Medical education

2,303 articles · Since 2007

Articles, page 98

Why do we teach surgery the same way we did 40 years ago?

July 27, 2012Jul 27, 2012

When I was a surgical residency program director, I often wondered what the establishment, you know those guys who ran surgical education, was thinking. Some may remember the rule that a resident had to see at least 50% of the patients he operated on in the clinic or the private surgeon’s office in order to claim credit for having done the case.

There was the emphasis that still exists today on …

Reinforcing my desire to become a pediatrician

Katie Gesbeck

July 27, 2012Jul 27, 2012

One evening during my first year of medical school, I was waiting by the entrance to The Salvation Army to let another student back into the free clinic. The weekly clinic was organized by MEDiC, an organization of student-run free clinics in the Madison area. A family with four small children was returning to spend the night at the shelter, and one of the kids saw the stethoscope around my …

EKG reading: It’s shocking what medical residents don’t know

Wes Fisher, MD

July 26, 2012Jul 26, 20123

"Dr. Fisher, can you teach our residents EKG lecture series?" Naively, I said "Sure!" What I didn't realize is how hard this is to do today. Much of this is not residents' fault. They only have so many hours in…

“Dr. Fisher, can you teach our residents EKG lecture series?”

Naively, I said “Sure!”

What I didn’t realize is how hard this is to do today.

Much of this is not residents’ fault. They only have so many hours in so many days to attend lectures while caring for patients. Thanks to residency work-hour restrictions, those hours have become even fewer. To make matters much worse, through the year residents are torn to …

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Learning about patients as a phlebotomist

Connor Benton

July 25, 2012Jul 25, 2012

“I swear to God, if you come any closer, I will kill you,” said the 30-something year old, arms as wide as bazookas, eyes as piercing as the very needles I was about to stick him with. He was hooked up to IVs on every limb, had tubes coming out of his nose and going down his throat, but other than that, he was about as physically fit as anyone I’d …

Embrace the storm in medical school

Michael Moore

July 19, 2012Jul 19, 2012

There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm. - Willa Cather, The Song of the Lark Over the past year I have been blogging for The Lancet Student. As luck would have it, I ended…

There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm.
– Willa Cather, The Song of the Lark

Over the past year I have been blogging for The Lancet Student. As luck would have it, I ended up writing during my 3rd year of medical school, American Style. This is my “clinical clerkship” year. In a way, my posts have been a record of my journey during that year.

As …

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Embrace the storm in medical school

9 essential tips for new medical students

WhiteCoat, MD

July 17, 2012Jul 17, 20128

Whether you’re starting medical school or beginning your second year, this post is for you. Will probably work just as well for PAs, NPs and any other health professional student who hasn’t started clinical rotations. Our former babysitter just graduated…

Our former babysitter just graduated from medical school and the WhiteCoats are just as proud as her parents are. Then I started thinking, what advice would I give to students starting medical school?

Our first day of …

Thought blocking and the privilege of becoming a doctor

Reflex Hammer

July 14, 2012Jul 14, 2012

Years ago, I spotted an acquaintance I hadn't seen in a while. The conversation was odd. A few times, I would ask a question and he would begin to respond, only to trail off into silence and stare blankly into…

Years ago, I spotted an acquaintance I hadn’t seen in a while. The conversation was odd. A few times, I would ask a question and he would begin to respond, only to trail off into silence and stare blankly into space. He would remain frozen until the moment I said something else, whereupon he would act normally. He seemed completely oblivious to the fact that he had trailed off and …

Health promotion needs to start in medical school

Rich Joseph

July 13, 2012Jul 13, 2012

I recently took an exam focused on the pathophysiology and clinical risks factors of cardiovascular disease, the number one cause of morbidity and mortality in the developed world. Atherosclerosis, hypertension, and smoking were all there, front and center. Ironically enough, since it was the final exam of our first year of medical school, the instructors decided to reward us with dozens of Krispy Kreme donuts to enjoy during the exam. …

The first person entrusted to my care

John Marigliano

July 12, 2012Jul 12, 2012

With the passage of each summer’s day I am getting closer and closer to starting medical school, and with that the beginning of the rite of passage that is gross anatomy. Each Fall, first years across the country walk with a mixture of nervousness and excitement into a room full of covered cadavers and are introduced to the first person placed in their care – their “first patient.”

The men and …

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The first person entrusted to my care

Medical education needs to get a passport

Michael Mank

July 12, 2012Jul 12, 20122

I participated in a medical mission to Haiti with the Hope for Tomorrow Foundation. The trip only lasted a week, but the impression it made will stay with me forever. I experienced a culture shock stepping off the plane: “tent cities” sprawled the streets, sewage and garbage piled up to no end, and the people had nowhere to go.

