Education

3 strategies for matching into a competitive specialty, even with a lower USMLE score 

Education
December 6, 2020

For applicants seeking to match into a competitive specialty, it can be challenging.  In fact, it’s not uncommon for programs to receive over 100 applications for a single residency position.  To sort through that many applications, many programs use filters. One type of filter is a USMLE “cut-off” score:  applicants who don’t score above a certain minimum won’t be considered further.

That’s why, for applicants with lower-than-average USMLE scores, my advice …

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In the face of uncertainty, choose hope over fear

Education
November 25, 2020

Over and over again, I find myself repeating the same words to myself as I watch the sunset over the Sacramento River on my dreary commute back from my job in clinical research: hope over fear.

It was with hope that 2020 began—a catalyst year in which we had the wind at our backs and the promise of a better future just over the horizon. 2020 promised the inevitability of change, …

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What Caribbean medical students need to know about the residency match

Education
November 22, 2020

For students studying at Caribbean medical schools, success in the residency match is a major concern. And it should be, because Caribbean medical students have unique challenges. At the same time, strategizing early in your medical school career can significantly impact your ultimate success.

Here are five rules that are critical in residency match success:

1. Yes, your exam score matters. The reality of the current day residency match is that programs …

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The value of intergenerational relationships

Education
November 17, 2020

With the rapid growth of modern medicine and awareness in lifestyle and environmental influences, individuals can live longer and healthier lives. Approximately 15.2 percent of the U.S. population consists of individuals 65 years and older. To make the added years of life expectancy fulfilling, older adults need to stay socially connected and involved. One key method is through the development of meaningful …

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To the third-year medical students who feel like they aren’t learning anything

Education
November 14, 2020

First of all, congratulations on making it this far in your journey towards becoming a physician. It truly is a privilege to be in the position of a third-year medical student because unlike the previous two years, we are now able to address the needs of actual patients, and in many cases, their family members and caregivers, whether they be emotional, mental, physical, or socioeconomic.

I admit that it sounds trite …

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Medical ethics and medical school: a student’s perspective

Education
November 11, 2020

The symptoms of systemic discrimination and sweeping organizational problems are ubiquitous in the news and health care literature. Yet, medical students’ curricula focus on codes of professionalism, setting these issues, and the historical forces that created them to the side. While professionalism is undoubtedly an important aspect of being a physician, it is simply not enough to give students the background they need to recognize the historical contextualization of ethical …

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The benefits of early clinical exposure in medical education

Education
November 9, 2020

Medical schools are increasingly emphasizing early clinical exposure for their medical students. While the traditional medical education format — in which the basic sciences are taught during the first two years, and clinical rotations are stressed during the latter two — are still generally followed, many schools provide their students with exposures to the hospital or clinical settings much earlier in their medical education.  For example, just two months into …

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Moving forward in medicine with your significant other

Education
November 7, 2020

The transition from resident to doctor is overwhelming and can impact your personal life deeply, particularly within the context of your relationship. It is important to sit down and discuss with your partner or spouse and discuss your excitement and fear during this odd phase of life. Although the transition can make or break a relationship, if both you and your partner put forth the effort, you will surely be …

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The pandemic has only further strengthened my passion to become a physician

Education
November 6, 2020

As a first-year medical student, the transition to an online curriculum has posed a unique set of challenges. I am often asked, “How exactly can you become a doctor without having seen a patient, without having put a stethoscope on another human being?” I’ve been told many times already by my professors that to listen to one of the four heart sounds, I should place the diaphragm of my stethoscope …

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5 common and commonly overlooked mistakes in the medical school interview 

Education
November 4, 2020

When you’re applying to medical school, it’s remarkable how much four years or more of intense work can come down to one single day. The medical school interview is high stakes: studies have found that interview performance is the most important factor in admissions decisions.

While your MCAT score and your GPA can help secure an interview invitation, it’s your interview performance that matters most when it …

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Will reading Tolstoy make you a better doctor?

