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Medical education

2,303 articles · Since 2007

Articles, page 37

A patient’s family bridges two worlds

Toward the end of my clinical rotations, I met Salma, a 34-year-old woman who came from Egypt with her family to the U.S. two years ago. Wearing a latte-colored hijab, she was here at the hospital to care for her…

Toward the end of my clinical rotations, I met Salma, a 34-year-old woman who came from Egypt with her family to the U.S. two years ago. Wearing a latte-colored hijab, she was here at the hospital to care for her father, who had a case of congestive heart failure exacerbation with pleural effusions.

When deoxygenated blood comes to the right side of the heart, it gets pumped to the lungs to …

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A patient’s family bridges two worlds

Who are the real superheroes of medicine?

Imagine yourself spending two years of your life indoors with books. Sometimes the only person you speak to for a few days is yourself, as you memorize intricate details of bugs and drugs that you never imagined yourself knowing. And…

Imagine yourself spending two years of your life indoors with books. Sometimes the only person you speak to for a few days is yourself, as you memorize intricate details of bugs and drugs that you never imagined yourself knowing. And then after these two years, you’re completely isolated from the world for about two months or so, studying for the exam that they tell you determines the rest of your …

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Who are the real superheroes of medicine?

Communicating honestly with patients about uncertainty

When looking at the way medical education and patient care is delivered, there is no question that there is a culture of “knowing.” From the moment a pre-med enters high school, they are bombarded with tests that assess knowledge. This…

When looking at the way medical education and patient care is delivered, there is no question that there is a culture of “knowing.” From the moment a pre-med enters high school, they are bombarded with tests that assess knowledge. This extends throughout medical training, where the development of an assessment and plan in residency is paramount in the transition to an attending physician who must make autonomous decisions for their …

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Communicating honestly with patients about uncertainty

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To raise future scientists, address our innate curiosity  

Michelangelo once said, “The sculpture is already complete within the marble block before I start my work.” The same insight applies to the scientific potential that resides inside young people. Curiosity is imbued within every human being since our birth,…

Michelangelo once said, “The sculpture is already complete within the marble block before I start my work.”

The same insight applies to the scientific potential that resides inside young people. Curiosity is imbued within every human being since our birth, and before we can find the words to explain why, we experience the urge to turn over rocks.

Often, efforts to promote science among young people aim to impress upon them what …

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To raise future scientists, address our innate curiosity  

Why millennials in medicine want a different dress code

12

The millennial generation is known for its desire and ability to change the status quo. As this group continues to enter and dominate the workforce, particularly as our current residents and medical students, employers are adjusting their long-held practices to…

The millennial generation is known for its desire and ability to change the status quo. As this group continues to enter and dominate the workforce, particularly as our current residents and medical students, employers are adjusting their long-held practices to reinvent their culture and ensure long-term access to young, top talent.

Can you give this generation the same dress code as you did the baby boomers and expect the same result? …

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Why millennials in medicine want a different dress code

Medical students creating their own oaths: Is that the best way to enter the profession?

As the fall approaches, medical schools across the country are preparing for the arrival of a new crop of medical students. The primary emphasis of medical school is to teach technical competencies so that students graduate with the medical knowledge…

As the fall approaches, medical schools across the country are preparing for the arrival of a new crop of medical students. The primary emphasis of medical school is to teach technical competencies so that students graduate with the medical knowledge and know-how to diagnose and treat disease.  Recognizing the health care is getting more and more complex, schools are also introducing new and evolving fields like health systems

…

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Medical students creating their own oaths: Is that the best way to enter the profession?

Should USMLE Step 1 be pass-fail?

On March 11th and 12th, representatives from the NBME, AMA, AAMC, Federation of State Medical Boards and the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates gathered in Philadelphia for InCUS — the Invitational Conference on USMLE Scoring — to discuss potential…

On March 11th and 12th, representatives from the NBME, AMA, AAMC, Federation of State Medical Boards and the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates gathered in Philadelphia for InCUS — the Invitational Conference on USMLE Scoring — to discuss potential changes regarding how Step 1 is scored. InCUS came about as a result of a wave of student frustrations over the pressure from the increasing importance of this exam in …

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Should USMLE Step 1 be pass-fail?

