Medical school
Fostering Black joy in an anti-DEI environment: community, resilience, and equity
As Black History Month draws to a close, it is crucial to recognize the ongoing challenges faced by Black physicians and the importance of fostering diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), and belonging in the medical field. National rhetoric condemning DEI efforts has made for an increasingly difficult environment for Black medical trainees to thrive. This Black History Month, we had the honor of hosting three events aimed at celebrating Black excellence …
How Russian studies enriched my journey to become a physician
Tolstoy. Dostoevsky. Repin. Stravinsky. While many people may not appreciate the significance of these Russian geniuses, or think that knowledge of them could enhance a pre-med education, I would not be the same person without learning about them. For me, pursuing a Russian major was more than a list of vaguely interesting classes or language study; it was a deeper dive into the qualities of a culture that I am …
To the physician who didn’t match: You are not forgotten
Match day. Many of you are rejoicing in the outcomes, while many of you might be experiencing these “other” emotions. They might sound like rejection, shame, hopelessness, despair, disappointment, anger, exhaustion, or self-doubt.
The wounds from this year’s match might still be fresh, and I do not want to thrust any toxic positivity on you. It’s okay if you are feeling awful right now; it’s natural. Give yourself time to process …
How situational judgment tests help medical schools evaluate applicants
Within 48 hours of every job posting, hundreds of applications pour in. As the hiring manager, you want to fill the position within two months, or your supervisor might cut it out of your budget. After triaging the unqualified applicants using data-driven filters and artificial intelligence tools, you still have a few hundred left. At this point, many hiring managers invite the remaining candidates to take a situational …
How medical training indoctrinates toxic beliefs in physicians
There’s a great irony that exists within medicine. We are taught to critically examine all scientific evidence; however, there are a series of beliefs we learn about the profession as a whole that we’re meant to accept without question.
Essentially, during our medical training, we are indoctrinated with a set of harmful beliefs about what it means to be a doctor. These beliefs harm not only us as individual physicians but …
The unseen struggles of Native medical students
The average medical student spends anywhere from 40 to 80 hours a week studying to become the future of health care, not to mention the hours outside of work that include family, community, jobs, volunteering, research, and day-to-day necessities. The average student goes to class, studies, goes home and studies some more.
However, this is not the reality for many Native medical students. We crave the ability to wake up, go …
Just how personal should personal statements be on medical school applications?
I read an essay advocating the disclosure of personal trauma on medical school applications as a means of overcoming stigma and taboo often associated with rape and other forms of trauma. The authors lamented that a culture of silence persists in medicine despite movements such as #MeToo. They concluded: “We, as physicians, have a duty to reduce shame to promote recovery in both our patients and in ourselves.”
Not …
A call for LGBTQ+ inclusion in medicine’s definition of “underrepresented”
In an impromptu listing of all the diseases his children had, I never would have guessed that the next word to come out of my attending’s mouth was “gay.” As an LGBTQ+ medical student with scars on my chest to prove it, this encounter only added to the collection of instances where I felt the weight of being underrepresented in medicine. Or am I?
Each year, the Association of American …
What doctors can learn from actors about artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) promises to revolutionize the practice of medicine by expanding our knowledge and reducing our workload. However, physicians should tread carefully and take heed of the example set by other industries. For example, AI was at the core of the negotiations in the recent 2023 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike. “AI was a dealbreaker,” said Fran Drescher, a union leader of the …
Navigating a leave of absence from medical school: a comprehensive guide
Taking a leave of absence (LOA) from medical school is a significant decision that involves careful consideration of various factors. In this article, I will consolidate valuable information on types of LOAs, reasons for taking one, and crucial considerations during and after. This information comes from my own experience taking an LOA between my 2nd and 3rd year of medical school, and the results of an anonymous survey of 16 …
Scrubbing in and stepping up: the baseball-medicine connection [PODCAST]
Discover the secrets to regaining joy in medicine
An excerpt from Reclaiming the Joy of Medicine: Finding Purpose, Fulfillment, and Happiness in Today’s Medical Industry.
“You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody.”
– Maya Angelou
When I was experiencing burnout, I felt something was wrong with me. I kept questioning myself.
Why couldn’t I fulfill all the demands …
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A test of medical leadership for Penn’s new president
When the University of Pennsylvania’s president Liz Magill was forced to resign her position due to her equivocal stance regarding antisemitic harassment on Penn’s campus, J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD, was soon announced as her interim successor. Jameson had served as executive vice president of Penn’s health system and dean of the Perelman School of Medicine since 2011.
