Students, educators, and physicians writing on KevinMD about medical school: admissions and what they select for, the cost of tuition and the debt it leaves, the curriculum and what students say it does and does not teach, Step 1 and the test-prep industry, pass/fail, mistreatment and depression in training, the match, Caribbean schools, and what should change. Most contributors are students writing while still in school, many of them anonymously. For what physicians have said about paying off that debt and the money decisions that follow, see Physician personal finance: what physicians say about their own money, in their own words. For a maintained record of what students and physicians have said about medical school on KevinMD since 2004, see Medical school: what students and physicians say, in their own words. For what physicians and deans have said for and against affirmative action and diversity in admissions, see Race and medicine: what physicians say, in their own words. For what international and Caribbean graduates have said about the Match and visas, see Immigration and medicine: what physicians say about immigrant doctors and immigrant patients, in their own words.
One of the most common experiences faced by a medical student is being asked for health care advice from a friend or family member. My initial reaction to these questions is usually something along the lines of, “Are you sure you want to be asking me that? I’m not even a doctor yet!” This is especially true when the question is about something that I’m not particularly experienced in (which, …
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You’re lucky to have a medical student in the family
I’ve finally stopped thinking about the process of getting into medical school. But with friends going through the application cycle, waiting on and making decisions, I’ve been reflecting on my process and remembering just how terrible the whole thing felt. To offer some support to those going through it, I wanted to confess a few things. These confessions feel silly and small in retrospect, but I hope they’ll help at least one …
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5 confessions of a medical student
It is honorable to fight a battle in the face of an inevitable ending while not knowing when that end may come.
First day of third year — the year most medical students take a sigh of relief as they put their Step 1 book on the shelf and prepare to face the wards:
I happened to draw the short straw by having my surgical rotation first, one that often brings an …
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A medical student’s reflection of “firsts”
Doctors are lifelong learners. Medical students and residents often hear the feedback to read more in their quest to acquire the knowledge to understand health and disease processes and direct patient care.
With so many demands on a resident and early career physician’s time, how do you make the most of the directive to read more? During residency training and throughout your medical career, the patient case mix guides your reading …
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You’re given feedback to “read more.” What do you do next?
The best lens for reflection is to be immersed in the places and people that spawned those memories. Why else would reunions matter? Twenty years after we graduated the Yale School of Medicine, I found myself on campus embracing my classmates again. But it didn’t take long before I felt something creeping up behind the celebratory mood. Amid storytelling and laughter, I couldn’t help reflecting on some of the more …
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A trauma surgeon reflects on the Yale System, 20 years later
As a “dinosaur” emerita professor of pathology who still teaches medical students, I have witnessed some of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1-induced climate changes compellingly. No, I am not a reactionary yearning for the past. Medical education has never been perfect. In the not too distant past, students were taught in an environment ruled by arrogant, dogmatic autocrats. Some things have changed for …
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Is there room for dinosaur professors in today’s medical schools?
In the era of the recognition of vast burnout in medicine, particularly amongst medical students, there needs to be a call to address structural problems in medical education. One particularly low-hanging fruit is the Step 2 Clinical Skills Exam (Step 2 CS). The exam has a relatively short history. The National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) developed the exam for American medical students Read more…
The case against the Step 2 Clinical Skills Exam
I know what kinds of things I’m supposed to tell you. I know that your other would be advisors will usually stick to the same basic messages: “Keep reaching for your dreams” or “your hard work is all worth it in the end” or “your education will lay the world at your feet.” These platitudes are all well and good, but honestly, they’re forgettable. And pretty words don’t always translate …
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To struggling medical students: Meet the physician who conquered the “no’s”
If you’re planning on applying for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and spending the first ten years of your career in academic medicine or working for 501c(3) employers, this scheme could mean paying off your loans six months sooner, saving you an average of $30,000.
