Medical

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.

Is this patient high-risk?

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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?

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Creating Your Residency Rank List for Match Day

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rank list

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. 

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Quiz of the Week: Painful urination, a swollen knee, and eye pain—what’s the cause?

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A 31-year-old female presents to the emergency department with a two-day history of pain on urination and discomfort in her left knee and heel. She also complains of right eye pain, which is exacerbated by reading and bright lights. She recently recovered from a gastrointestinal illness two weeks earlier, but is otherwise healthy. Examination reveals a swollen left knee that is warm to the touch, and tenderness at the insertion point of the left Achilles tendon. Her right eye is red, and she has direct and consensual photophobia. Cells and flare are noted in the right anterior chamber on slit lamp examination. Based on this patient’s probable diagnosis, which of the following cutaneous manifestations is most likely?

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Making Clerkships Work

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Are clerkships a grind, or a boon?  It’s up to you.

The second-year students are moving from the pre-clinical curriculum to the clerkships this week. This transition is exciting—after all, seeing patients is what they’ve come to medical school to do, and now it’s finally happening.

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Q&A With Dr. Paige O’Mahoney, Physician-Author and Wellness Coach

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Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I started medical school at age 27 after studying international relations in college and then working as a paralegal in an international law firm. I met my husband, who was also changing careers, the first day of a post-baccalaureate premed program called MedPath at the Ohio State University. I mention this because I did not choose to pursue medicine at an early age, but rather felt called to it during the course of my education and training in other areas.

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