Upon arriving to the hospital in Les Cayes, there were hundreds of …

Life somehow leads us exactly to where we are supposed to be

Molly McPheron

July 8, 2012Jul 8, 20125

I grew up with a harsh awareness of my own mortality. Though due in part to my drivers’ ed teacher, who spent most classes telling gruesome tales of the horrors that befall high schoolers who don’t pay attention while driving (you got your money’s worth, Mom and Dad!), I think the reality of cancer was what really struck me. It took my grandfather in his 70’s, and I miss him …

Tips to be the best intern you can be

Mary L. Brandt, MD

July 6, 2012Jul 6, 2012

Across the country, newly minted doctors have started their internships. The first night on call there won’t be an intern – anywhere in the country – who will sleep. Every new intern is absolutely convinced that the beeper is going to go off and they won’t know what to do. (You get over this by about the 2nd or 3rd call night, by the way).

Graduating from medical school …

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Tips to be the best intern you can be

The functional and professional necessity of detachment

Ilana Yurkiewicz

July 5, 2012Jul 5, 20126

There’s an intersection in Boston outside one of my favorite places to eat. At the corner of two bustling streets is a white bike, chained in place, surrounded by flowers. In loving memory. *** One evening earlier this month, I…

There’s an intersection in Boston outside one of my favorite places to eat. At the corner of two bustling streets is a white bike, chained in place, surrounded by flowers. In loving memory.

***

One evening earlier this month, I was riding the ‘T,’ Boston’s streetcar system, when our train suddenly stopped.

There were the usual sights and sounds of delayed passengers: people fiddled with cell phones, glanced at watches, tapped feet impatiently. …

The moments that define the job of a physician

Allison Overmon

July 2, 2012Jul 2, 20124

One of the most intense moments of my third-year of medical school was during my internal medicine clerkship when a code blue was called. It was our responsibility as medical students on the inpatient service to report to every code…

One of the most intense moments of my third-year of medical school was during my internal medicine clerkship when a code blue was called.

It was our responsibility as medical students on the inpatient service to report to every code blue while we were on our calls every 4th night. This time was no different, and my call partner and I ran to the code. When we arrived, I recognized the …

Become not just a physician, but a great physician

Michael Mank

June 20, 2012Jun 20, 20122

As the nation, physicians, hospitals, and political pundits await the Supreme Court’s decision on the Affordable Care Act, I find myself waiting for something else: to begin medical school. I will be hitting the books, studying vigorously, and desperately trying to remember the myriad of information being thrown at me well after the justices decide the fate of President Obama’s landmark legislation. So what does this mean for me, or …

Should medical students consider a combined psychiatry residency?

Julia Frank, MD

June 19, 2012Jun 19, 2012

“What about combined psychiatry-family medicine-neurology-internal medicine programs? Should I try to do a triple board program in psychiatry-child psychiatry and pediatrics?” Every April, I field such questions from a slew of rising fourth year students who have become, to their…

“What about combined psychiatry-family medicine-neurology-internal medicine programs? Should I try to do a triple board program in psychiatry-child psychiatry and pediatrics?”

Every April, I field such questions from a slew of rising fourth year students who have become, to their surprise (and sometimes dismay), passionately interested in psychiatry. Psychiatry is a shortage specialty and psychiatric issues rank high among the challenges facing medical care systems here and around the world. For …

Medical students need guides during their clinical years

Thomas Doran

June 14, 2012Jun 14, 2012

Before I started medical school I thought it would be phenomenal to become a doctor. What could be more amazing than to possess a thorough, complete and intimate understanding of the human mechanism? I came to medical school to learn physiology and pathology in their entirety. I could not imagine a more valuable understanding than to fully know the secrets of the human body, what befalls it and how to …

Communication skills are lacking in health care today

Satyam H. Veean

June 13, 2012Jun 13, 20127

Take a look around you. What do you see? Babies playing with gadgets, four year olds playing with cell phones, and teenagers and adults playing with iPads or typing away on their personal computers. With the exponential increases in technology, specifically the digitalization of communication, in the past decade, our citizens have moved to the point of paying more attention to our devices than to each other.

As we begin to …

The reasons our future doctors are choosing medicine have changed

Anonymous

June 8, 2012Jun 8, 201220

Why would anyone want to become a doctor? Seriously. Think about it, because this is a very important question for the future of healthcare in our country. The future of medicine is somewhat unclear in this age of healthcare reform,…

Why would anyone want to become a doctor? Seriously. Think about it, because this is a very important question for the future of healthcare in our country.

The future of medicine is somewhat unclear in this age of healthcare reform, but we do know a few things. Physician compensation is currently falling while lawsuits and malpractice premiums are rising. Doctors must see many more patients in a day to maintain their …

My pediatrician inspired me to become a physician

Reflex Hammer

June 7, 2012Jun 7, 20123

I recently learned the sorry news that my childhood pediatrician has died. Not only was he my pediatrician, but he was also my father's pediatrician. Our family became rather close to him over the years. He came from a different…

I recently learned the sorry news that my childhood pediatrician has died. Not only was he my pediatrician, but he was also my father’s pediatrician. Our family became rather close to him over the years.

He came from a different generation of doctors, one that made house calls, that served in wars abroad, and that learned how to diagnose patients in the days before MRIs and CT scans. Even though I …

Medical education

Articles, page 98

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