Medical school

Medicine rewards self-sacrifice often at the cost of physician happiness

Education
August 26, 2021

We’ve all been told by a well-meaning friend, family member, or therapist, “You can’t care for others unless you care for yourself first.” Put your oxygen mask on first, blah blah. But in medical training, we repeatedly demonstrate that, unfortunately, you can provide great care for patients while neglecting yourself. Medicine rewards self-sacrifice and hard work, often at the cost of physician happiness or wholeness.

Maybe it starts in undergraduate school, …

Read more…

Medical student rotations amid COVID: Welcome to medicine little grasshopper

Education
August 11, 2021

I learned a valuable lesson about mentoring medical students during clinical rotations amid the COVID pandemic, and it’s not as easy as you think.

I have been in medical education, either in it or teaching it, for 20 years. I have spent countless hours doing lectures, giving hospital grand rounds, or leading bedside teaching rounds to those who want to follow in my footsteps as a clinical expert. But some are …

Read more…

DO and MD: If perceptions matter, which one matters most?

Education
July 26, 2021

I remember the second I received my first phone call from admissions to a medical school. I was sitting at an airport, after having finished another interview. After putting down the phone, I started to cry. All of those years of hard work had been recognized, and I was finally welcomed into the profession of my dreams. I never thought that I accomplished something less meaningful because it was a …

Read more…

Advocating for people with disabilities: People First Language

Education
July 23, 2021

You are more likely to be struck by lightning than be born with cri du chat syndrome and OCD. The chances of becoming a performer with these diagnoses are even smaller, and yet, what a show Tanner performed.

His performance is meticulously planned out. Pump soap dispenser twice. Rub hands three times. Wash quickly. Create bubble! As the first bubble emerges, the kids take notice.

Pushing her wheelchair forward, Maria pops the …

Read more…

8 scholarship tips for medical school

Education
July 2, 2021

First off, congratulations to the Class of 2025 for getting into medical school. With the pandemic restrictions lifting, enjoy the next few months doing the things you love because medical school will take an emotional and financial toll on you. According to AAMC, the median debt for medical students in 2019 was $200,000. Unfortunately, fundraising for scholarships was difficult for many organizations due to the pandemic despite more students seeking …

Read more…

Redefining what a hospital library should be

Education
July 1, 2021

Have you ever been to one of those areas in the hospital called “the library” or “the educational/academic center”? No, I’m not talking about the athenaeum at the universities. The library we are talking about is the one at the teaching hospital specifically dedicated to the education of the trainee residents and fellows. Usually found on the first floor, it is a place where anyone can walk in and use …

Read more…

5 ways to have an outstanding mentorship relationship

Education
June 27, 2021

Mentorship. We all do it; we all benefit from it. But we rarely talk about how the mentor-mentee relationship looks. We rarely talk about ways to improve a mentorship relationship or even have decent mentor-mentee relationships. In fact, many of us likely get into medicine because we want to help patients, but forget how important mentorship often is on our way to learning to achieve such a goal.

Here are 5 …

Read more…

Surviving medical school with depression

Education
June 27, 2021

I was first diagnosed with major depressive disorder as a preteen after my teenage sister died. I attempted suicide three years later. This would be the first of several attempts and the first of countless times I felt my life was not worth living. But I am not unique.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 1 person dies by suicide every 11 minutes.

My depression is like …

Read more…

Bracing for change: the escalating importance of USMLE Step 2

Education
June 23, 2021

It’s a well-known fact that medical school has grown increasingly competitive over the past decade. While this is true that getting into medical school has become somewhat harder, what is more concerning is that for many students, admission to, and paying for, medical school does not guarantee a career as a physician. A critical part of becoming a physician is graduate medical education, or residency. It is well-known that there …

Read more…

Please don’t ask about my test scores, Mom

Education
June 22, 2021

Being a medical student in a family that does not have any doctors, honestly, has many perks. Although I may not have all the experience a tenured physician has in diagnostics and clinical management, I recognize the importance my current exposures in medicine give me in addressing the concerns of my family members. While answers may not always come to me immediately when I’m asked things like, …

