Medical school

Navigating mental health challenges in medical education

Carter Do

Education

August 12, 2023

Medical education is a rigorous journey that demands dedication, resilience, and compassion. However, as medical students, we often find ourselves navigating through the pressures of this journey while silently grappling with our mental health. By sharing personal experiences and insights, I aim to initiate a candid conversation about mental health and advocate for positive changes within the medical community.

The weight of the white coat

The iconic white coat symbolizes not only …

Programs that recruit and retain Black and Latinx students in health care fields are essential to address racial health disparities

Alia Richardson

Education

August 10, 2023

“We need more doctors who look like us.”

I led a small group discussion with high school students enrolled in the Medical Careers Education and Emergency Preparedness (MedCEEP) ‘s Summer Pipeline Program. Our task was to brainstorm solutions to address a critical health disparity, and our group was assigned the topic of “Maternal Health.” The students, all young Black and Latina women from the Southside of Chicago, unanimously agreed that increasing …

Medical schools’ hidden crisis: the dark truth behind physician burnout

Curtis G. Graham, MD

Physician

August 9, 2023

The annual suicide rate of physicians over the past few decades has amounted to about 400 highly trained and competent American physicians per year and is now increasing. That wipes out about one large medical school four-year class each year in our nation.

Our medical school education system has for the last century rejected and intentionally prevented offering an academic business education to all medical students, which has unfortunately become a …

The pursuit of medicine through dyslexia

Yaacov Bergman

Conditions

August 9, 2023

Sitting in class was always a terrifying experience, not knowing if I was going to be the next one called on to read. My mind would race ahead trying to figure out a strategy on how to get out of it. I would excuse myself from the room or blame a sore throat, anything to avoid reading in front of my peers. On the rare occasions that I was called …

How doctors prioritize family and career with “physician third”

Stephen J. Foley

Education

August 5, 2023

As I reflect on the concept of work-life “balance,” I realize that trying to integrate clinical and home responsibilities may feel like a juggling act while unicycling on a high wire. Instead, what we need is work-life “stability”; the reassuring feeling that we are firmly planted on solid ground. To achieve this, it is crucial to be three-dimensional, with three meaningful passions supporting our physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.

No one …

Creating an inclusive medical culture

Atithi Patel

Education

August 3, 2023

“We want you all to do better,” said the presenter to the medical students, as if only the next generation can enact change … the next time around. This session is one of many aimed at making the culture of medicine more inclusive and collaborative—less hierarchical and less patriarchal.

Medicine has a longstanding history of hazing those lower on the totem pole with scut work and authority. Unfortunately, this breeds the …

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Creating an inclusive medical culture

The surprising link between science and art: lessons from Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo Galilei

Osmund Agbo, MD

Physician

August 2, 2023

Though I studied medicine and was never really a science buff, I remain in awe to this day of algebra, calculus, theoretical physics, and quantum mechanics. I am fascinated by the great Greek mathematicians of yore, from Archimedes to Theaetetus, Euclid, and yes, Pythagoras of Samos, who is also a philosopher and the eponymous founder of Pythagoreanism. Oh, my Pythagoras! The Pythagorean theorem, a beacon of inspiration, ignited my passion …

Is it time to shorten medical education in the U.S.?

Amol Saxena, DPM, MPH

Education

July 30, 2023

Shortening U.S. medical education can significantly improve U.S. population health. As patients and stakeholders of U.S. health care, we are at crisis levels. There are not enough primary care doctors for the U.S. population — a basic human need for health and safety — which creates inequities. Peer-reviewed medical literature and mainstream media both document the highest burnout rates are in primary care and ER doctors, especially since the pandemic, …

Medical school applicants do not need to “check” a box to succeed

Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA

Policy

July 27, 2023

Medical pundits are predicting that the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down race-conscious admissions will have dire consequences for medical schools and the composition of the physician workforce.

The concern is that the high court’s decision to restrict public and private higher education institutions from considering an applicant’s race or ethnicity in admission decisions will negatively impact medical schools’ diversity and the nature of future physicians.

