Ask any doctor, in any specialty and of any age, and they will remember their training in medical school. It is full of learning, new experiences, new friends, and major strides in both personal and professional development. With so many changes, dozens of obstacles in each student’s life must be confronted and overcome. Fortunately, medical schools have extraordinary people who devote their time and talent to guiding and supporting medical students through their four years. This column interviews these people at medical schools around the country to help students learn more about the resources they have available during their years in school.
The Power of Listening: What I Learned From My Trip to Rwanda, Africa
I woke up abruptly from my jet-lagged sleep surrounded by a bed net, two fans, and the smell of the DEET bug spray I had applied before going to bed. One of my team members was knocking on the door, saying that a large group of women was already outside the hostel where we were staying and had been waiting for us to come out. I was surprised to find out they had been coming every morning, anticipating our arrival, but I also realized how different this place had already become in my mind.
“We Don’t Carry Gloves in Your Size”
Reasons women should not pursue surgery discredited Before I even started medical school, I knew … Read more
Tales from the Clinic: from Theory to Practice
There is nothing to fear but fear itself.
Kylie Miller and Issac Schwantes take a break from their fairly new clinical duties to let Gabe Conley and Erik Kneller know how it’s going working with actual patients. What unexpected things have they learned? Were their professors really correct when the said that arcane bit of information would actually be useful in the real world? Were their fears (whatever they were) realized? Would they rather grandma puke every time they broke wind, or have a shingles outbreak whenever they get a passing grade or better in medical school? Dave assures them: these are the questions listeners want answers to.
What’s causing this patient’s diminished femoral pulses?
A 56-year-old man presents with a three-month history of erectile dysfunction and bilateral buttock pain on exertion, but not at rest. His past medical history is significant for type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. Examination reveals bilaterally diminished femoral pulses. What is the most likely diagnosis?
A Day In The Life Of A Medical Spouse
Days Defined By The Medical Life Have you ever wondered what the day-to-day looks like … Read more
Q&A with Dr. Perri Klass, Pediatrician and Journalist
Dr. Perri Klass is a pediatrician and journalist for the New York Times, an author, … Read more
Chronic Pain, the Opioid Epidemic, and the Role of Neuromodulation
The United States is currently battling an opioid epidemic that is only getting worse. The … Read more
A State of Emergency: Exploring the Specialty of Emergency Medicine
Perhaps no single aspect of medicine is more visible to the public, especially in stories, … Read more
Refusing to Treat: A Collision of Medicine and Conscience
Do doctors need protection from having to provide treatments they don’t believe in?
During Human Rights Week at the Carver College of Medicine, we heard some hard truths from national news commentator, human rights activist, and podcaster Angela Rye. In her speech to the College of Medicine, she clued white people in on what black Americans face every day in 2017. She also pointed out that Martin Luther King, Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech was just the beginning of his activism. Meanwhile, Mackenzie Walhof, Joyce Wahb, Claire Casteneda, and Gabe Conley discuss the department of Health and Human Services announcement that it would be forming a department to protect doctors from having their religious rights infringed. Do doctors need protection so they can refuse to treat as a matter of conscience? Or do they self-select what they do and don’t do by where they practice and what they specialize in?
A Creeping Eruption
A 40-year-old male presents to his family physician with a pruritic, erythematous lesion on his foot after returning from vacation in coastal Brazil a week earlier. On examination, a serpiginous, slightly elevated tunnel can be seen on the lateral aspect of his left foot. He is otherwise well, but mentions that the intense pruritus is disturbing his sleep. Which of the following treatments is the next best step?
Mind Over Pain Meds: To Solve the Opioid Crisis, We Need a New Approach to Pain
The other day I drove through a neighborhood in Chicago I once lived in and … Read more
Decision in a Sea of Dental Residencies
Over the holidays, dental school students all over the nation put down the books, hung … Read more
Reflections On Witnessing My First Patient Death
He is younger than me! This is not happening. This could have been me. These … Read more
Q&A with Dr. Rozelle Kane, NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Fellow, Nutritional Researcher
Dr. Rozelle Kane is a physician, an NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Fellow with the Department of … Read more
Checking the Boxes: Should You Give Up Your Job To Do Research?
Sometimes the requirements aren’t required.
Annie wrote in to [email protected] to ask Kaci McCleary, Erik Kneller, Gabriel Conley, and Marissa Evers if she should give up her 10-year job as a radiology tech so she’d have time to do research before applying to medical school. As is often the case with these kinds of questions, the answer is no! But maybe yes. In some cases.
Is this patient high-risk?
A 55-year-old female presents with a low-grade fever, a new heart murmur, and Janeway lesions one week following a dental cleaning, and a preliminary diagnosis of infective endocarditis is made. Prophylactic antibiotics are administered prior to dental cleanings to prevent endocarditis in patients considered to be high-risk. Which of the following valvular conditions requires prophylactic antibiotics prior to dental cleanings?
7 Tips For Finding A Job After Residency
Each year, thousands of residents in their final year of residency have the daunting task … Read more
How to Keep Your Medical White Coat Clean
Whoever decided that doctors should wear white coats must not have spent much time with … Read more
Creating Your Residency Rank List for Match Day
This time of year medical students are beginning to think of where they may match for residency. At this point in the application cycle, most candidates have completed a number of interviews and have an idea of what characteristics make up their ideal program. However, many candidates consider only a handful of major criteria when making their rank list. Some of these include geography, academic vs nonacademic focus, class size, salary, living cost, and opportunities for fellowship. Although these are great factors to think about, they shouldn’t be the only factors residency applicants consider.