Jameson is a prominent molecular endocrinologist, author of over 350 scientific …
Is it noble or selfish to never practice medicine after getting a medical degree?
A Harvard medical school student realized in his third year that he had lost his desire to become a doctor. Nevertheless, the student decided to complete his fourth year and obtain his MD degree. The student is now planning for a career in pharma or even comedy. Some individuals who read his online essay found the student’s decision-making comical in itself. Overall, their comments were evenly divided about the …
Catastrophic failure of educational leadership can affect medical students
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart said he can’t define pornography, but he knows it when he sees it. Stewart might just as well have been talking about leadership—reflecting the difficulty in providing a precise definition of leadership but suggesting that individuals can recognize ineffectual leadership when they encounter it.
The abject failure of three university presidents to answer “yes” to a simple question—whether calls for the genocide of Jews violate …
Communication in health care: lessons from a standardized patient [PODCAST]
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Join Esther Covington, a professional standardized patient. Esther shares her firsthand experiences, shedding light on the critical role communication, empathy, and assumptions play in medical education. We delve into the impact of assumptions on patient care, the …
Exploring medical students’ vital role in patient care [PODCAST]
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Join Nicole Cifra, an adolescent medicine physician, as we delve into the often-underestimated but invaluable role of medical students in patient care. Nicole shares her personal journey, experiences, and insights, shedding light on how medical students play …
September in medicine: scouting season for future doctors
In medicine, September marks scouting season. Like professional baseball clubs, residency programs meticulously generate and analyze scouting reports for prospective interns, aimed toward building an ideal lineup of future doctors that functions seamlessly as a team while augmenting everyone’s individual strengths.
From an applicant’s perspective, the focus on experience, exam scores, and class rankings reflects the layout of a player’s statistics on the back of a baseball card. With more objective …
From medical humanities student to physician
At seventeen, I envisioned two types of physicians: the doctor who cared about me and my needs, and the doctor who was cold and detached. At that point in my life, I had experienced both types of physicians from the patient perspective. My dream was to become a physician. I wanted to be the empathetic doctor, the one who saw the patient as a person. I aspired to become the …
Past Week
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Health care as a human right vs. commodity: Resolving the paradox
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My wife’s story: How DEA and CDC guidelines destroyed our golden years
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The gastroenterologist shortage: Why supply is falling behind demand
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Why voicemail in outpatient care is failing patients and staff
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Alex Pretti’s death: Why politics belongs in emergency medicine
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U.S. opioid policy history: How politics replaced science in pain care
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Past 6 Months
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How environmental justice and health disparities connect to climate change
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Will AI replace primary care physicians?
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A physician father on the Dobbs decision and reproductive rights
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What is the minority tax in medicine?
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Why the U.S. health care system is failing patients and physicians
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Alex Pretti: a physician’s open letter defending his legacy
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Recent Posts
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AI censorship threatens the lifeline of caregiver support [PODCAST]
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Demedicalize dying: Why end-of-life care needs a spiritual reset
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Physician due process: Surviving the court of public opinion
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Spaced repetition in medicine: Why current apps fail clinicians
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When the doctor becomes the patient: a breast cancer diagnosis
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My journey with fibroids and hysterectomy: a patient’s perspective
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Past Week
-
Health care as a human right vs. commodity: Resolving the paradox
-
My wife’s story: How DEA and CDC guidelines destroyed our golden years
-
The gastroenterologist shortage: Why supply is falling behind demand
-
Why voicemail in outpatient care is failing patients and staff
-
Alex Pretti’s death: Why politics belongs in emergency medicine
-
U.S. opioid policy history: How politics replaced science in pain care
-
Past 6 Months
-
How environmental justice and health disparities connect to climate change
-
Will AI replace primary care physicians?
-
A physician father on the Dobbs decision and reproductive rights
-
What is the minority tax in medicine?
-
Why the U.S. health care system is failing patients and physicians
-
Alex Pretti: a physician’s open letter defending his legacy
-
Recent Posts
-
AI censorship threatens the lifeline of caregiver support [PODCAST]
-
Demedicalize dying: Why end-of-life care needs a spiritual reset
-
Physician due process: Surviving the court of public opinion
-
Spaced repetition in medicine: Why current apps fail clinicians
-
When the doctor becomes the patient: a breast cancer diagnosis
-
My journey with fibroids and hysterectomy: a patient’s perspective
-