Consolidate your loans with your loan servicer and begin one of the income-driven repayment plans (IBR, RE-PAYE, ICR, or PAYE) immediately, foregoing any deferment or grace …
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How to save tens of thousands of dollars on your medical school loans
Being a medical student is tough, applying for a competitive residency spot is tough, and being a new mother is also very tough. I am one of the lucky women to do all three at the same time. I had my child early August of my fourth year of medical school. The fourth year of medical school is a great time to become a new mother. The schedule is more …
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8 tips for having a baby while applying for residency
If you read my curriculum vitae, you might assume that I must have a high opinion of the U.S. News & World Report higher education rankings. I earned my bachelor’s degree from Harvard University, #2 behind Princeton in the “Best National Universities” category. My Master of Public Health degree is from Johns Hopkins, the #1 public health school. And my medical degree is from NYU, tied with Cornell and the Mayo Clinic as …
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Why you shouldn’t place too much importance in college and medical school rankings
I am a few days away from graduating medical school. Throughout these four years, I have given back to my medical school by passing on the knowledge and wisdom I have accumulated. I share my reflection on the importance of having medical school mentorship and teaching not just from interns, residents, fellows, and attending physicians, but from medical students themselves.
As first-year medical students, (almost) all of us are overwhelmed by …
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Promote a culture of medical school peer education
The future of our profession lies in our ability to come together with a unified voice. We must also recognize that the practice of osteopathic medicine, and the training of osteopathic physicians, has evolved significantly since A.T. Still, MD, DO, created osteopathy.
The AOA recognized this when its Board of Trustees announced that the AOA will start providing two pathways for board certification. DOs will be able to …
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It’s time to rethink what it means to be a DO
The seeds of emotional turmoil inherent in medical education are planted early in the pursuit of becoming a doctor. It is the unspoken fear that medical students and residents experience each day on attending rounds. It is the worry of missing a vital piece of information from the history and physical exam of a patient. It’s the concern that despite reading and preparing for the cases, emerging physicians may find …
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3 ways to change your mindset in continuing medical education
A commencement speech to the graduating class of 2019, Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, May 10, 2019.
In less than 30 minutes, you will all finally be physicians! (cheering) And this summer you’ll be set loose on your very own patients. (laughter) How exciting is that? Maybe a little nerve-racking.
During your career (depending on specialty and work ethic) you may care …
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“We are brothers and sisters in medicine. Protect and defend each other.”
It was recently National Teacher Appreciation Week, and many were busy recognizing their superhero teachers. Schools dedicate the week to their teachers, parents bustle about with flowers, handmade cards, and gift baskets. For me, though last week was an interesting reflection on how I define a teacher. During Teacher Appreciation Week I recalled my fourth-grade teacher, Ms. Frazier, who had me memorize Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream …
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Recognizing the secret identity of physicians
For as long as I remember, studying medicine has always been the goal I focused on the most. For years, I thought that I knew the path I was taking, and that I calculated the benefits and drawbacks. However, with time, I learned that no matter how much one assesses his decisions, one cannot have a full grasp of it, until he/she “begins” to experience it.
I wasn’t aware how much …
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Medicine was consuming this medical student. Was it worth it?
For a long time, I didn’t feel as if I were getting any older. Because I’ve been at my institution since 1975, I’ve always been surrounded by the people who educated me. Though my teachers and mentors have undoubtedly aged, to me, none of them seems much older than they were when I first met them. And since for most of those years our student-teacher relationship has remained unchanged, when …
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A medical educator’s poignant epiphany
I graduated from St. George’s University School of Medicine in Grenada and now work as an emergency medicine physician at a trauma center in Northern California. To some, that may seem like an extreme jump or a rare success story. The stigma of a Caribbean medical school education is built on rumors — and they’ve run their course. Let’s address some.
1. Students only go to Caribbean medical schools if they …
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The truth about Caribbean medical schools
One big life event for me was having my son Matthew during medical school. It has been a fulfilling and interesting journey.
I met my husband Andrew during college, and we were lucky to matriculate together at the University of Minnesota Medical School. I decided to do a dermatology research year between the third and fourth years of medical school, and Andrew did a neurology research year at the same time. …
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The journey of being a parent in medical school
