2022

In 2021, among the 37 individuals named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list for health care, 24 were identified as “co-founder” or “founder” (64%), while only ten individuals were MDs or MD Candidates (27%), and only 4 were both MDs and Co-founder/founders (11%). These metrics demonstrate that of people under the age of 30, the majority of those who were most recognized were not medical students, residents, …

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Death and Dvořák

Education
May 30, 2022

Dvořák Symphony No. 9 in E minor (“From the New World”) – Movement II ‘Largo’: a soundscape like floating beside the clouds in a perfect blue sky. The brass chords flood your ears. The underlying orchestra adds harmonic depth and richness. The English horn solo tugs at heartstrings, sighing at the end of each phrase.

After years spent in numerous youth symphonic orchestras, this performance stands out to me among an …

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Reflecting on my experience as a teenage health care worker during the COVID-19 pandemic

Education
May 24, 2022

During the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic (April 2021), I became a high-school pharmacy technician. My senior year of high school ended in gray scrubs, gloves, and a mask. While I knew I was signing up for long hours of selling medication and administering COVID tests, I was not prepared for what else I would learn.

On my first day on the job, a couple approached me and asked …

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For medical students: 20 pearls to honor every clinical rotation

Education
May 21, 2022

With medical school graduation on the horizon, I wanted to share my pearls for success for any clinical rotation.

1. Integrate yourself into your team and be engaged in all patient care.

2. Ask questions and be motivated to learn.

3. Follow up on patients without being asked.

4. Be the “extra” pair of hands to help the team.

5. Be proactive in picking up new patients.

6. Come up with solid differentials and plans before …

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A state of service — and how flow can get you there

Education
May 2, 2022

In 6th grade, my humanities teacher wrote a prompt for our class final: What is the purpose of life?

I immediately grabbed my pencil and thundered away without a second thought. Five minutes in, I was still the only one writing. Rachmaninoff, the famous Russian composer who was known for intricate melodies, once said that after one has played a great many number of notes does he realize that true genius …

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A mother’s advice to her physician son

Education
May 1, 2022

I hope this finds you well. Today, I took some time shopping for a new outfit to wear to the upcoming festivities marking the end of your emergency medicine residency. We have celebrated many educational milestones over the years, haven’t we?

It seems like only yesterday that you started the third year of medical school. I remember the anticipation and pressure associated with moving out of the sim[ulation] lab and beginning …

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What it is like to watch someone die

Education
May 1, 2022

At the start of my medical school’s clinical rotations, I was prepared with new scrubs, minute facts about diabetes and kidney disease, and a stethoscope that I struggled to hear murmurs with. What I was less prepared for was the emotional toll that seeing patients would exact.

I began on my obstetrics and gynecology rotation, one known mostly for happy events with the delivery of newborn babies. Yet this was the …

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The hidden costs of fully covered infertility treatment 

Education
April 26, 2022

After years of searching for answers to my pain, I was finally diagnosed with endometriosis during my second year of medical school. However, the joy of finally having a diagnosis quickly became overshadowed by the knowledge that I was now a part of the 1 in 4 female physicians who suffer from infertility. As a married 27-year-old future doctor with at least six more years of training, …

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Why did it feel like I failed my patient?

Education
April 23, 2022

“Have you ever had feelings of depression?”

I regretted asking that question the moment it slipped out of my mouth. In the span of what felt like 5 minutes but was probably 30 seconds, both the patient and I immediately became awkward. The patient hesitated and her breathing hitched. My heart rate became rapid and my palms got sweaty. Her eyes turned red, her face tilted downwards, her fingers tremored. By …

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Medicine won’t keep you warm at night

Education
April 12, 2022

Life continues in medical school and residency. Engagements, marriages, and divorces. Becoming a parent to a child. Having a dog or cat. Love and loss. Life and death. Then there is the uniqueness and privilege of being in medical training combined with great responsibilities and pressures that set the stage for some of the highest of highs and lowest of lows.

Prior to beginning medical school, I was told by a …

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International medical graduates ease the U.S. doctor shortage

Education
April 11, 2022

Thousands of young doctors just learned where they’ll be spending the next few years of their lives in residency.

A significant number of them will be U.S. citizens who completed medical school abroad. This corps of internationally educated doctors has become increasingly important to the U.S. health care system — and is tackling a disproportionate share of America’s biggest health care challenges.

The United States desperately needs doctors. According to the Association …

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Why is health inequity an issue, and why do we have to highlight the issue?

Education
April 9, 2022

Health equity is vital for a harmonious society with the potential to prosper. The root causes can be divided into two themes: structural inequity and social determinants of health. The root causes contributing to health inequity and disastrous health outcomes in specific communities should be analyzed. It is essential to understand the reasons to promote equal and effective interventions to save people’s lives. This is important because by saving a …

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