Medical school
From Uber driver to Harvard Medical School
“What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?”
– “Harlem” by Langston Hughes
“$23.46,” the Walmart cashier distractedly mentioned to me as I got ready for my first ride. I had signed up and passed the background check. My …
The immediate impact of the transition to a pass/fail Step 1 exam
Historically, students’ three-digit scores on the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) Step 1 were a main factor in determining competitiveness for residency programs. In February 2020, the world of medical education shifted drastically when it was announced that the USMLE Step 1 would transition to a pass/fail scoring system. One of the main factors driving this change was that medical students and residency programs were attributing too much …
Effective doctors need to be challenged [PODCAST]
Medical school admissions: wokeism vs. the Bible
According to Psychology Today, wokeism is defined as a system of thought and behavior characterized by intolerance, policing the speech of others and proving one’s own superiority by denouncing others.
In a September 2, 2022, article in the New York Post titled, “Top med school putting wokeism ahead of giving America good doctors,” Dr. Stanley Goldfarb and Laura Morgan shed light on recent efforts to allow wokeism to infiltrate the …
Who gets to graduate from medical school?
Getting into medical school is only the first step of an intense journey. Undergoing the admission process and being accepted into medical school can be an exceptional challenge, especially as a student of color, but it isn’t the only hurdle. In a previous article, I outlined the medical school admission process, its reliance on MCAT scores, and key experiences, which are highly influenced by unequally distributed opportunities. I also shared …
Let’s meet in child’s pose and welcome the day
Anyone who has ever practiced yoga knows what that means. Child’s pose. Kneeling with toes untucked. Upper body hinged over the hips with arms outstretched and forehead resting against the mat. Breathing. In and out. In. And. Out. We are told it’s a recovery position, a safe place.
Whenever we are feeling overwhelmed with another position, or even if the position is not just clicking, we can find rest in something …
Making it work when you’re married to a medical student
My husband’s medical school offered a “key supporters” session during his first-year orientation week. Each student’s family or significant other was invited to attend a two-hour session to learn the schedule of a student doctor and for a panel discussion from current students and their key supporters.
Most people walking out of the room afterward were really nervous. It sounded like students were studying 15 hours a day with no more …
Using simulations to improve medical decision making [PODCAST]
The desire to be challenged is one of the most important aspects of an effective doctor
Bang!
A pulsing pain surged through my head. As I floated in the water of the makeshift pond, it became apparent. I was concussed.
That day, June 16, 2018, is what I consider the most significant day of my life. For a long time, that injury led me to live in constant fear. It was unlike anything that had ever happened to me before. I jumbled my words. My movements were uncoordinated. …
The most important tool a medical student can have is the ability to reflect on experiences
Throughout my life, I have been trained by Jesuit institutions. I have loved all of what they have prescribed – to “find God in all things,” to “care for the entire person,” to “be a woman with and for others.” But the most important pillar that I have gained from these educational institutions is to have a reflective mind – the ability to ask why and dig deeper into a …
Turning obstacles into opportunities with diversified health care perspectives
I have experienced a wide spectrum of the health care ecosystem since childhood giving me a deeper insight into its future need. I suffered for 23 years with a wrong diagnosis and frequent long-distance hospital visits before my heart operation. For 14 years, I shifted through multiple doctors and hospitalizations for my father’s mismanaged diabetic complications, including a foot ulcer with cellulitis. My academic mentor said, “Your father himself is …
Top tips for new interns [PODCAST]
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Medical education has woken up, and that’s a good thing
A Black woman whose kidneys only function at 15 percent of normal wishes to be evaluated for a kidney transplant. Although this is very reasonable, before 2021, many physicians would have said, “I’m sorry, but your kidney function is not bad enough to be referred for a transplant.”
This is because the kidney function calculator used before 2021 overestimates kidney function for Black people, making her kidney function seem “too good” …
How to make primary care rotations more appealing for students [PODCAST]
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“It is time that every health profession school specifies their criteria for optimal teaching primary care practices and for the training that would optimize their students’ experience. It is time that we, as primary care physicians, advocate …
Medical training and the systematic creation of mental health sufferers
The COVID-19 pandemic has uprooted our lives, tilting them into imbalance and oftentimes severing our individual sense of inner peace. The newfound public initiative to combat these paralyzing challenges is welcome, especially to me. I’ve coped with major depression for as long as I can remember.
The grinding pursuit of my own inner peace led me to medical school. Medical training, I expected, would make a healer out of me, able …
A death knell for cadavers
If “video killed the radio star” and Zoom squelched the commute, it seems certain that virtual reality and three-dimensional imaging will be the death knell for cadavers.
Recently, NBC Nightly News did a story featuring staff members from Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine using the metaverse and 3D imaging to map out the details of an upcoming complex brain surgery. No matter that the four participants were in different …
9 ways international medical graduates can boost their residency match outcomes
International medical school graduates (IMGs) play an integral role in the health care system of the United States and constitute approximately one-quarter of the physician workforce. In 2022, fewer IMGs registered for Match than in 2021, with a match rate of 58.1 percent. The transition to USMLE Step 1 pass/fail, elimination of Step 2 Clinical Science, and implementation of secondary application will likely impact IMGs in their 2023 Match. Here …
Just as medicine is rooted in relationships, so too is good advising
“Well, you may think you want to be a surgeon, now that you’re young and think you can do it all, but that will change — once children are in the picture. You’ll see how hard it is to leave them and wish you could be with them all the time.”
As a young female medical student, I seriously considered the physician’s words. I imagined what it would be like to …
Who gets to go to medical school?
I knew I wanted to be a doctor when I was seven years old. I excelled in school, attended a good college, scored well on the MCAT, and was accepted into medical school just as I always knew I would be. It was only as I progressed in my career as a physician that I realized that being a white, middle-class individual had given me an advantage—I had access that …
Past Week
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Why timing, not surgery, determines patient survival
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How early meetings and after-hours events penalize physician-mothers
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Past 6 Months
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Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications
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How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust
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Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]
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The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care
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Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine
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Recent Posts
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How Project ECHO is fighting physician isolation and transforming medical education [PODCAST]
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Why clinical research is a powerful path for unmatched IMGs
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Addressing menstrual health inequities in adolescents
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The truth about perfection and identity in health care
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Civil discourse as a leadership competency: the case for curiosity in medicine
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Past Week
-
Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications
-
America’s ER crisis: Why the system is collapsing from within
-
Why timing, not surgery, determines patient survival
-
How early meetings and after-hours events penalize physician-mothers
-
Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line
-
FDA delays could end vital treatment for rare disease patients
-
Past 6 Months
-
Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications
-
How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust
-
Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]
-
The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care
-
Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine
-
Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR
-
Recent Posts
-
How Project ECHO is fighting physician isolation and transforming medical education [PODCAST]
-
Why clinical research is a powerful path for unmatched IMGs
-
Addressing menstrual health inequities in adolescents
-
How to advance workforce development through research mentorship and evidence-based management
-
The truth about perfection and identity in health care
-
Civil discourse as a leadership competency: the case for curiosity in medicine
-