Education
October 23, 2020

In an increasingly technology-oriented world, genuine human connection is becoming rarer. Physicians are taught to emotionally disassociate from their patients for mental self-protection. This detachment can result in a loss of human connection between a doctor and patient, which may interfere with patient health outcomes. Studying great literature, such as Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich, allows health care professionals to adopt the patient perspective and gain insight into how …

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The burden of the badge: an MD student’s response to the FIGS controversy

Education
October 19, 2020

Recently, FIGS – a design-driven medical apparel company – published its latest video advertisement: a young woman in bubblegum pink scrubs struts into view, shaking her FIGS-clad hips for the camera while holding a Medical Terminology for Dummies textbook upside-down. Forget practicing medicine; this woman isn’t fit to drive. The camera pans, emphatically, towards her badge, which reads DO – short for doctor of osteopathic medicine. Ahhh, the viewer is …

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Medical school in the age of Zoom

Education
October 18, 2020

What has medical school been like in the age of Zoom? Before I was a student doctor, I was an undergraduate student pining after the halls of medicine and the truthfully looking forwards to the rigors of medical school. Upon acceptance to medical school at the University of California, San Diego, I celebrated via Zoom with family. Orientation week was a hybrid model of Zoom and on-campus socially distanced activities. …

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The role of residents in teaching and creating a positive clinical learning environment

Education
October 13, 2020

The hallways were dark, and the door had a passcode that I didn’t know. What I knew was that I was nervous about entering the team room on my first day of internal medicine, my first rotation of the third year of medical school. Fortunately, it didn’t take long to realize that my main teachers, those I would spend the most time with, would be the residents, who were fun …

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Applying the growth mindset to health care

Education
October 11, 2020

I love to mountain bike. The thrill of watching trees zip by and of “sending it” through rock gardens is intoxicating, and this thrill is accompanied by a feeling of accomplishment unlike any other I’ve experienced. However, two of my good friends are professional mountain bike guides, and for a long time, I did not love biking with them – I was unable to bike as fast as they could, …

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A medical student’s story of racism and bias

Education
October 6, 2020

I am a third-year medical student at what I believe to be the most diverse medical school in the country. Every year our entering class is made up of at least 20 percent of students who identify as underrepresented in medicine. Beyond that, we make it very clear that if fighting against health and social inequities is not a thread of the very fabric of who you are, this may …

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Rapid changes to AOA inclusion are inequitable

Education
October 5, 2020

The social unrest that has erupted in the wake of the George Floyd murder has prompted many U.S. professional organizations, including those dedicated to medical education, to make changes to advance racial and socioeconomic equity. Right now, a fierce debate rages among medical students over how the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society (AOA) nominates and inducts fourth-year medical students. An example of this debate is reflected in the new …

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13 tips for medical students starting their clinical rotations

Education
September 28, 2020

Each year, medical students across the country prepare to start the long-anticipated core clinical rotations. Suddenly, we’re thrust into a world of constant adaptation and evaluation, with many highs and many lows.

As I finish up the year and new students get ready to start, I’ve been asked time and time again for my advice. I decided to aggregate my key takeaways from the year, and what I wish I had …

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Medicine, fast and slow

Education
September 13, 2020

Thinking, Fast and Slow is a well-known masterpiece of psychology by the formidable Daniel Kahneman. He diligently illuminates two different pathways of thought, which he arbitrarily titles System 1 and System 2. System 1 describes our quick thinking, our snap judgments, our gut feelings. System 2 encapsulates our deeper thoughts, the way we systematically review information, the analysis that requires time and mental effort. The work thoroughly lays out many …

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Are the life sciences the best premedical majors?

Education
September 8, 2020

The medical school admission process can be overwhelming. There is no definitive path that guarantees admission. Prospective students are meant to create their own way that could bring them an acceptance letter. That is why some individuals with a 3.6 GPA and a 508 MCAT score get accepted, and others with a better academic record get rejected. They might be considered an outlier, but some are not necessarily …

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CME Spotlights