Students, residents, and educators writing on KevinMD about how physicians are made: medical school, the match, residency, duty hours, supervision, assessment, mistreatment, and the path from student to practicing physician. Many contributors write while still in training, and many write anonymously. For a maintained record of what students and physicians have said about medical school since 2004, see Medical school: what students and physicians say, in their own words. For what residents and attendings have said about residency itself, see Residency: what residents and attendings say, in their own words.
Burnout affects as many as 50 percent of physicians. Interventions have been proposed at virtually every stage of a physician’s life, from medical school to residency training to professional practice. While the rigors of medical training certainly contribute to the high levels of burnout in the profession, there are indications that the trouble begins at the undergraduate level.
I recently graduated from an undergraduate program geared toward students interested in medicine. …
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Burnout doesn’t start in medical school
Caribbean medical schools are, first and foremost, schools of opportunity. They’re a necessary one, too. Nearly 3,000 U.S. citizens study abroad and match into residencies in the U.S. every year, nearly all of which do so after not gaining admission at home. The Caribbean is a huge part of that. With no shortage of qualified people wanting to be doctors, and a marked shortage of doctors, it’s no wonder the …
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Addressing the “ugly truth” about Caribbean medical schools: Why they’re not all the same
Each year, thousands of newly minted MDs are elevated from mere medical students to — drumroll, please — interns. If that’s you, congratulations and welcome to the world of residency.
Welcome to the world of motivation, inspiration and altruism — where you wake up every day knowing this was what you were meant to do.
And welcome to the world of the hungry, the tired, the poor. …
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12 tips to help you survive residency
As a physician in training, you’re in the first quarter of your new position as an intern or resident. If you are an early career physician, you are adjusting to life as an attending.
What exactly does that mean for you? Are you moving from rotation to rotation, hopeful that someone will show you the ropes? In the midst of change, that’s usually what we do. We look at the schedule, …
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3 steps to gain expertise early in your medical career
“Good morning, Mr. S! How are you feeling today?” I ask as I step into his hospital room. Yesterday, Mr. S was admitted for infective endocarditis and has been tolerating antibiotic treatment well. I am a medical student on my acute cardiology rotation taking care of him.
“I’m feeling fine,” he says, and I proceed to ask about how he slept, if he’s experiencing any chest pain, palpitations, shortness of breath, …
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Music is creating beauty in the most surprising of places
As a third-generation physician, I grew up thinking and dreaming of a being a physician, and 33 years later, I am still living the dream. I dreamt of saving people’s lives. I dreamt of a day like today when I received a LinkedIn request from a young lady on whom, 21 years ago, I performed a living donor liver transplant from her mother.
Today she is graduating from college and hopes …
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A life moment you dare not dream of
I’m probably in the minority on this, but I’m not a fan of the NYU School of Medicine free tuition program. Now I’m all for debt relief for medical students who start their careers with a mortgage. I was one of them. After 13 years, I’m still one of them! I’m also for any initiative that drives more medical students to career paths like primary care, where massive debt makes …
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The unintended consequences of free medical school
As luck would have it, I flew (figuratively speaking, of course) down the highway to work this afternoon while listening to the sweeping saga of Harry Potter.
As you may know, not unlike the medical students we teach, no student enters the hallowed halls of Hogwarts without a gift. All possess the potential to master — after years of study and practice, of course — the art and science of magic.
Despite …
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Teaching attendings: Are we Dolores Umbridge?
Dear first-year medical students,
Welcome to medical school — congratulations! You have worked, sacrificed, waited for this moment for many long years, have left blood, sweat, and tears along the tracks of your life marathon. This is the first checkpoint in your journey. You’ve made it. Your loved ones are right here cheering your accomplishments, there are many. That new, freshly-pressed, short white coat makes you look like an absolute stud(ent). …
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Welcome to medical school. Welcome to the rest of your life.
I may have bitten off more than I can chew. I am in medical school, which alone tends to drive people into scheduling mayhem. I am in student government. I am on the official basketball team at my school. I am preparing for an AMSA talk. I workout regularly, I continue to write, I cook and do my laundry and spend time outside when I can. My caffeination is at an all-time …
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While managing her schedule, a medical student learns 2 important concepts
I remember the fervor of my first day of internship: expecting a daunting yet exciting time lay ahead, and I was finally going to be of some use to people. (And to my parents, relatives, and neighbors: “Oh, you’re finally a doctor.”) I felt like Tom Cruise on the airstrip of Miramar racing an F-14 with Kenny Loggins’ Danger Zone as he was about to join Top Gun.
However, these cinematic …
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7 habits of highly effective interns
Since the beginning of a new academic year is fast approaching, here’s some heartfelt advice. You might need it, I hope you read it and heed it. If you’re just beginning your medical school journey, the first line is written specifically for you, but the rest of the piece is pertinent for any doctor, at any age and any stage of their careers.
If this is your first day of med …
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As you enter medical school: tips from a patient
I woke up to the sound of a faint “ding” from my bedside table. It was 5:24 a.m. Shaking off my lethargy, I scrambled over to my phone because the ding meant one thing: my first residency interview invitation.
Looking back on that moment, as I responded in the dim light of the morning, I realize that I knew very little about what was to come over the next few months. …
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The rewarding and grueling process of residency application
Since the beginning of the fourth year of medical school, I have lived in six different cities and have been fortunate to call a Michigan apple orchard, an island on the Mississippi River, and a little apartment in the Coolidge Corner neighborhood of Boston home. I come to you as an emergency medicine intern fully immersed in the second month of residency excited about what the future holds as a …
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How to separate good medical students from superb ones
I’m not really sure who is at fault, but somewhere along the way, our educational system decided that teaching personal finance is unnecessary. We learn calculus, the rules of dodgeball and even sewing, but financial management is taboo. Then, all of a sudden, we head to undergrad and medical school, and before we know it, we’re in our late 20s or early 30s financially illiterate.
The consequence of this was shown …
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It’s time to learn the basics of financial management in medical school
What makes a good doctor or, for that matter, a great one? Most patients want physicians who are excellent clinicians and diagnosticians. But we also want doctors who are caring, empathetic and maybe even telepathic — doctors who seem to know intuitively what we need without any awkward discussion of sensitive issues.
After all, patients may not want or know how to talk about substance abuse, domestic violence, sexually transmitted disease …
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What is one thing that separates good doctors from great ones?
With the transition to residency, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about next steps in my career. I even did a self-reflection exercise for a class in which I listed out professional decisions that will come up in the next few years (including choices like fellowship selection, type of practice setting, whether to pursue management roles, and more). I then rated the different options on a set of six …
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Medical schools should improve long-term career counseling
If someone asked you on day one of medical school, as a fresh-faced first year, to name the essential components of a successful career, what would you have answered? A solid education? Good test scores? Publications? An $800 otoscope? Some are more obvious than others. Who of the enlightened among us would have mentioned a proper work-life balance? How about a strong support system — or the right mentor?
Navigating the …
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How I met your mentor: tips to finding sponsorship and mentorship
When we studied ward attending rounds, the thought process represented the top attribute that learners valued. Learners can learn facts from textbooks, but using those facts requires experience and role modeling.
I have given many lectures on clinical reasoning, and I have attended many lectures on clinical reasoning. These lectures can entertain, but one lecture does little to help our colleagues and our learners.
We must structure case conferences as a primary …
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Structure case conferences as a primary way to teach and learn
