Medical school

What inspires this medical student

Education
January 28, 2018

Someone who I care about deeply messaged me today: “I think I’m done with surgery.”

This person, a surgeon, feels like his potential is elsewhere. There are more opportunities, different challenges, and fulfilling experiences in other places and he is ready to explore.

I told him that he inspires me.

But I am in medical school. So how could someone leaving the medical field be inspiring to me?

Because inspiration does not come from a job description or a fancy …

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Is private college and medical school worth it? One physician’s story.

Finance
January 27, 2018

College

I went to a fairly expensive college, George Washington University. I think at the time (1998) it actually was one of the, if not the most expensive schools. Why did I decide to go there? Well, my brother was attending the school and living in Washington, DC seemed amazing to a suburban boy from Tennessee. Sure, I had gotten into University of Tennessee with a scholarship, but adventure won over …

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Studying to be a doctor, while living as a patient

Education
January 26, 2018
YouTube video

Walking up to the admissions desk I knew the routine. I stretched out my arm for my hospital band. A name, a number, and a doctor were what defined me during my many hospital stays. It was simple; my brain was too large for my skull. Brain surgery after brain surgery has occupied my life for many years, all while I have been studying to become a doctor.

I …

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20 anecdotes that describe the world of female medical students and physicians

Education
January 13, 2018

I recently collected anecdotes from women in medicine who have noticed the same thing I’ve noticed: We’re not as comfortable here as our male counterparts. Despite progress, medicine remains a patriarchy — an “old boy’s club” — and the women in this world are frequently reminded of this status quo. In collecting these anecdotes, I’ve noticed two main themes for the type of advice and comments women receive.

The first one speaks …

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The non-difference between MDs and DOs

Education
January 8, 2018

“What’s a DO?” is something virtually every osteopathic medical student and physician have been asked at some point in their training. There is this public misconception that professionals who carry MD after their names are the only qualified people to medically treat their ailments. Any other degree is categorized as “alternative medicine” in their mental schema. Truth be told, DOs, or doctors of osteopathic medicine are just as qualified as …

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What it’s really like in a post-baccalaureate program

Education
December 21, 2017

More than 15 percent of last year’s new crop of first-year medical students completed a post-baccalaureate program. These programs exist in two flavors: one type helps students who want to improve their undergraduate academic record, and the other helps those who want to redirect their careers toward medicine, like me. Both are growing rapidly in number.

With so many future doctors launching …

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The first rule of medical school interviews: Don’t talk about cost

Finance
December 14, 2017

The fall is over, and winter has come, which means I have just wrapped up a busy season of medical school interviews. Most interviews are conducted in a similar fashion with an hour of introduction, speeches by the dean, presentations of facts I already knew from the website, and finally the interviews.

Within the first hour, I understand the reason: “We are the best medical school at (fill in the blank).” …

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How being an immigrant shaped the way I treat patients

Education
November 30, 2017

I was born in Shanghai, China. In September 2000, my parents and I left behind our family and friends, a language and culture dear to our hearts and social and financial stability to immigrate to the United States. I was six at the time. Although I don’t claim to have fully understood the weight of their decision to start a new life, I knew that my parents were making a …

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How to inspire medical students to pursue primary care

Education
November 29, 2017

I distinctly remember the excitement I felt during my first year of medical school when exposed to the breadth of general and specialty fields that seemed all so equally rewarding and medically influential.  I envisioned myself holistically understanding my patient, seeing the problem in the context of her other medical issues, her personality, her family and her environment — an approach I considered at the heart of the oath we …

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Picking up the pieces of a broken medical dream

Education
November 25, 2017

I was in the midst of my family medicine clinical rotation when my world came crashing down. I had failed my Step 1 boards. I would never be a doctor. It was a nightmare that unfolded over three failed attempts, from which I awoke in a new reality where I was no longer a medical student — and there was absolutely nothing I could do to change that.

I poured everything …

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Why do doctors who hate being doctors still practice?

Education
November 20, 2017

How important is it for a doctor to want to be a doctor?

At first glance, that question is ludicrous. The path to becoming a practicing physician is so long and tortuous that no one would do it if they didn’t want to. Right? First, there’s the four years of undergraduate education, then four years of medical school, then at least three years of residency. No one has ever suggested that …

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Physician wellness programs are lipstick on a pig

Physician
November 17, 2017

Here it comes — another email about “physician wellness,” advertising mindfulness training, an ice cream social, or a volunteer day. As a psychiatrist, I can attest to the importance of tending to one’s own mental and physical health in order to strive for wellness. However, the trend of implementing physician wellness programs throughout the U.S. is nothing more than putting proverbial lipstick on a pig. Or, stated differently, this may …

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Medical students must have this mindset

Education
November 6, 2017

It is early on a Saturday morning when I walk out of the elevator of Doan Hall looking for a nursing desk to call the fourth-year anesthesiology resident I am supposed to be shadowing. Instead, I am met with a set of double doors and a staff-only sign.

Before walking through the doors, I decided to read the placard placed on the wall next to them. As I begin to read, …

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A letter to my sister (and all other first-year medical students)

Education
October 16, 2017

Congratulations! At this point, you are almost halfway done with your first year of medical school. Either you have finally figured out what’s going on, or if you’re like me, you are still trying to figure it out. Relax, take a few deep breaths. Medical school is unlike anything you have ever done. The volume of information, constant testing, and overwhelming need to keep up with your peers is an …

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A medical student in therapy

Education
October 11, 2017

On TV shows, therapists decorate their rooms with leather lounge chairs, throw pillows and organza curtains that let in the light.

But Dr. Hassan’s office is in the clinic basement. The fluorescent lighting is sterile. She has a gray metal desk — I think every doctor I’ve shadowed as a medical student has had that same desk.

But I’m not here as a student.

I’ve been anticipating this appointment for a month. In …

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Want to change medicine? Work in finance.

Education
October 5, 2017

Traditionally, many medical students use the proverbial “last summer of their lives” to conduct basic/clinical research, shadow or go abroad. If you want to be a leader in health care or are simply unsure of what to do over the summer, you should try something more exotic and unexpected — work in finance or industry.

Wall Street, big pharma and private insurers have long been the moral punching bags of clinicians …

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6 tips for medical students to get the perfect match

Education
September 21, 2017

It’s that time of year again, the dreaded, yet exciting, residency application season. Year after year, we have learned that securing a residency position extends beyond competitive scores. It involves planning, networking and putting your best foot forward to prove you are the perfect “match” for a program. To avoid having shock and stress of an unexpected scramble, we wanted to share five tips, which extend beyond some of the …

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Let’s not be petty about affirmative action in medical school

Education
September 11, 2017

Just a year after the Supreme Court rejected a challenge to race-conscious admissions in Fisher v. University of Texas, this issue is being pushed back to the front of the room by none other than the Trump administration’s Justice Department hauling out hoary tropes about “reverse discrimination.” They are preparing cases against Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, charging to the rescue of the multitudes of …

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A love letter to patients

Education
September 9, 2017

This is a letter to everyone who has ever smiled, shrugged their shoulders, or nodded while either hesitantly or enthusiastically uttering the words, “Yes,” “Sure,” “OK,” “I guess so,” or, “Of course,” when a medical student has asked if he or she can talk to and examine you before your doctor comes in. We know that you are busy and that your time has value. We know that you have …

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