Medical - Page 21 of 49 - Student Doctor Network

The Truth About "Primary Care" Statistics

June 25, 2022March 30, 2018 by The Short Coat Podcast

How to Think About Med Schools’ Primary Care Statistics

Listener Lavender BloodPoison (not their real name) sent us a message saying they were impressed by CCOM’s Primary Care residency match statistics. And while many schools that serve states like ours do love primary care, “there are lies, damn lies, and statistics,” as the saying goes. How should one interpret match statistics in light of the fact that many who appear to match in primary care will go on to specialize after their first year residency? Lisa Wehr, Teneme Konne, Aline Sandouk, Amy Young, and Kaci McCleary are here to drop some truths about the so-called “Dean’s Lie” (less a lie as much as it is a truth that doesn’t tell the whole story).

Non-Academic Ideas to Boost Your Med School Chances

June 25, 2022March 28, 2018 by Joel Butterly

At this point, you are probably already aware of how competitive medical school admissions are. For instance, you may already know that the most competitive med schools boast acceptance rates of nearly 3%—that’s almost half the acceptance rate of Harvard College. Pretty dire, right?

The truth, however, is that while medical school admissions are and will continue to be incredibly competitive, there are a number of steps you can take throughout college to distinguish yourself from the enormous pool of hyper-qualified candidates. Along with doing the typical extracurricular activities for med school like lab research, teaching experience, etc. the best candidates think outside of the box to make their extracurriculars stand out.

What’s causing this teenager’s vision loss?

February 27, 2019March 26, 2018 by Figure 1

A 14-year-old boy is brought to the pediatrician by his mother over concerns of difficulty walking and worsening clumsiness. He reports a gradual loss of night vision, and a long history of chronic diarrhea which is pale and foul-smelling. Examination reveals an ataxic gait, and loss of deep tendon reflexes. Bilateral retinitis pigmentosa is noted on fundoscopy and a peripheral blood smear reveals the findings seen here. Which additional laboratory finding is most likely?

Should You Retake the MCAT? 3 Key Things to Consider

June 25, 2022March 26, 2018 by Andrew George

Studying your butt off for months, suffering through an anxiety-inducing test day, and then waiting … Read more

Putting the Anxiety Cart Before the Horse

June 25, 2022March 24, 2018 by The Short Coat Podcast

Anxiety about your competitive specialty ambitions in your first year isn’t worth it.

Listener Luis wrote in expressing his anxiety that his med school–which he’ll begin attending this fall–doesn’t have the prestige or programs to support his desire for a competitive specialty like ophthalmology. If that’s the case, he wondered, what can he do to increase his chances of obtaining his dream career? Fortunately for Luis, Irisa Mahaparn, Gabe Conley, Brendan George, Jason Lewis, and new co-host Andres Dajles were on hand to give Luis the advice and encouragement he needs…and a tiny dose of tough love, too.

Changing Your Mind—And Your Specialty

August 23, 2022March 22, 2018 by Brent Schnipke

I’ve written about choosing a medical specialty throughout the third and even fourth years of … Read more

Q&A with Dr. James Dahle, Emergency Medicine, Founder of White Coat Investor

June 25, 2022March 21, 2018 by Gloria Onwuneme

Dr. James Dahle is a practicing emergency physician and founder of White Coat Investor, a website in which he shares what he has learned about personal finance management and wealth building.
Dr. Dahle graduated in 1999 with a BS in molecular biology from Brigham Young University before obtaining his medical degree from the University of Utah School of Medicine in 2003. Following this, he trained at the University of Arizona Emergency Medicine Residency Program and then served four years with the Air Force and the Navy, which took him across military bases on four different continents.

Entering Third Year With An Open Mind

June 25, 2022March 20, 2018 by Adelle

By Adelle, Medical Student

I went into my third year with a somewhat open mind in terms of what I thought I liked and what I thought I wanted to do for the next 35 years or so of my life. Internal medicine interested me because you had to know so much about, well, so much. I felt like my brain was getting bigger every day I was on my internal medicine rotation—there was just so much to know! The number of patients you can see is also fairly high on a typical internal medicine service. On the other hand, I had completely discounted general surgery—I was never very interested in anatomy class and didn’t particularly enjoy teasing apart membranes from fascia from blood vessels and nerves. The thought of doing that for the rest of my life didn’t sit well with me. But, nevertheless, I went in with an open mind.

Should You Consider Romance When Selecting a Med School?

June 25, 2022March 17, 2018 by The Short Coat Podcast

Med school can test a relationship.

Lauren wrote in to ask us to what extent her love life should play a role in her selection of a medical school, and how we thought med school challenges relationships. Gabe Conely, Joyce Wahba, Claire Casteneda, and new host Brendan George discussed their perspective on how med school can affect romantic relationships, and what role it should play in the selection of a school to attend.

