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.

What You Should Know: Connecting With Pediatric Patients

by

What You Should Know is an ongoing series covering a range of informational topics relevant to current and future healthcare professionals.
Even for student doctors who are in training to be pediatricians or specialists in pediatric health, connecting meaningfully with these small patients can sometimes be difficult. However, this connection is necessary to establish if a doctor’s goal is to give their patient the best care possible.
It is helpful, then, to take a look at what experts say about how doctors can connect to their pediatric patients.

Read more

The Art and Science of Narrative Medicine

by

Many medical students, even those with a background in the liberal arts, may have a hard time conceptualizing the role that the humanities–in particular, the art of the narrative–may have to play in clinical practice. However, a relatively new theory and practice of medicine, called narrative medicine, is beginning to take root and contains elements of both medical and language arts.
What is Narrative Medicine?
The phrase “narrative medicine” was coined by Dr. Rita Charon, one of the founders of this movement, which began to develop in the 1990’s in response to the perception of detachment and over-professionalism in medical practice. Dr. Charon wanted to explore new ways that medical practice could become more humanized and emotive– and lead to greater satisfaction with the clinical relationship for both doctors and their patients. In her definitive article, entitled “Narrative Medicine: a Model for Empathy, Reflection, Profession and Trust” which appeared in JAMA in 2001, Charon introduces her readers to this new concept by noting that “adopting methods such as close reading of literature and reflective writing allows narrative medicine to examine and illuminate four of medicine’s critical narrative situations: the physician and patient, physician and self, physician and colleagues and physician and society…By bridging the divide that separates physicians from patients, themselves, colleagues and society, narrative medicine offers fresh approaches for reflective, empathic and nourishing medical care.”

Read more

Chronicles of a Med Student: Enjoy Every Moment of Med School

by
Chronicles of a Med Student

One of the things I enjoy most about writing this med school column is that I get to tell a unique story from a unique point of view. No two people will have the same set of experiences in med school, and I’m so glad I get to share mine. It helps me in two ways: I get to keep track of all of my crazy happenings, and I get to pause for a moment and reflect on all of them. Medical school, I’ve found, progresses so fast. Honestly, the nervous excitement I felt on my first day still lingers as though it happened yesterday. It has really flown by, and to quote some users on the forums section of the site, “residency will be here after what seems like the blink of an eye”. I’m not to residency yet obviously, but at the rate things are going, I have no evidence against this statement. It will probably be the fastest four years of my life (actually, only 3.5 now! See how quickly that went?). I’m still so used to replying to the question “So how many more years do you have left?” with 4. But it’s zipping by.

Read more

20 Questions: Norman Pastorek, MD – Plastic Surgery

by

Norman J. Pastorek MD, FACS specializes in facial plastic surgery. He trained at The University of Chicago Illinois and is board certified by both the American Board of otolaryngology and the American Board of Facial and Reconstructive Surgery. He has a private practice on Park Ave in New York.

When did you first decide to become a physician? Why?
It was really by accident. I had graduated from high school and decided to go to a college in Davenport, Iowa on a whim. At that point, I was considering being an engineer, so I took all of the required math and mechanical drawing courses. Long story short, I hated it—and I did not excel at my work because I didn’t like what I was doing.
After that first year, I went back to work in a factory where I was a welder. I was content enough doing that work, so for a time I thought I would just stay on that course. It wasn’t until I ran into an old coworker who was going into medicine that I started considering other options: he asked if I liked biology and suggested I go into pre-med. So I did.

Read more

On The Shoulders of Giants: Tips for Aspiring Female Surgeons

by

While there were many engaging sessions held at the 2015 UC Davis Pre-Health Conference, a few stood out for being exceptionally inspiring. Dr. Lisa Lattanza’s lecture, “How to Be a Successful Female Surgeon”, was one of these standouts.
This isn’t surprising, considering Dr. Lattanza’s pedigree. The chief of Hand, Elbow & Upper Extremity Surgery at UCSF Medical Center, she is known both for her surgical skills and her inexhaustible efforts to encourage and mentor the next generation of female surgeons. She is the president and co-founder of The Perry Initiative, a Bay-area-based foundation which provides educational and experiential opportunities for young women (primarily high-school and early-college-aged) interested in orthopedic surgery – a project which recently earned her the prestigious Jefferson Award for public service.

