The USMLE Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS) exam was implemented to assess medical students/graduates based on 12 standardized clinical encounters. The exam was graded as pass/fail based on three components: integrative clinical encounter (ICE), communication and interpersonal skills (CIS), and spoken English proficiency (SEP). To receive an overall passing grade, an examinee was required to pass all three components.
Over the years, there have been increasing demands to …
Well before I started medical school, I thought I wanted to be a gynecologist. I remember being absolutely obsessed with reproduction and reproductive health. I remembered learning about periods when I was 9 years old, and I knew I wanted to figure out how to be the doctor that did that work. When I stumbled on Black feminism as a young African American woman in a small college at the …
The 2020-2021 residency application cycle was profoundly altered as a result of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the United States which led to a completely virtual season for nearly all specialties. At the time of this publication, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, and ophthalmology have announced virtual interviews for the upcoming 2021-2022 cycle. Using lessons from the inaugural “virtual” cycle, many residency …
In college, though I barely came out of organic chemistry in one piece, I couldn’t deny a persistent gut feeling and took a leap of faith to pursue medicine. That pursuit has been an arduous one, but that’s what has made the journey rewarding beyond my wildest imaginations. Thank you to my incredible mentors for nourishing my love for the practice of medicine and allowing me to dedicate myself towards …
With about a year’s worth of experience practicing medicine, I can say with certainty that I’ve got a lot left to learn. I’m a medical student in my final year. In Estonia, we cover all subjects by the 5th year — and in the 6th year, we practice.
I applied for a medical license back home in Finland that allows me to practice medicine with a designated consultant. Having a consultant …
1. Remember the humanity of your patients and colleagues. Question the utility of assigning blame. Seek to understand other perspectives and lead with empathy. Hold space for those around you and take that extra moment to listen to their stories (I promise — people won’t forget the feeling of being listened to). Notice and be curious about the variety of emotions that people invoke in you. An open mind and …
As a family physician, guest lecturer at a local medical school, and creator of a pre-med curriculum for young learners, I’m often asked by parents how to support their child who wants to be a doctor.
The most important point to remember is that you don’t need to have any science background or be a professional of any sort to support your child. We all want to help our children follow …
Physicians are always looking for ways to improve patient outcomes. Although this goal has no real endpoint, physicians continue to strive incessantly to decrease morbidity and mortality for patients. Atul Gawande, a prominent surgeon and writer, has demonstrated the benefits of learning from other professions, such as adopting checklists from the aviation industry to utilize in medicine. The subsequent use of checklists in medicine had a surprisingly tremendous impact on …
In my junior year of high school, I applied for and went on an educational mission trip to the Dominican Republic. Being the son of Uruguayan immigrants, I felt at home in the rural setting while my many classmates marveled at their first view of a culture different from theirs. On that trip, my ability to fluently speak two languages formed a common ground on which I could build relationships. …
The 2020-2021 GME recruitment season was transformative. While it was full of new and old challenges for stakeholders, the impact of the first-ever entirely virtual recruitment season will be substantial and long-lasting.
Before COVID-19, the long-standing process of in-person interviews was considered “sacred” by many. But this system was simply not possible during a global pandemic. In the transition to virtual interviews, applicants saved significant time and expense but the canceling …
The 2021 residency match “capstoned” the inaugural virtual interview season. Interviews may likely continue to incorporate some virtual aspects given the realized efficiencies. But these efficiencies come at a cost: limiting the applicant’s ability to get a feel of the programs and adding virtual fatigue to the inevitable stress of interviews.
As two medical students who participated in this most recent interview season, here are a few best practices we encountered …
Medicine is very much like driving. As an emergency physician, when you see a patient, you ask the same questions, “What brought you in today? What’s bothering you?” and go through the normal flow of the history and physical. You order the same labs and imaging reflexively. When you’re driving to a location that you’ve been to many times before, when you get into your car again and turn the …
The spike in medical school applications during the 2020-2021 cycle surprised most people involved with medical school admissions. COVID-19 erupted full force in the spring of 2020, right in the middle of the admission season for the medical school class of 2024 and the testing season for the medical school class of 2025. Taking a look at the timeline for typical medical school admissions can help …
As a fortunate incoming medical student, I would like to congratulate my future physician colleagues on getting accepted into medical school during an unprecedented application cycle. This piece is dedicated to the members of the class of 2025. Like you, I worried about matriculating into the class of 2025 on top of all the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic threw at all of us: worries about our …
A letter of recommendation is a document written about the applicant by a previous employer, professor, or anyone working in close contact with the applicant. This one document is supposed to describe you, your qualities, and your abilities — all in less than a few paragraphs. It can be an enormous determining factor in getting the job position, being accepted to a university, or matching your number one residency program. …
It was past midnight in the ED, and she was writhing on the bed, palms clutched over her abdomen. I pulled up a stool, notebook, and pen in hand. I was ready to listen to Mrs. Walker’s story. But I also felt a sense of dread rising: From a quick chart review, I knew that Mrs. Walker had 23 negative CT scans for abdominal pain within the last 18 months. …
You applied to medical school in record numbers this year. Whatever your reasons, we (three graduating medical students) applaud you. You come to medicine at an exciting time: a time of both celebration and moral reckoning. The rapid development of the COVID-19 vaccine has wowed the scientific community. However, COVID-19 has also highlighted the hidden pandemics of structural racism, inequitable access to care, …
In my medical school admissions essay, I wrote about helping at-risk kids like myself. I wanted to be a child and adolescent psychiatrist, but that wasn’t the main reason for applying. The real reason I applied was for my own personal survival. I needed to learn how to talk to doctors about my symptoms and get an appropriate level of care.
For years, my doctors told me that my illnesses and …
As I embark on my chief year in general surgery, I look forward to most is taking junior residents through operations. I am grateful to have had excellent teachers over the past five years, and I appreciate the opportunity to pay forward this mentorship. But taking what you have learned and teaching someone else turns out to be a very different challenge than learning itself! Suddenly, you realize your attendings …
Today I attempt to walk a new path in life, a path that sparkles from the sun above to guide my every move.
Step by step, I embrace the light and escape the dark shadow behind me. Slowly, I start to run as I crave harder to escape my unburdening. With the weight of sorrow on my back, I let it go and reach in front for the chamber in my …
