Can you recall moments in your adolescence when you were completely living in the moment, not caring or thinking much about the future? The future seemed, like, forever away. Plus, you just wanted to enjoy life as it was in that very moment. Ahh…if we could find just a bit of that carefree attitude we used to have, minus the naiveté, even for a moment. Well, my fellow medical spouse, I challenge you to do just that. What is something all us medical spouses have in common? We have NO idea what the future will look like for us, and we also have very little control over it!
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Learn about medicine and how to become a physician in our articles for pre-medical students (including the MCAT), medical students, resident physicians, and practicing physicians.
Handling Sexual Harassment as a Medical Student
Changing dressings on diabetic ulcers is not particularly pleasant. The oozing, the meticulousness of laying down protective layers, and the smell make the task less than ideal for even the strongest stomach. There I was as a 3rd year medical student, working with the resident team for well over an hour assembling the dressings on the patient’s legs to apply a wound vac. To make matters even worse and more uncomfortable, the patient continued to make sexual remarks about me. I kept quiet and finished the job with the rest of the team. In fact, even when we were done, no one mentioned the inappropriateness of the patient. It just went unsaid that this is something that is encountered frequently, and I continued to see the same patient on daily rounds.
How would you manage this patient’s neurologic impairment?
A 28-year-old female presents to the emergency department with an occipital headache and neck pain. She mentions her symptoms appeared after hyperextending her neck while playing tennis the day before. Examination reveals dysdiadochokinesia and decreased lateral vision. A contrast head and neck CT demonstrate the findings seen here. Based on this patient’s probable diagnosis, which of the following treatments is most appropriate?
How to Thrive On a Rotation You Don’t Like
It is Friday afternoon at 4 pm. I’m headed to see a consult while simultaneously attempting to shove a granola bar in my mouth and respond to several pages. My intern is somewhere frantically discharging people and post-oping the day’s OR cases. My medical student lists along several feet behind me, dragging his feet and clearly hating life. The consult turns out to be operative, so I call my staff, book the OR, activate the emergency surgery pathway, consent the patient, talk to the family and write the note in rapid succession while my medical student hovers beside me. As I hit “sign” on my note, I hear the sharp intake of breath that heralds the coming question.
“Do you need me for anything else?”
“Well, we are taking this patient to the operating room. It should be a relatively quick, but interesting case. Would you like to join us?”
“Ummm.”
“I see. Well, you don’t have to. You can go.”
“Ok. Sounds good. Oh, and I was wondering, is it ok if I take this weekend off? My friend from college is getting married tomorrow and his bachelor party is tonight, so…”
“We usually have you guys round at least one day each weekend.”
“Oh, ok. It’s just that he’s, you know, my best friend, and I’m the best man, and I kinda have to stay out with him, so…”
“Fine. Have fun,” I respond, in a flat tone and turn back to my computer.
Q&A with Dr. Ike Anya, Writer and Public Health Consultant
Dr. Ike Anya is a consultant in public health medicine, writer, honorary lecturer in Public Health at Imperial College London, cofounder of Nigeria Health Watch and cofounder and principal consultant of EpiAfric, a public health consultancy in Nigeria.
Dr. Anya obtained his medical degree at the University of Nigeria (1995), before eventually moving to the UK in 2001. Here, he obtained a Master’s from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, before completing the Southwest England public health training program in 2008.
Macroglossia and Edema—What Do You Suspect?
A 65-year-old male presents to his family physician with complaints of increasing fatigue, dyspnea on exertion, and unintentional weight loss within the last six months. On examination, he is noted to have macroglossia and peripheral edema. Crackles are audible bilaterally on chest auscultation. Which of the following tests will help to confirm this patient’s most likely diagnosis?
Interview Prep, Opening Up, and Death.
And no, that’s not the three stages of your med school application.
’Tis the season to be applying to medical school. Which is why we got so many listener questions to address on this episode (thank you!) Listener Magnus wanted suggestions for how to prepare for MMI and regular admissions interviews, so we invited our resident experts, Amy A’Hearn (from CCOM med student admissions) and Tom O’Shea (from CCOM physician assistant admissions, for his experience with MMI interviews) to help out. They, along with Aline Sandouk, Jayden Bowen, Marc Moubarek and new co-host Shakoora Sabree, also answered questions from listeners Cameron and Sarah about whether opening up about personal/political views and sexual orientation is okay on applications and in interviews. And listener Jake wanted to know how med students learn to cope with death.
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Working as a Paramedic to Gain Clinical Experience
Importance of Medical/Healthcare Experience as a Medical School Applicant
Healthcare is a broad field with multiple working parts that all accompany one another. Providers come from all walks of life and contribute a wide range of skills and abilities that each work integrally in order to provide a smooth patient care experience. Everyone that has any patient care responsibility can attest to the hardships—as well as the triumphs—that one faces while working in healthcare.
How to Choose Extracurriculars as a Premedical Student
You may have heard that there’s a “perfect formula” of undergraduate extracurricular activities sought by medical schools. Research experience? Check. Hospital volunteering? Check. A summer internship in a lab or clinical setting? Check.
