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.
A few days ago I received a message: “Any advice for incoming med students?”
As an old, wise, seasoned, now-second year medical student, I know everything. Just kidding — I fumbled my way through first year like everyone else, and just like you will too. No piece of advice allows you to opt out from the challenges of medical school year one.
My advice isn’t the “normal” recommendations incoming medical students receive. You …
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Advice for first-year medical students
Recently, I had the honor of standing by one of my childhood best friends as she promised the love of her life that she’d stand by him forever. The wedding was beautiful, and at the reception, I played with another close friend’s 3-year-old daughter and talked with other friends about their work promotions and apartment searches. All I have to contribute to these conversations are anecdotes about medical school and …
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Becoming a doctor is the epitome of delayed gratification
“I am so happy I’m not in residency anymore!” he said with a big grin on his face. “I mean, I learned a lot, don’t get me wrong,” he tried to rectify the situation after realizing who he was talking to, “I just remember how tired I was and how I never saw my family.”
This was not the first, nor the last, time I heard something like this. So many …
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The next time you see a medical student, give support
Recently, I entered an essay contest on advice you would give to future medical students. I sincerely believe that the best person to write an article offering advice to younger medical students should come from a person who didn’t match. Also known as me. Why, you say? Well, for everyone else, Match Day is a culmination of four years of mentally, physically, and emotionally taxing work. They might even forget …
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Medical students: You are more than your grades
Like many millennials I know, I was at first skeptical of podcasts. I couldn’t imagine keeping my attention on audio alone for at least 30 minutes and expect to retain any information whatsoever. I felt like I would get bored listening to people talking and would tune out within a minute with the eventual feeling of having wasted my time. Audio was meant for music that changed regularly. My headphones …
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How podcasts help me in medicine
I will graduate from medical school next week. As it winds down, I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on what I’ve learned and how I’ve changed over the past five years.
Obviously, I now know a lot more about medicine. There’s no escaping the need to absorb an enormous volume of information. I can rattle off the symptoms, mechanisms, and treatments for heart failure, diabetes, syphilis, and dozens of other …
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A graduating medical student reflects on the last few years
I am a first-year medical student, and just like some of you once did, the primary reason I am becoming a physician is to really make a difference for my patients by [insert x, y or z].
“Wow, that’s really great, but we’ll see how you feel about it in a few years.”
“That’s not how it works once you’re actually out there.”
“Trust me, medicine isn’t what it used to be, get …
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Being idealistic is a necessary component in achieving your goals
School interviews are considered the most important factor for selecting candidates for medical school. They allow faculty to meet candidates who look good on paper and see how they fare in person. Though thousands apply, only a fraction are offered interviews. Naturally, candidates feel nervous when preparing for these interviews. This is especially true for applicants with multiple interviews since they must prepare for more than …
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How to ace your medical school interviews: evidence-based tips
Well done! Strong work! You’ve done it!
Four years (often more) of perspiration have earned you two extra letters (often more) in your name. You should be proud. Nothing should get between you and a gigantic glass of bubbly today. The world feels different. You feel different. But are you?
The thing about ceremonies that feature costumes, protocols and rituals is that they confer upon participants a sense of change. Just look …
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What you need to hear at your medical school graduation
As a medical student, every eight weeks I rotate through a new specialty in a new hospital or health service. This means every eight weeks, I flick over to a new chapter in my textbook, learn a new set of medical lingo, meet a new team of doctors and a new cohort of patients. As a person of color, however, this translates to something far more challenging yet predictable. It …
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Fight systemic racism in medicine
February 14, 2018. It’s the “before.” My phone rang, and I stopped breathing as words poured straight from her heart about the most recent school shooting — Stoneman Douglas High School, where I had nervously walked the halls as a freshman and excitedly watched my sister cheer at football games in Parkland, a boring little town next to my equally boring hometown, as a teenager. Here, I protested the indignity …
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How the Parkland shooting changed the way I feel about medicine
Goodbyes were confusing during my third and fourth years of medical school. Even on my way to a 28-hour labor and delivery call, I tended to say, “I’m leaving for school.” Rather quickly, my wife trained me to say, “I’m leaving for work.” I was never quite reconciled to this, as I couldn’t forget the upcoming exams and tuition costs around $30,000 per year.
For the uninitiated, “work” as a medical …
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It’s time to recognize the rights of medical students and residents
I teach first-year medical students how to take a medical history and perform physical exams on patients.
These skills are the foundation of medicine. The history and physical exam (plus a few basic tests) are time-tested methods for diagnosing disease. Using these tools, a skilled physician can reach an accurate diagnosis more often than not.
We humans share a standard range of symptoms. Pain, weight loss, fever, cough, abdominal complaints: They are …
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Why this physician teaches first-year medical students
Medical practice is a calling. It’s not a job, it’s not a career — it’s a vocation. And if you really love your vocation, you’ll let nothing stand in your way. Certainly not something as trivial and crass as money. After all, once you’re in practice, you’ll be raking it in, right? So why worry about that now, when you’re just beginning your medical education?
That attitude is pervasive, and it’s …
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Money matters to how you experience medical training. It matters a lot.
The third year of medical school is met with a newfound sense of freedom. Freedom to rediscover yourself and rekindle your love for all things forgotten. It’s about the thrill of seeing your textbook knowledge come to life or connecting deeply with a stranger. It’s about the humbling moments in medicine that force you to hide tears in the exam room. Allergies, you say.
You can tackle anyone’s drug list now, …
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Medical students: Here’s to becoming the best version of ourselves yet
When I was in fourth grade, I won our school’s spelling bee. This meant that I went on to the next tier of the local spelling world — the sort of prestigious competition that takes place in a gymnasium somewhere with a makeshift stage and a bunch of flags.
I was the first kid disqualified. I misspelled veterinarian “veterenarian” and battlement “battlemint.” I remember feeling, in the moment the announcer said, …
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We are sorry, you did not match to any position
You extend a firm handshake and get ready to sit down at the table across from your mentor for the first time.
Woah, wait. Let’s back up to the legwork that should have happened prior to this meeting. First step, you found the mentor (see this post for practical ideas on how to find a mentor). Neither you nor the mentor have a lot of time — a frequent obstacle often …
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Your first meeting with a mentor
Strong letters of recommendation are essential for supporting your residency application and matching well. This article details how to ensure you get great letters of recommendation.
Knowing what constitutes a great letter of recommendation is crucial to obtaining outstanding letters. A strong letter of recommendation clearly conveys knowledge of the medical student, how that student performed and qualities that predict excellent performance in residency. Strong letters of recommendation include the following:
How to ask for a great letter of recommendation for residency
“Those emergency room residents are f**king retarded!” This was the comment that rang through the workroom. I had only been on this hospital service for three days, and I was having a discussion about a patient with my attending when the on-call resident had burst into the workroom and sat down next to me. He was fuming.
“Why the f*** would they think I need to be consulted for this? Only …
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Don’t be mean: Treat your team members with respect
In the days after Hurricane Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico, four Yale physicians began an ambitious effort to send thousands of pounds of medical supplies to the storm-ravaged island. Despite having had no prior experience with disaster response, these doctors worked with contacts in Puerto Rico to generate a detailed needs-assessment, determining exactly which medical supplies were needed on the island. Using social media, traditional media, and professional connections, …
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Medical education in the era of climate change