Read more…

It’s time to end the USMLE Step 3 exam

Education
June 14, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic put a pause on institutions that we did not think were pausable, allowing us to ask critical questions regarding their relevance and necessity. One such institution is the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE).  During COVID-19, Prometric sites closed, delaying exams for many. In response to public outcry, Step 2 CS has become defunct. Before COVID-19, there had been calls to reform the expensive licensing exams, …

Read more…

6 ways to give quality feedback to medical students

Education
June 12, 2021

Feedback is an integral part of growing as a clinician. We all have room for improvement, and each and every one of us is a work in progress. We all grow by having others observe us and discuss how we are doing with each of us. Giving feedback also becomes an integral part of our medical education and formal training, and it must be something we strive to become good …

Read more…

The Pandora’s box of Step 2 CS reporting

Education
June 2, 2021

Introduction

The USMLE Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS) exam was implemented to assess medical students/graduates based on 12 standardized clinical encounters. The exam was graded as pass/fail based on three components: integrative clinical encounter (ICE), communication and interpersonal skills (CIS), and spoken English proficiency (SEP). To receive an overall passing grade, an examinee was required to pass all three components.

Over the years, there have been increasing demands to …

Read more…

3 lessons I’m learning about practicing medicine

Education
May 22, 2021

With about a year’s worth of experience practicing medicine, I can say with certainty that I’ve got a lot left to learn. I’m a medical student in my final year. In Estonia, we cover all subjects by the 5th year — and in the 6th year, we practice.

I applied for a medical license back home in Finland that allows me to practice medicine with a designated consultant. Having a consultant …

Read more…

My child wants to be a doctor

Education
May 18, 2021

As a family physician, guest lecturer at a local medical school, and creator of a pre-med curriculum for young learners, I’m often asked by parents how to support their child who wants to be a doctor.

The most important point to remember is that you don’t need to have any science background or be a professional of any sort to support your child. We all want to help our children follow …

Read more…

A transformative year for GME recruitment: How the process has changed forever

Education
May 7, 2021

The 2020-2021 GME recruitment season was transformative. While it was full of new and old challenges for stakeholders, the impact of the first-ever entirely virtual recruitment season will be substantial and long-lasting.

Before COVID-19, the long-standing process of in-person interviews was considered “sacred” by many. But this system was simply not possible during a global pandemic. In the transition to virtual interviews, applicants saved significant time and expense but the canceling …

Read more…

Applying to medical school in the post-COVID-19 era: What has changed?

Education
April 22, 2021

The spike in medical school applications during the 2020-2021 cycle surprised most people involved with medical school admissions. COVID-19 erupted full force in the spring of 2020, right in the middle of the admission season for the medical school class of 2024 and the testing season for the medical school class of 2025. Taking a look at the timeline for typical medical school admissions can help …

Read more…

The price I paid to be in medicine

Finance
April 20, 2021

A few weeks back, Match Day welcomed smiles and celebratory tears across the nation. This particular match season was fueled by a pandemic and virtual interviewing. I reached out to my friend who got matched to his top internal medicine residency spot in the Lone Star State.

“I’m ready to make some money,” he excitedly mentioned over our phone conversation. “No more filling in the blanks in FAFSA and piling additional …

Read more…

Congratulations on getting accepted into medical school during an unprecedented application cycle

Education
April 19, 2021

As a fortunate incoming medical student, I would like to congratulate my future physician colleagues on getting accepted into medical school during an unprecedented application cycle. This piece is dedicated to the members of the class of 2025. Like you, I worried about matriculating into the class of 2025 on top of all the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic threw at all of us: worries about our …

Read more…

Are letters of recommendation effective or burdensome?

Education
April 17, 2021

A letter of recommendation is a document written about the applicant by a previous employer, professor, or anyone working in close contact with the applicant. This one document is supposed to describe you, your qualities, and your abilities — all in less than a few paragraphs. It can be an enormous determining factor in getting the job position, being accepted to a university, or matching your number one residency program. …

Read more…

30
pages

CME Spotlights