Read more

The Changing Culture of Medical Education

by

Transitioning to medical school is a significant change for most students; this naturally makes it a source of excitement, anxiety, stress, and even fear. Being a successful college student will not necessarily translate to success in graduate/professional school, although many of the same or similar strategies will help. Ultimately, adjusting to medical school is going to depend on the individual student and their school; each curriculum will present unique challenges and each student will handle them in a unique way. Although curricula vary among schools, some concepts are similar across the board. Perhaps the most uniform component of twenty-first century medical school curricula is the fact that they are constantly seeking to improve; thus the adage that “change is life’s only constant” seems to be true, at least of medical schools.

Read more

Three New Year’s Resolutions for Medical Students

by

Winter break is the perfect time for medical students to take a step back to relax, re-assess, and re-engage for the remainder of the academic year. Below are three resolutions that all medical students should make to motivate themselves for the grueling months ahead:
1. “I will schedule time for self-care” 
Many medical students simply do not spend enough time caring for their most valuable asset—themselves. Given the intense academic and clinical workload that medical school involves, it is common for students to lose sight of the importance of their own wellbeing. Use winter break to carefully review your schedule for the upcoming semester and deliberately schedule in self-care “appointments.” Self-care appointments can range from daily meditation for just a few minutes to a leisurely cup of coffee with a friend. The key is to choose those activities that help you de-stress and relax.

Read more

The Other Preparations to Make For Clinical Clerkships

by

The transition to clinical clerkships in medical school comes after two years of lectures, in-class exams, and national board exams. Without a doubt, it is an exciting transition. It is a key stage in the development of a physician, allowing the student to see real patients and to learn from practicing professionals. Clinical rotations requires the student to critically think and to apply the vast amount of information learned in the classroom to new situations. The goal is to learn to come up with a list of differential diagnoses, use the correct confirmatory test, and develop a treatment plan. This is what many students believe will be the bulk of their clinical learning during the third and fourth years. As a result, many students spend most of their time focusing only on the academic preparation for clinical rotations and do not sufficiently prepare themselves to stand out in equally important, but non-academic ways.

Read more

20 Questions: Natalie E. Azar, MD – Rheumatology

by

Dr. Natalie E. Azar is assistant clinical professor of medicine and rheumatology at the Center for Musculoskeletal Care NYU Langone Medical Center, as well as medical contributor to powerwomentv.com, member of the admissions committee for NYU School of Medicine, and instructor of the Physical Diagnosis Course at NYUSoM. She received a bachelor’s degree in psychobiology from Wellesley College (1992), where she was a Phi Beta Kappa (1991), Durant Scholar (1992), and Who’s Who Among American College Students (1991). Azar received her Doctor of Medicine from Cornell University Medical College (1996), with honors for academic excellence in anesthesiology (1998). Dr. Azar completed both an internship and residency in internal medicine at New York University Langone Medical Center (1996-97, 1997-99), and a fellowship in rheumatology at Hospital for Joint Disease, New York University Langone Medical Center (1999-2001).

Read more

Welcome to Healthcare 5.0: A Conversation with David M. Carlisle, MD, PhD

by

At this year’s UC Davis Pre-Health Conference, the concept of innovation was on everybody’s minds and lips. There’s no denying that this is an exciting time to be in the medical field; between new technologies, healthcare reforms, and an increasingly global society, things are changing at a rapid pace.
With all this newness and excitement, it’s easy to forget the reason so many of us go into medicine: to help others. And while the topic of his conference keynote was “Healthcare 5.0”, when SDN sat down with David M. Carlisle, MD, PhD, the focus was on caregiving in the most traditional sense.

