Emergency physicians experience burnout at a rate of more than three times that of the average doctor and more than anyone else inside or outside of the medical field, according to a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine (1). The study surveyed over 7000 physicians in more than two dozen specialties and compared them with almost 3500 working adults in fields outside of medicine. More than 65% of emergency physicians reported burnout, compared to 55% of internists (the next crispiest specialty), and 27.8% of the general population.
MCAT® Exam Registration: 10 Tips from the Experts
In just a few short weeks, registration for the June 2014 through January 2015 MCAT exam dates will open. We understand that registration can seem overwhelming! While we can’t promise that you won’t experience any wait time during registration, we do have some tips to help you BEFORE you even login to the registration system to make things a little easier and quicker.
Academic Medicine? No way! (But are you so sure?)
The doctor business is win-win: doctor wins, patient wins. In sharp contrast, the legal profession is a win-lose dichotomy. That is one reason why we choose medicine. It is a huge difference in psychology that gets into our very bones. Becoming a doctor is a highly noble pursuit. Being a doctor is fun, exciting, worthwhile, productive and assuredly positive. Doctors create wealth in the world by increasing the ability of people to pursue their happiness. What in the physical realm could be more worthwhile than that?
But medicine can be an all-consuming life choice. Before embarking on it, ask yourself if you can tolerate sacrificing a large percentage of everything else you enjoy to do, and everyone you like to be with, for a long time. The job is great. No doubt about it. But don’t naively minimize the sacrifices. Is it worth the sacrifice? Don’t let anyone other than you decide that.
The Seven Habits of Highly Successful Medical Students
Congratulations! You’ve made it through O Chem, survived your MCAT, traipsed around the country to every interview you could fit in your budget, and received that elusive acceptance email. Once you take a moment to celebrate, you will realize that the real challenge lies ahead. Medical school serves as the launch pad to your career and excelling there can open the door to opportunities. Whether you want a career in academics or private practice, psychiatry or radiology or orthopedic surgery, doing well in medical school is critical to getting into the residency that will get you there. But how do you “do well”? “Study hard and do well in your clinical years” was advice I heard a lot, but hardly pointed the way to success. Now, as a fourth year medical student, I realize there are certain key habits of the successful medical student. I wish I could claim all the habits for myself – rather, they are an amalgam of what I’ve learned and what I’ve observed in others. They can help lay the foundation to your successful future.
Studying Medicine in Europe
The number of North American students attending European medical schools is increasing, but studying medicine in Europe is not without its challenges.
Judgment in Medicine
“Only God can judge me.” Tupac Shakur rapped these famous lyrics in his All Eyez on Me Album in 1996. Although this song stands far removed from the field of medicine, the statement “only God can judge me” is a reflection of one of our modern culture’s values: we simply do not like being judged.
This truth seems to resonate particularly in clinics and hospitals throughout the US. Physicians see patients of all different colors, shapes, and sizes and many of these patients enter into clinics with emotional wounds inflicted from previous physicians’ lack of judgmental tact. These patients have been negatively looked upon because of their skin color, weight, gender and countless other reasons resulting in an understandable defensiveness towards any medical professional. In addition, a fair number of patients, myself included, while not completely jaded, have had significant negative experiences with doctors. One of the most dangerous pathologies identified in a doctor’s office, ironically has nothing to do with actual “medicine”. What hurts the most is diagnosing the prejudice influencing our physicians’ health care.
5 Tips for Your Medical School Interview: Advice from a Recent Admit
Think of the medical school interview as a giant, modern dating ritual. Your AMCAS application and secondary essay were the first two online dates, and now you have agreed to meet each other in person. The admissions committee already has a rough skeleton of the greatest hits of your adult life, and they have decided that they really like you. However, before they will extend a proposal, they need to meet you in person, and they are willing to spend enormous amounts of their time and your money to arrange this meeting. What your interviewer writes about you for the admissions committee will either make your application come alive, remain flat on the paper, or tragically fail.
Medical School Interviews: 6 Common Mistakes That Admissions Officers Hate
Medical school interviews come in all different shapes and sizes. Some schools interview one-on-one, some have multiple interviewers, some have multiple-mini-interviews (MMI). Some schools use students, others use faculty, and some use alumni.
