20 Questions: Diana Marie Padgett, MD, Pathology

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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.

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The One Thing They Never Tell You About Medical School

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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.

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20 Questions: Erica L. Mayer, MD, MPH, Breast Oncology

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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.

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Six Smart Ways to Pay Off Your Student Loans

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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.

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20 Questions: Jennifer Hatfield MHS, CCC, SLP

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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).

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Financial Considerations for the Student Doctor

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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.

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Separating Yourself for Professional School: 5 Key Steps Beyond The Grades

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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 MCAT’s or DAT’s count?
Of course they do. Your GPA and aptitude test scores provide a baseline for every school you apply to. On the front end, it’s that simple. If you have the minimum GPA and test scores, your application lands in the possible pile; if you don’t, 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?

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20 Questions: Tatyana Elleseff, SLP

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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 bachelor’s 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 Teacher’s College. Elleseff received her master’s degree in speech language pathology and audiology from New York University (2007). Prior to her current work, Elleseff was a speech-language pathologist at: Children’s 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.

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Global Health Research Ethics, Part 1: Gaining Experience

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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.

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20 Questions: Michael R. Jaff, DO, Vascular Medicine

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Michael R. Jaff, DO, is Medical Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Vascular Diagnostic Laboratory and Vascular Ultrasound Core Laboratory, and Chair of the MGH Institute for Heart, Vascular and Stroke Care. Dr. Jaff is an active clinical consultant in all aspects of vascular medicine, including peripheral arterial disease, venous thromboembolic disease, aneurysmal diseases, and all diagnostic strategies in vascular medicine. Jaff earned a bachelor’s degree in biology (1980) from Dickinson College, and a DO in osteopathic medicine at Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (1985). He completed a rotating medicine/surgery internship at Flint Osteopathic Hospital (currently Genesys Regional Medical Center), and a residency and chief residency in internal medicine, as well as a fellowship in vascular medicine, at Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
Dr. Jaff has been published in Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine, Journal of Endovascular Therapy, American Journal of Cardiology, Clinical Cardiology, Vascular Medicine, Journal of Invasive Cardiology, The American Journal of Medicine, The Journal of American Osteopathic Association, The American Journal of Human Genetics, and Angiology. He is the Past-President of the Society for Vascular Medicine and Biology, and received the first designation as Master of the Society for Vascular Medicine. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, and the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Intervention, and is a registered physician in vascular interpretation (RPVI).

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20 Questions: Jean Paul Schmidt, DDS

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Native to Costa Rica, Dr. Jean Paul Schmidt is a practicing general dentist in Heredia, Costa Rica in the Naos Medical Plaza. He is also the teaching dentist for VIDA volunteer, a non profit organization which offers free dental, veterinary, and medical services in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Guatemala. After graduating from colegio nuestra senora de sion , Dr.Jean Paul Schmidt obtained his DDS from Universidad Latina in 2007. He completed the one year social fellowship through the government, practicing dentistry in an under serve community,Perez-Zeledon.

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My Most Influential Predental Experience

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This article is reprinted with permission from the American Student Dental Association. It originally appeared in June 2013 in mouthing off, The Blog of the ASDA.
As far as career choices go, dentistry has only recently come into my life. As a boy I wanted to be Batman, but over time I realized I wouldn’t have sufficient funds to run my evening escapades (not to mention, keep up the daytime billionaire guise). Then I settled upon engineering. Through engineering, I discovered my true passion for crafting and restoring balance in people’s lives. It was my desire to create that motivated me to make a life changing decision to pursue dentistry.

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20 Questions: Adam C. Shisler, DDS

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Adam C. Shisler, DDS, is a dentist in private practice in Houston, Texas. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences/zoology from the University of Oklahoma (2006) and a doctorate of dental surgery from the University of Texas School of Dentistry (2012). Dr. Shisler is currently completing a postgraduate pediatric dentistry residency, which he expects to complete in 2014. He has completed externships in pediatric dentistry with several graduate programs, including The University of Texas School of Dentistry (UTSD) at Houston, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, and Tufts in Boston.
Dr. Shisler was the president of the American Student Dental Assoc. at UTSD and was acknowledged with numerous awards in 2012, including Texas Dental Assoc. Outstanding Senior Award, International College of Dentists Student Leadership Award, American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry Predoctoral Student Award, American College of Dentists Student Leader Award, American Student Dental Assoc. Award of Excellence, and Dept. of Prosthodontics Heinz O. Beck Award of Excellence in Removables. Dr. Shisler is a member of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, American Dental Assoc., Academy of General Dentistry, Texas Dental Assoc., Texas Academy of General Dentistry, and Greater Houston Dental.

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Attending Medical School on Foreign Ground

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Getting into medical school can be quite a challenge. Prospective students work hard to build a well-rounded background that will appeal to to the college of their choice, knowing that their chance of acceptance is 8.3% overall, and an abysmal 4% or less at top-tier schools. Harvard, ranked number one, accepted 3.9% of applicants, 226 of 5,804 hopefuls. State schools are far cheaper to attend and offer a better chance of acceptance, 44% of applicants.
Some students who are turned away remained determined to achieve their goals, and one way to do that is by applying to a school in another country. How does a foreign medical education compare to a U.S. education? The answers might surprise you.

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Military Medicine: How Your Skills Can Best Serve Others

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The goal is clear: become a doctor. It sounds simple, but the journey is long, exhausting, and busy. It involves countless nights spent studying instead of sleeping, days toiling in class or clinicals instead of socializing, and fact upon fact to remember so you can enter your career.
A doctor serves others tirelessly and utilizes a special set of skills. This service is at the heart of a doctor’s mission, but after years of schooling, you might feel like something’s missing. Maybe working all week at a family practice isn’t ideal for you. Fortunately, it’s possible to apply your physician’s skills in unexpected ways.

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