The fear …

The surprising impact of medical students on patients

Nicole Cifra, MD, MPH

Education

July 25, 2023

There are a few clinical scenarios that stand out to me from my undergraduate medical education. I completed a combined MD/MPH program, and I remember coming back from the year of public health, inserted between years two and three of medical school, feeling rusty and often in the way. One conversation I’ll always remember is one I overheard between an attending on my family medicine rotation (my first rotation of …

Coaching medical students: a game-changer for the profession

Amruti Borad, DO

Education

July 21, 2023

Medical school is a wild ride, filled with anticipation and unforgettable experiences. From the excitement of the first day of orientation to the white coat ceremony and meeting new people, every moment is etched in your memory. Endless hours of lectures followed by late nights of studying at home, the thrill of dissecting for the first time, and the camaraderie of study groups and problem-based learning create a unique atmosphere. …

My experience with repeating a year of medical school

Marthena Phan

Education

July 18, 2023

On a hot and humid July afternoon, the white coat ceremony for the class of 2025 at the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine was in full swing. As I walked onstage, slipped into my brand-new white coat, and accepted the coveted “medical student” title I had spent years working for, I thought about why I was embarking on this journey: my family of Vietnam War refugees, my brother who has …

Residency match system and flexibility: the hidden factors behind burnout

J. Tyler Bates, DO

Education

July 15, 2023

ERAS is now open, and medical students all over are compiling their applications to match into residency. As someone who is in a field they desired to pursue while in college but took a circuitous route there (four years as a generalist in the Air Force, practicing after completing an internship), I cannot help but wonder if some of our residency match systems is a contributing factor to burnout.

Many studies …

Let’s rethink letters of recommendation

Heather Furnas, MD

Physician

July 1, 2023

Letters of recommendation help open gates to university admissions, jobs, and scholarships. Now that more colleges are ditching SAT/ACT requirements and medical schools are grading pass/fail, these letters will likely rise in importance. As a decision-maker myself, I rely on a letter writer’s personal judgment in vouching for (or not mentioning) an applicant’s work ethic, experience, and character.

At least I did—until the subject of one of my own letters …

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Let’s rethink letters of recommendation

The transformative power of volunteering at the science fair

Jasminka Vukanovic-Criley, MD

Education

June 27, 2023

“Thank you so much for taking the time today and judging,” yet another person said as they approached me, smiling or shaking my hand.

“You are welcome,” I said, smiling. It was my pleasure—my genuine internal pleasure.

I have been volunteering for schools and children’s education for many years.

As I agreed yet again to be a judge, I thought I was helping them: schools, students, the school district… It turned out that, …

More than skin deep: the importance of culturally competent care in medical education

Grace Shadid

Education

June 26, 2023

The very first patient I met in the rheumatology clinic at SUNY Downstate heard I was applying to medical school and pulled me close to her, saying, “I want you to feel the swelling in my hands.” She took great care to ensure I palpated each joint and appreciated the warmth, erythema, and “boggy” feeling imparted by the inflammation. She explained her medical history and was very specific with her …

Breaking barriers in health care: the power of cultural competency training [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

June 21, 2023

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes!

Join us for an insightful podcast episode as we delve into the significance of cultural competency training for physicians in providing health care for LGBTQ+ individuals. Our guest, Michael Pessman, a gerontologist, shares his expertise on the …

Unveiling the true origin of “first, do no harm” in medicine: Discover the father of clinical medicine

Martin C. Young, MD

Physician

June 15, 2023

A recent essay on this blog, “Navigating the complexity of ‘first do no harm’ in modern medicine,” provided an excellent review of this principle. However, as is so often the case, it misattributed the statement to the Hippocratic Oath.

Certainly, this does contain elements of this sentiment, more fully expressed in another work of Hippocrates called “Of the Epidemics.” But the term does not originate with this Greek physician.

Scholars have …

Pursuing undergrad research without misrepresenting your career path

Paris H. Grey and David G. Oppenheimer, PhD

Education

June 10, 2023

Reprinted with permission from Getting In: The Essential Guide to Finding a STEMM Undergrad Research Experience, Second Edition, published by The University of Chicago Press. © 2015, 2023 by Paris Grey and David Oppenheimer. All rights reserved.

Sometimes students disqualify themselves from participating in undergrad research because they believe (or someone …

We need a new Hippocratic Oath that puts patient autonomy first

Jeffrey A. Singer, MD

Physician

May 30, 2023

May is the month most American medical students finally see four years of grueling work bear fruit. Most U.S. medical schools hold commencement exercises in May, conferring “doctor of medicine” degrees in elaborate ceremonies. During these ceremonies, graduates recite oaths inspired by the 5th-century B.C. oath of Hippocrates of Kos, the “father of medicine.”

In the mid-20th century, medical schools began administering modernized …