A U.S. Medical Student’s Experience in Germany
As a medical student from the U.S., it is always fascinating to experience how medical care is delivered in other countries. As our health care expenditures balloon to unprecedented levels, the topics of medical care and medicine in general have never been more pervasive. From this dialogue, comparisons between the U.S. and international health care systems are naturally made, but few people outside of those who do medical tourism, international rotations, or medical humanitarian work actually experience the differences firsthand. Experiencing medicine in countries with drastically different systems than the U.S. is highly valuable for U.S. medical students, both in clinical practice and in understanding the business and legal aspects of medicine.
20 Questions: Diana Marie Padgett, MD, Pathology
Diana Marie Padgett, MD, an anatomic and clinical pathologist, is president and treasurer at Pathology Associates of Harrisonburg (Virginia), as well as medical advisor to Blood Bank and Point of Care Testing. She received her bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in biochemistry from University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where she graduated summa cum laude (1998). She received her MD from University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center in Memphis, where she graduated summa cum laude (2003). She also has a one-year degree in Dutch studies from Leiden University (1997), and has successfully completed USMLE Step 1 (2001), Step 2 (2003) and Step 3 (2005). Dr. Padgett completed a residency in combined anatomic and clinical pathology at University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville (2003-2007), and a fellowship in pediatric and development pathology at University of Tennessee Health Science Center/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital/LeBonheur Children’s Medical Center in Memphis (2007-2008).
Dr. Padgett is board certified in combined anatomic and clinical pathology and pediatric pathology. She previously worked at St. Jude’s Research Hospital Department of Structural Biology in the Professional Oncology Education Program (1999), as well as University of Tennessee, Memphis, Department of Ophthalmology as a senior research assistant (1998-1999). Dr. Padgett has been published in the American Journal of Surgical Pathology, Infection and Immunity, Surgical Neurology, Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, American Journal of Neuroradiology, and Ophthalmic Research.
The One Thing They Never Tell You About Medical School
They tell you about the studying. They tell you about the long nights. They even start telling you about the lives you’re going to potentially save. In the months leading up to medical school, everyone has something to tell you. The neighbor next door, the relative you’ve never talked to before, even the guy who’s waiting next to you at Starbucks — everyone has some advice, some wisdom, some little token of knowledge to impart upon you as you begin this journey towards becoming a doctor.
Eventually those months turn into weeks and those weeks into days, and Orientation Week somehow finally manages to arrive. Freshly white-coated, you’re ready to take on the world and tackle this beast called medical school only to be swept away by the crashing wave of new advice emanating from nearly every direction — from academic advisers, from trialed and tested second year students, from school administrators, even from your fellow first years who’ve already started studying for board exams that won’t be taken for another four years. So by the end of the first week of school, you’ve accumulated 17 different versions of “the best way to study,” nine different lists of “the books you really need to get,” and five different takes on whether or not going to class is important.
20 Questions: Erica L. Mayer, MD, MPH, Breast Oncology
Erica L. Mayer is a medical oncologist at the Susan F. Smith Center for Women’s Cancers/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, as well as an associate physician at Brigham & Women’s Hospital and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. She’s the faculty education coordinator for breast oncology and director of advanced fellowship in breast oncology at Dana-Farber, as well as director of clinical research at Dana-Farber and Women’s Cancer Center at Faulkner Hospital. Mayer received a bachelor’s degree in both biology and history from Williams College in Williamstown, MA, where she graduated summa cum laude (1995). She received her MD from Harvard Medical School (2000), and her MPH in clinical effectiveness from Harvard School of Public Health (2005). Dr. Mayer’s postdoctoral training included a clinical fellowship at Harvard Medical School (2000-2006), a residency in internal medicine at Brigham & Women’s Hospital (2000-2003), a chief residency in internal medicine at Faulkner Hospital (2002-2006), and clinical fellowships in both medical oncology and medicine at Dana-Farber/Partners Cancer Care and Brigham & Women’s Hospital, respectively (2003-2006).
Dr. Mayer is a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Cancer and Leukemia Group B, and Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium. She’s involved in numerous funded research projects focusing on the role of novel biologic agents in the treatment of advanced breast cancer, and she has been published in numerous peer-reviewed publications including Nature, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Clinical Breast Cancer, Journal of Clinical Oncology, American Journal of Surgery, Annals of Oncology, and Clinical Cancer Research.
Six Smart Ways to Pay Off Your Student Loans
Attending college and earning a degree is a major accomplishment, but most people don’t have the resources to get their education paid for without help. While there are scholarship and grant programs available to help you out, loans are usually the popular option for students trying to pay their way through school.