Want resilience? Look to your patients.

On a beautiful spring morning, I found myself in an outpatient OB clinic, ready to begin the last rotation of my third year of medical school. My attending physician greeted me and patiently (but quickly) showed me the ropes. I…

On a beautiful spring morning, I found myself in an outpatient OB clinic, ready to begin the last rotation of my third year of medical school. My attending physician greeted me and patiently (but quickly) showed me the ropes. I spent the better part of the day using a doppler to detect fetal heart sounds, measuring fundal heights, reading ultrasounds, and learning how to do pelvic exams on my incredibly …

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Want resilience? Look to your patients.

Becoming a doctor in India can be life-threatening

Recently, my niece gingerly confided that she was going to study engineering rather than medicine. I was certain she’d become a doctor – so deep was her love for biology and her deference to our family tradition. But she calculated,…

Recently, my niece gingerly confided that she was going to study engineering rather than medicine. I was certain she’d become a doctor – so deep was her love for biology and her deference to our family tradition. But she calculated, as would anyone with common sense, that with an engineering degree and an MBA, she’d be working for a multinational company making a comfortable income by twenty-eight. If she stuck …

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Becoming a doctor in India can be life-threatening

The white coat serves as a daily reminder of the Hippocratic oath

My classmate and I looked at each other with amusement and embarrassment as we learned that all medical students would now be required to launder their white coats at the hospital. After several complaints that medical student’s white coats did…

My classmate and I looked at each other with amusement and embarrassment as we learned that all medical students would now be required to launder their white coats at the hospital. After several complaints that medical student’s white coats did not appear as “white” as they should, the university decided to take matters into their own hands. I looked down at my own white coat, which was due for a …

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The white coat serves as a daily reminder of the Hippocratic oath

What this medical student learned as a legal extern

11

As a law student, I recently was a legal extern at a hospital this summer. It’s a crazy thought because when I started medical school back in Fall 2015, my bus would pass through the pick-up/drop off zone at the…

As a law student, I recently was a legal extern at a hospital this summer. It’s a crazy thought because when I started medical school back in Fall 2015, my bus would pass through the pick-up/drop off zone at the hospital every single day at 7:43 a.m. I always saw physicians with their long white coats and coffees in hand walking through the automatic sliding doors. I too saw patients …

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What this medical student learned as a legal extern

Who are the best educators for medical students?

2

I shared my assessment and plan with the preceptor as she walked into the room. She cut me off, “You think this patient needs surgery?” she smirked. “He has no idea what he is talking about, don’t mind him,” she…

I shared my assessment and plan with the preceptor as she walked into the room. She cut me off, “You think this patient needs surgery?” she smirked. “He has no idea what he is talking about, don’t mind him,” she whispered loudly to the patient. I kept quiet until the patient left, and my preceptor began writing her note. I pulled up a recent research article I had found prior …

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Who are the best educators for medical students?

A story about building rapport with your patient

“I feel like I am going to die … I was in a major car accident last week because of blurry vision that came out of nowhere.” Becky was one of thirty or so patients I saw at the family…

“I feel like I am going to die … I was in a major car accident last week because of blurry vision that came out of nowhere.”

Becky was one of thirty or so patients I saw at the family medicine practice on a hot day in Houston. She came in because of worsening headaches for the last six months.

“Can you describe your headaches for me?”

