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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 …

COVID-19 vaccines: Channeling the 7 habits to get from vaccines to vaccinations

Toyin M. Falusi, MD

Physician

December 6, 2020

In the U.S. and worldwide, cases, hospitalizations, and deaths from COVID-19 are surging. The health care workforce is overworked, and increasingly, more people appear to be experiencing mask fatigue. In the midst of this, there is exciting news. A few weeks ago, initial promising results from two phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trials were released. The vaccines reportedly showed 90 to 95 percent efficacy, exceeding expectations, and providing much-needed optimism.

Vaccines are …

A message to medical interns, in the midst of a pandemic [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 5, 2020

“Ultimately, our job is a difficult one. It’s hard to take usual comfort in heartwarming statistics or hollow promises of prosperity when you find yourself loving and grieving your patients. I have found there is comfort and an impenetrable hope that comes from this; this is the life-hack for training: Seek …

This is what a successful health care system looks like [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 4, 2020

“If we are serious about supporting the optimal health and well being of our nations’ patients and physicians, we need to start believing and implementing the science across the public and private sectors. We need to recognize that at its core, the practice of medicine is a human science. We need …

Physicians who work themselves into the ground have nothing to be proud of

Jenny Hartsock, MD

Physician

December 4, 2020

There were recently many news articles and coverage exalting a physician for working 250 straight days during COVID. 250 days, that’s nearly 8 1/2 months without a day off.

While this physician displays dedication and caring, I don’t think we should celebrate this as an achievement. The truth is he’s working every day all day for one of two reasons. Either there is no one else, and he’s a victim of …

Who are the doctors who end their own lives? [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 3, 2020

“Recently, a fellow physician mom ended her life. While outwardly, a very vibrant, lively, and happy woman, she fought her own internal demons for some time. From what we know, she struggled with depression but was still committed to being a good mom, physician, and wife. Sadly, a few days before …

COVID-19 highlights chronic oppressive job conditions [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 2, 2020

“In medicine, the guise of ‘professionalism’ is an example of how an oppressive system has led us to believe that we ought not to advocate for our rights. It would be ‘unprofessional’ to organize for a better health care system for both patients and workers. To work towards personal liberation, Boal …

Meet the doctor who really believes that laughter is the best medicine

Lynette Charity, MD

Physician

December 2, 2020

So there’s this 60-year-old African American physician, and she is fed up. She’s working at a local hospital because she wants to sleep in her own bed rather than continue the life of a locum tenens. After a weekend call where she’s on her 29th hour in the OR in two days with only three hours of sleep, she refuses to do another case. “I’m tired,” She says, “I’m sleepy. …

A doctor-centric approach to evaluating if a loan is the right decision

Kenton Allen, MD and Zwade Marshall, MD & The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 1, 2020

This article is sponsored by Doc2Doc Lending. Find out more about personal loans for physicians from Doc2Doc Lending.

For the vast majority of us doctors, a career in …

How physicians can find jobs in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

November 30, 2020

“I’m now CMO at a private biotech company focused on developing therapies for patients with rare endocrine diseases. We are conducting a trial in the U.S., Europe, and Israel. I mention this to raise the possibility of travel in pharma/biotech roles. In most companies, roles are both ‘functional’ (i.e., clinical development, …

Clinical pearls: Addressing health care disparities for African Americans

Pri-Med

How this physician’s first experience with death affected her [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

November 29, 2020

“My sister called me. I answered. And, then, I lost it: ‘He died. He died,’ I repeated. ‘Our patient died. I literally did CPR on this guy. We tried to save his life, and he died,’ I repeated over and over. The tears streaming down my cheeks were cathartic. More than signifying …

Empty chairs at the table this holiday season

Anjani Amladi, MD

Physician

November 29, 2020

There’s nothing like the holidays and a new year around the corner to remind us that 2020 is almost over. This year let’s try to take nothing for granted. Especially since millions of Americans will soon sit down to a holiday meal with one or more loved ones missing. Those empty chairs are a reminder of what we have endured this year. Whether it be loved ones who are sick, …

Being an attending: What no one tells you in residency and medical school

Fatai Oluyadi, MD

Physician

November 29, 2020

For most of us, medical training through all the pains of medical school and residency is often bearable when we fantasize about life on the other side of all of this. Life as an attending physician, when the sky suddenly turns all rainbow, when the money starts to fall from those skies — we’re finally our own bosses, and then we’re supposed to live happily ever after. The reality, however, …

A physician moves from the exam room to the C-suite [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

November 28, 2020

“The dictionary definition of learning is ‘the acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience, study, or by being taught.’ For leaders, the most crucial and common way of learning happens through experience, and as we often say, leadership is flying the plane while building it. Moreover, the onus of making the process …

Essential tips for the physician-entrepreneur [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

November 27, 2020

“Being an entrepreneur can be a lonely road. Everyone dreams of life after a successful round of funds being raised, staff being hired, and plunging headfirst into the making and shipping of widgets. But there are many days which no one talks about, where a budding entrepreneur must find a way to …

The perfect podcast for busy physicians

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

November 26, 2020

The Podcast by KevinMD shares the stories of KevinMD authors in their own words.

15 minutes a day. 7 days a week. Your daily dose of information, insight, and inspiration.

Here is what people are saying:

“Thank you Kevin for your dedication to giving so many of us, your colleagues, a chance to …

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The perfect podcast for busy physicians

COVID-19 is a war on two fronts [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

November 26, 2020

“I’m exhausted. As the pandemic rages on, the mental toll of dealing with COVID-19 has started to wear on me. As a practicing hospitalist in the Midwest impacted by one of the many hotspots caused by the meatpacking industry, I have spent a fair bit of time with this virus on the …

To MBA or not to MBA as an MD: a physician’s journey

Manpreet Samra, MD, MBA

Physician

November 26, 2020

The first thing my husband said when I told him about MBA school was, “the NBA has a school?” It didn’t help that we first had our conversation about MBA school during the NBA playoffs but really – NBA school? I quickly overcame this moronic start to the conversation by saying “M” as in Michael Jordan – MBA school. He got it from there and every day since. And every …

Ballad of a sober man: an ER doctor’s journey of recovery [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

November 25, 2020

“Now, in her afterlife, she occasionally accompanied Maggie on excursions into my head, usually at night. Make that a double vodka.

I thought I had finally learned in sobriety how to put them in the past, encased in a box, and keep them there. Still, sometimes they found a way out to …

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