The time to pay those loans back comes once you’ve stepped off stage and graduated. If you haven’t kept track of how much you owe, the final figure can be quite intimidating. To ease your stress, it’s important to financially plan and prepare for loan repayment. With that said, here are six smart ways to pay off your student loan.
20 Questions: Jennifer Hatfield MHS, CCC, SLP
Jennifer Hatfield, MHS, CCC, SLP, is owner, president and speech language pathologist at Therapy and Learning Services, Inc. serving the greater Chicago and northern Indiana areas, as well as the creator of both Little Fingers Speak (an infant sign language program) and The Munch Bunch (a food exploration group for picky eaters). Hatfield received a bachelor’s degree in communication disorders with a minor in psychology from Valparaiso University in Indiana (1992). She received her master of health science degree (MHS) from Governor’s State University (1996).
Financial Considerations for the Student Doctor
I first started reading SDN as a medical student, more than a decade ago. In medical education, some of the best advice seems to come from those who are one year ahead of you in the medical education pipeline. SDN allowed me access to more people ahead of me in their training (and the very useful information they would provide) than I could find playing foosball in the lounge at school. As I progressed through the pipeline, I found myself receiving less and less information and dispensing more and more. As residency becomes a more distant memory each year, I can assure you there is light at the end of the tunnel. Residency is survivable. You will eventually feel competent in your specialty. You will make great friends and actually save some lives. Those five-figure paychecks will eventually start rolling in, and if you manage them well, will provide you a comfortable life and retirement.
Separating Yourself for Professional School: 5 Key Steps Beyond The Grades
What’s your truth? What makes you different from every other person applying to professional school? Do your undergrad grades make a difference? Do your MCATs or DATs count?
Of course they do. Your GPA and aptitude test scores provide a baseline for every school you apply to. On the front end, its that simple. If you have the minimum GPA and test scores, your application lands in the possible pile; if you dont, it winds up in the impossible pile
for now.
That said, when you have the GPA and you have the MCAT or DAT scores everyone seeks, how do you separate yourself from the masses?
20 Questions: Tatyana Elleseff, SLP
Tatyana Elleseff is the founder and principal speech language pathologist at Smart Speech Therapy LLC in Somerset, New Jersey, as well as a practicing speech-language pathologist at Rutgers University behavioral healthcare in Piscataway. Elleseff received a bachelors degree in history and media studies from Hunter College in New York City, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude (2000). In 2006, she received a bilingual extension certificate in Russian from Columbia University Teachers College. Elleseff received her masters degree in speech language pathology and audiology from New York University (2007). Prior to her current work, Elleseff was a speech-language pathologist at: Childrens Specialized Hospital in New Brunswick; Arc of Somerset: Jerry Davis Early Childhood Center; and Educational Services Commission of Morris County. Elleseff has been published in numerous trade journals, including Perspectives on Global Issues in Communication Sciences and Related Disorders, VOICES, Adoption Today, ADVANCE for Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists, and Post Adoption Learning Center, International Adoptions Articles Directory. Elleseff is a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and the New Jersey Speech and Hearing Association.
Global Health Research Ethics, Part 1: Gaining Experience
Students considering what to do during their summer break in medical school or public health school often face a dilemma in choosing what to do. The commonly held belief is that in order to build your resume, you must undertake a research project. Volunteering for a global health program, either focused on provision of medical care or public health oriented, is perceived as the weaker choice, one that won’t look as good to your future employers.
There are several underlying reasons for this perception, for example, many employers come from a more traditional perspective and were trained prior to the proliferation of global health opportunities. They and their peers may not have had similar experiences and may not identify with how formative or educational they can be, or be familiar with the types of skills that can be gained through participation. Another reason for trepidation is that the quality of global health opportunities is so widely variable, and many loosely organized and informal programs exist. Nearly anyone can get in to a global health volunteer program of some sort, as long as they are willing to pay, since such programs serve as income generation mechanisms for many nonprofit organizations or may be run by students on an ad hoc basis, with little selectivity.
20 Questions: Deborah Axelrod, MD, Surgical Oncology
Deborah Axelrod shares her thoughts on the field of oncology and offers some advice for students.
Story Selling and the MD Admissions Process
Each page of your application is precious. You have the opportunity to sell a compelling narrative…