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.
Dear Pamela,
Let me start off by telling you that I am a warrior, a protector, and a healer. I am an Army veteran. I’ve worked as an EMT, completed a bachelor’s degree and two years of medical school, plus I’m raising a family. I’ve achieved amazing things, but I have never been defeated like I’ve been over these past few years.
Honestly, I was less stressed in Afghanistan. Medical school is …
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Medical student: “I was less stressed in Afghanistan.”
To my younger self,
I remember how excited you were when you finally settled on medicine as the thing that you wanted to do as a career in your junior year of college. I remember all the questions you had about what the process entailed since no one in your family had undertaken this journey before. I even remember some of the doubts you had when you thought about how long …
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A physician’s letter to his younger self
Many recent articles, blogs, and presentations have focused on what American health care lacks and what additional skills health care professionals should adopt to “fix” our “broken” system. Third-party payers and health care organizations tend to promote the need for quality improvement and economic measures, while clinicians grapple with their transition to less-autonomous employees, noting increased job dissatisfaction and conflicts regarding administration and reimbursements. The theme that American health care …
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Solve our health care problems by conveying more love
As first year came to an end, we were asked to reflect on our experiences thus far. The multitude of tests and memorized facts, anatomy dissections, and patient interactions flooded my mind. Shockingly, it was not the difficulty of the first year of medical school that I will remember the most, rather the jaded comments from physicians and students that attempted to cloud my perspective of medicine.
“Medicine is different now. …
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Be mindful of your words. Medical students are listening.
As the health care landscape in America continues to change after the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, we are seeing an even more diverse group of patients seeking care across the nation. As rapidly as these demographics are changing, however, there is still progress to be made in diversity of health care providers who treat these patients. For instance, although 13 percent of Americans are of African descent, Black …
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Use holistic review to improve diversity in health professions
Dear Class of 2020,
You’ve worked hard to earn the privilege of becoming a physician. I hope you took some time before starting medical school to enjoy yourself and embrace your passions, be they travel, music or art, or simply spending time with family and friends. Becoming a doctor is a long, bumpy and often lonely road. Resiliency is essential. My first and most important piece of advice is to be …
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6 actions new medical students should take
To those of you who are still in the midst of pursuing a seemingly elusive goal of being in medical school I highly encourage you to take a few moments and jot down why you want it so badly. Make a quick list of all the reasons why you want to be a doctor and how you will feel once you achieve that monumental goal. For those of us in …
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A stark reminder of the opportunity we have as physicians
Dear medical student, resident, or fellow,
You will one day forget something. We are currently in a systematic plot to have everyone forget something important. We are quietly unaware it is happening. We are asked to forget how we got here. I want to remind you. I want us all to remember.
You undoubtably were more mature than your peers. You undoubtably sacrificed to develop the persona that one day would impress …
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Welcome to the medical profession
Starting this fall, second-year students will no longer have the stress of grades at our medical school, Washington University in St. Louis (WashU). In extending the pass-fail system from the first year to the second preclinical year, WashU joins the other 18 of the top 20 research medical schools on U.S. News and World Report that grade the entire preclinical curriculum on a pass-fail basis. (The sole holdout is Penn, …
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Pass-fail is here to stay in medical schools. And that’s a good thing.
What is holding you back from pursuing a career in medicine? What keeps you from going in 100 percent? Have doubts crept into your life and destroyed your premed dream? Is there someone whispering in your ear that you are not good enough or this is the wrong career option for you?
There are many misconceptions about doctors and often times these are perpetuated by individuals who have never walked in a …
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Don’t let these 5 reasons prevent you from becoming a doctor
When I started medical school, I was most excited to start learning again. Having spent the last couple years as a teacher in a classroom, I sorely missed the experience of being the student. Reflecting on my college days, I missed the intellectual conversations generated in our seminars, hours poring over literature under dimly lit alcoves of the library; even the far-too-frequent all-nighters spent hashing through complex biochemical pathways with …
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A rude awakening for many medical students
Did you know that the majority of medical schools only interview about 15 to 20 percent of the applicants that submit an application to that school? Albert Einstein College of Medicine, for instance, had 8,138 people apply for entrance. 1,324 were interviewed. That’s only 16.27 percent of the applicants.
If you have an interview, that means that the medical school likes you well enough to give you one of their coveted …
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Ace your medical school interview by being yourself
Recent events seem to be signaling an increasing sentiment toward hitting the metaphorical “pause button” on immigration or perhaps even adopting more anti-immigrant postures in the US and in many other places around the world. The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued its deadlocked non-decision in United States v. Texas, No. 15-674 which will prevent Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents or DAPA from …
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Can medicine cure what’s wrong with U.S. immigration policy?
A few months ago, I was on my general surgery rotation on the colorectal service as a medical student. It was in the late afternoon that we started a case of a robotic rectopexy to repair a rectal prolapse. Our patient was a kind and warm 89-year-old woman. The operation finished without a hitch.
As we undocked the da Vinci machine, the resident and I began to suture closed the multiple …
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A medical student delays reporting his needlestick. Here’s what he learned.
The question, asked to me by a new first-year medical student, seemed simple enough: “There are a lot of different types of reflex hammers out there — which one should I buy?” As with so many things in medicine, however, I knew that my answer wouldn’t be so straightforward.
As I prepared to answer, I flashed back to one of my first days in medical school, when one of my clinical …
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Medical school: A crash course to critically appraise information
Hi there,
Allow me to introduce myself.
I’m you.
I’m you 20 years ago, or 45 years ago if you were in the Class of ’72. I’m you one month ago if you were in the Class of 2016. I spilled coffee down my shirt, my hair is kind of a mess, and there are dark circles under my eyes from long hours spent studying.
Sound familiar?
Great. Then you’re in the right place. The …
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Medical students need guides to help them navigate the hospital
This is the question that every premed student must answer. It is the automatic query that follows after you have informed someone of your future goal to become a doctor. It is also the question many med school interviewers will ask in an attempt to gain their first impression of you.
“Why do you want to be a doctor?”
Everyone who poses this question has their own intention behind it. Your follow-up …
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5 questions to ask before applying to medical school
Based on recent data, medical students pay approximately $136 million dollars each year in registration fees for the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1, Step 2 CK, Step 2 CS and Step 3 exams.
Current registration fees to take the four USMLE exams are $3,320 per U.S. medical student and $4,125 per international medical graduate (IMG). Estimated annual registration fees for the USMLE exams …
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The cost of taking the USMLE exams is staggering
“I could never go into that specialty. They’re so passive aggressive.”
“Those residents are so catty.”
“Oh, them? They don’t even know their patient’s names.”
“Those residents are such bros.”
And so on.
I guarantee you that if you’re in medicine — or even if you’re not — it would take you no more than two guesses to figure out which specialty each of the above statements is describing. At some point during third year, …
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Let’s end the stereotypes of medical specialties