“Well, they cover my entire head. …

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A story about building rapport with your patient

Street medicine: You don’t know about it, but you don’t care to

Street medicine is a small niche, but it’s not new. Dr. Jim Withers and Dr. James O’Connell began the pioneering in the United States in the 1980s, and it’s not just a local practice; the Street Medicine Institute is a…

Street medicine is a small niche, but it’s not new. Dr. Jim Withers and Dr. James O’Connell began the pioneering in the United States in the 1980s, and it’s not just a local practice; the Street Medicine Institute is a global organization made up of fifteen countries across five continents. When preceptors or other physicians ask me what field I want to go into, I tell them “street medicine.” Almost …

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Street medicine: You don’t know about it, but you don’t care to

Dealing with the pressures of learning as a physician-in-training

The other day, I happened across a YouTube video called the “Try Not to Look Away Challenge.” There were some obvious video clips, such as a person vomiting, a spider, and a spooky video game. What struck me was a…

The other day, I happened across a YouTube video called the “Try Not to Look Away Challenge.” There were some obvious video clips, such as a person vomiting, a spider, and a spooky video game. What struck me was a clip from a movie in which a middle-aged woman forgets where the restroom in her house is located. After letting her husband know that she was headed to the restroom, …

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Dealing with the pressures of learning as a physician-in-training

How to rekindle your love of medicine

Recently, thousands of new residency and fellowship graduates have earned their wings and will be, mostly metaphorically, hanging out their shingles. Sadly, though, as the excitement of finally finishing training after decades of schooling wears off, even great work can…

Recently, thousands of new residency and fellowship graduates have earned their wings and will be, mostly metaphorically, hanging out their shingles. Sadly, though, as the excitement of finally finishing training after decades of schooling wears off, even great work can become routine.

There is a parable about three men laying bricks. When asked what they were doing, the first man said, “Laying bricks.” The second man said, “Building a church.” And …

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How to rekindle your love of medicine

I will not stop sacrificing for my medical career

At the moment, I should be studying for my first round of boards, but there is something I can’t get off my mind: sacrifice. If you ask a medical student what they have had to sacrifice to study medicine, the…

At the moment, I should be studying for my first round of boards, but there is something I can’t get off my mind: sacrifice.

If you ask a medical student what they have had to sacrifice to study medicine, the list could go on for days. It could be small things like watching their favorite teams play or being caught up on current events. But more than likely we will list …

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I will not stop sacrificing for my medical career

Why a gap year will make this medical student a better physician

Whenever someone asks me what year of medical school I am currently in, I answer that I am a "four-out-of-five." To those outside the milieu of Stanford Medicine, this is an odd response -- four-out-of-five of what? But at Stanford,…

Whenever someone asks me what year of medical school I am currently in, I answer that I am a “four-out-of-five.” To those outside the milieu of Stanford Medicine, this is an odd response — four-out-of-five of what? But at Stanford, this is common parlance to refer to students taking a gap year after our third year of medical school.

Some would reasonably bemoan my choice to take a research year as …

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Why a gap year will make this medical student a better physician

A psychiatric hospital in Uganda: a medical student’s reflection

I excel at intellectualization. It is a fickle defense mechanism, allowing the observer to fully comprehend the situation in front of them without fully engaging in the emotional context. Throughout my medical training, intellectualization has aided me at many patient…

I excel at intellectualization. It is a fickle defense mechanism, allowing the observer to fully comprehend the situation in front of them without fully engaging in the emotional context. Throughout my medical training, intellectualization has aided me at many patient bedsides and through emotionally charged family conferences. I am reminded of many moments on neurology wards when a patient’s emotionally charged question was reinterpreted and deflected through a purely intellectual …

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A psychiatric hospital in Uganda: a medical student’s reflection

Does medical school train students to become managers or leaders?

I worked with someone (not a physician, but that doesn’t really matter here) whose title was “assistant director.” He and I quickly recognized that we worked well together: His head brimmed with big visions and ideas, whereas my head brimmed…

I worked with someone (not a physician, but that doesn’t really matter here) whose title was “assistant director.” He and I quickly recognized that we worked well together: His head brimmed with big visions and ideas, whereas my head brimmed with plans as to how to make those ideas manifest in the actual world.

“He’s like a bunch of balloons,” I quipped to a colleague. “He’s got a ton of ideas …

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Does medical school train students to become managers or leaders?

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