When to initiate treatment in patients with HIV

February 27, 2019March 17, 2018 by Figure 1

A 60-year-old man who is HIV positive presents with fever, dyspnea, and inflammatory lesions on the skin. A biopsy reveals a diagnosis of histoplasmosis. At what threshold should antiretroviral therapy (ART) be initiated in adults with HIV?

On Moving Across the Country for Medical Training

June 25, 2022March 16, 2018 by Karen Tran-Harding

Moving across the country for medical school was the scariest thing I ever did – and the best thing I ever did

I looked out the window as the plane touched down on the runway. I heard the gentleman next to me ask, “So what brings you to Kentucky?” I didn’t know if he assumed I was a visitor because I looked so curious peering outside at the very green landscape or he caught a glance of my “Kentucky” guide book half peeking out of my purse. I smiled and told him I had come for an interview.

How to Maximize Medical School Second Looks

June 25, 2022March 14, 2018 by Cassie Kosarek

While most students dream of getting an acceptance letter from just one medical school, others find themselves in the enviable position of having to choose between two or more schools to which they’ve been accepted. If you are deciding between schools, Second Look days can help you determine where you’ll commit. Second Look days are offered by most medical schools, usually after their application cycles are complete and acceptances have been extended to candidates. They are meant to give potential students an idea of what attending that particular school will be like. While many students attend Second Look days with the intention of getting to know potential classmates and to see what the academic environment “feels like,” others may want to head into these days prepared with a few specific questions aimed toward helping them gather the information they need to make a final decision. If you’re getting ready to travel to some potential medical schools this spring, keep these questions in mind:

Confessions of a Former Mediocre Premed Student

June 25, 2022March 13, 2018 by Yoo Jung Kim

By Yoo Jung Kim, MD Candidate, Stanford University

Many students start college gung-ho about going into medicine, and many end up falling short of their goals. Their reasons are varied. Some discover new careers that better appeal to their interests; others realize that they can’t stomach the long commitment required in medicine. However, the saddest group of people are those who come to believe that they aren’t cut out for becoming a physician because of their performance in science courses. I was very close in becoming one of them.

10 Things To Do If You Did Not Match Into A Residency Position

June 25, 2022March 12, 2018 by Monya De

By Monya De, MD MPH Medical students who did not match into a residency position … Read more

Q&A with Dr. Harris Eyre, Psychiatry Trainee, Pharmacogeneticist

June 25, 2022March 12, 2018 by Gloria Onwuneme

By Gloria Onwneme, Medical Student, University of Nottingham, UK

Dr. Harris Eyre, MD, PhD, Fulbright Scholar (WG Walker) is a psychiatry trainee, and Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder of CNSDose, a company which has developed and deployed a world-leading genetic test to aid the antidepressant selection process for primary care physicians, psychiatrists, and people with depression. He is also an executive-in-residence at the Texas Medical Center in Houston, the world’s largest medical complex.

Lack of Empathy: A Med School Dealbreaker?

June 25, 2022March 10, 2018 by The Short Coat Podcast

Everyone knows: doctors have to have empathy…right?

Listener Mo wrote to us at [email protected] to ask us if a lack of interest in dealing with the foibles of patients–with their anti-vaccine beliefs, their non-compliance with treatment, and reliance on the latest internet fads–means he should reconsider his med school dreams. Lucky for Mo, Kaci McCleary, Irisa Mahaparn, and newbs Melissa Chan and Dabin Choi were on hand to propose some paths forward for non-empathetic med school applicants, as well as outlining some of the less obvious areas empathy comes in handy they might want to think about. There isn’t a lot of wiggle room in this area…but there’s a little, and maybe Mo can squeeze into those cracks and come out with an MD on the other side.

Do you recognize this adverse drug reaction?

February 27, 2019March 10, 2018 by Figure 1

A 58-year-old male with a history of rosacea presents with blue-black discoloration on his neck and face that worsens after sun exposure. What drug is the most likely cause of this reaction?

So You Didn’t Match. Now What?

March 14, 2023March 6, 2018 by Mohamed Gad

Last year, over a thousand American senior medical students, failed to Match into a residency … Read more

What Really Matters When Choosing Your Medical School

June 26, 2022March 5, 2018 by Stacy Meyer

Many students don’t realize that the residency match should be top of mind when choosing … Read more

Another Student Fights Mental Illness Stigma

June 26, 2022March 3, 2018 by The Short Coat Podcast

More and more students are speaking up about their mental illness struggles

One of the things we Short Coats agree on is that the stigma medical students and physicians face when dealing with mental illness must end. We are people, too, and thus are subject to the full range of human maladies. So when listener Kate reached out to [email protected] to tell us of her University of Michigan classmate Rahael Gupta’s JAMA article addressing her own struggles, Matt Wilson, Marisa Evers, and Gabe Conley could only respond with sympathy and admiration.