While these endeavors might demonstrate your interest in and commitment to clinical medicine, the idea of selecting your extracurricular activities solely based upon this perfect formula ignores one key trait that medical school admissions committees are looking for in their applicants: authenticity. As you navigate your pre-medical years, you may be wondering how to cultivate a resume that evidences your investment in medicine but also leaves plenty of room for pursuing your other interests. The key to selecting your extracurriculars is to not treat these two intentions as mutually exclusive—medicine can overlap with your other interests (and vice versa). Check out these suggestions for choosing your undergraduate extracurriculars in a way that will please both you and admissions committees.
Writing That Personal Statement
Writing about yourself can be intimidating. Luckily, I’ve got this venue here for practice, but it really can be difficult, especially when it comes to writing to impress someone else, i.e. those on the selection committees of medical schools or residency program directors. It’s important to articulate yourself well and paint a picture of your personality in a way that makes them say, “Yes, I want this person to be in my program”. I recently finished up writing my personal statement for residency programs, so I have a few tips on how to go about this daunting process.
Med School Youtubers, Pre-Med Experiences, and Overcoming Shyness
So many listener questions! Listener Amari returns to ask Aline Sandouk, Jayden Bowen, Tony Rosenberg, … Read more
Why is this urine bag purple?
An 80-year-old female with a history of diabetes and chronic constipation presents to the emergency department with a purple urine bag. She is currently bedridden and uses an indwelling catheter. On examination, she is hypotensive and confused. Blood cultures are positive for Proteus vulgaris. Based on this patient’s presentation, which of the following antibiotics should be commenced?
5 Ways You Can Help Prevent Your AMCAS® Application from Being Delayed
Many applicants applying with AMCAS strive to complete and submit their application as quickly as possible. However, an incomplete or incorrect application can cause delays — which may cause you to miss an important deadline. [Here are important dates to be aware of for the 2018-2019 application cycle.] Never fear: We talked to the staff who verify applications, and they shared some quick tips that can help prevent your 2019 AMCAS application from being delayed.
What is the MCAT?
MCAT stands for the Medical College Admissions Test, which is an examination that one must … Read more
Did a drug interaction complicate this injury?
A 76-year-old male presents with a progressive headache, dizziness, and confusion after falling from his bed the night before. He currently takes warfarin following a mechanical valve replacement 11 years ago, and has been recently diagnosed with depression. A CT scan reveals a subdural hematoma and the patient’s INR measures 7.5. Which of the following is most likely to increase the anticoagulant effect of warfarin?
Why You Might Want to Wait to Apply to Med School
Your Med School Application is Too Important to Rush Listener Hanna wrote in to ask … Read more
Q&A with Ms. Carolann Curry, Reference and Outreach Librarian
Ms. Carolann Curry is a Library Assistant Professor and the Reference & Outreach Librarian at Mercer University School of Medicine in Macon, Georgia.
Please summarize your role at the medical school.
I assist medical school faculty, staff, and students with research, including providing customized literature searches and one-on-one reference consultations. I am the library liaison to multiple faculty departments, including Family Medicine, Community Medicine, Geriatrics & Palliative Medicine, and Medical Education. I am also the library liaison to the Medical Doctor, Master of Science in Biomedical Science, and Master of Science in Preclinical Science programs. In addition to reference responsibilities, I teach classes to medical students, faculty, and residents. Librarians at Mercer University School of Medicine have a faculty designation, so we are able to serve on committees, which allows us to provide additional institutional support to the school. For example this year I am serving on the Research Committee and am co-chairing the annual joint research conference.
Q&A with Dr. Katherine Semrau, Women’s and Maternal Epidemiology
Dr. Katherine Semrau, PhD, MPH, is an Associate Epidemiologist at the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School, and the Director of the BetterBirth Program at Ariadne Labs, a joint health innovation center between Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The BetterBirth Program is focused on improving quality of care in facility-based childbirth using the WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist. This quality improvement program recently completed a large-scale study of the peer-mentoring implementation of the WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist in facility-based deliveries conducted in Uttar Pradesh, India.
What’s Causing This Persistent Cough?
A 75-year-old female presents with a two-year history of a persistent cough and fatigue. The cough is occasionally productive of purulent sputum. She was treated for a community-acquired pneumonia two years earlier and underwent an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion previously, but is otherwise well. On examination, she appears well-groomed, polite, and thin. Chest auscultation reveals wheezing in the mid zones bilaterally and a later chest X-ray and CT scan demonstrate the findings seen here.
The Secondary Application: Bragging vs. Confidence
How can you brag about yourself without bragging about yourself?
We are taught from a young age (most of us, anyway) not to brag. It is better, we may sometimes hear, to show confidence. Listener Rachel wrote in with a question about the secondary application: how does one confidently talk themselves up without coming across as a braggart? Lucky for Rachel, we have Daniel Schnall from our admissions staff on hand to help Mark Moubarek, Kylie Miller, Aline Sandouk, and Gabe Conley with some great advice about how to sell yourself on your application and also back it up. Don’t want to look like a chump? Dan has your answer, Rachel.
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