Read more

Chronicles of a Med Student: One’s Not Such a Lonely Number

by
Chronicles of a Med Student

Medical school is becoming routine to me now—which is great. I’ve finally found my rhythm after a few months and feel comfortable with my learning style and studying methods. And it keeps me busy enough during the workweek. I try to accomplish most of my studying during the week so that I have the weekends to not study and actually have a life. But here’s the thing: my study habits don’t necessarily line up with those of my peers, which can leave me with some long weekends. Instead of wondering if am covering all of my bases (or if I’m forgetting to do this reading or that reading), I take a break. I can’t possibly study all the time, so I’m forced to have confidence in myself to do well. I understand that I sound quite crazy complaining about having free time, because who–especially a medical student–has ever done that?

Read more

The Medical School Interview: They Aren’t All The Same!

by

“What kind of interview will it be?”
This is not a question applicants ever asked 10 or 15 years ago but often do now. Every year, more medical schools now conduct Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI) while most still conduct “traditional” one-on-one interviews. A few medical schools also conduct group interviews with either groups of students who are interviewed together or several faculty who interview one student together. Therefore, when thinking about the medical school interview process, it’s important to be aware of what you might encounter on the interview trail.

Read more

How To Get Great Letters of Evaluation for Medical School

by

Letters of evaluation are a vital component of the medical school application process. Since many applicants have high levels of academic achievement and robust extracurricular experiences, it is important for students to obtain outstanding letters of evaluation. Below are several key points to remember when requesting such letters:

Read more

Q&A with Physician Writer Christine Montross

by

Dr. Christine Montross is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior and the Director of Counseling Resources at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. She works as a staff psychiatrist at Butler Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island. Before attending medical school at Brown, Dr. Montross graduated from the University of Michigan with a Master of Fine Arts in poetry, and undergraduate degrees in French and Natural Resources.

Read more

Five Things to Consider in Choosing an MCAT Prep Course

by

With the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) undergoing major changes in 2015, the first revamp in over two decades, aspiring medical students are faced with new uncertainty in how to prepare for the crucially important exam. Many students are turning to dedicated MCAT prep courses to supplement their self-directed studies, only to be stymied by a market crowded with many alternatives. Here are some important questions to ask when selecting an MCAT prep course.

Read more

Chronicles of a Med Student: Time for a Reality Check

by
Chronicles of a Med Student

I was about to burst with excitement the minute I started medical school. I’m pretty sure I was actually giddy: like so many other pre-meds, I had dreamt of the day when I would finally put my pretty white coat on and actually start learning about things I cared about (that’s not to say everything I’d learned previously was useless—it absolutely wasn’t, but it wasn’t what I wanted). It felt like the longest road just to get to this point and I couldn’t even begin to fathom what was to come. It really was like the journey had ended…instead of just begun.

Read more

3 Ways to Prepare for the USMLE Step 1 Exam

by

The USMLE Step 1 exam is arguably one of the most important tests in a medical student’s career. While a student’s score on Step 1 is taken into consideration amongst many other factors, the score still plays a major role in determining a student’s competitiveness for residency in certain specialties. After all, once a student has applied to a specialty, his or her Step 1 score will partially determine which types of institutions he or she will have the opportunity to interview at. Below are three general strategies to help you prepare for the USMLE Step 1 exam:

Read more

Book Excerpt From 11 out of 10: "Prince Albert"

by

I used to be an Emergency Medical Technician at a very busy Emergency Department. Given that about 70% of all patients that walk in the front door just need little more than a bandage, my job was to treat those low acuity patient under the supervision of a NP/PA or MD/DO. Simple things like removing sutures, bandaging wounds, and assisting the providers in more complicated or invasive procedures. I have three kids that liked to stick stuff where it didn’t belong when they were toddlers and I became quite adept digging things out of ears and noses. Naturally, I became the go-to person for removing foreign bodies and resolving foreign body entrapments in our Emergency Department. I have extracted a ton of weird stuff from ears and noses– things that I didn’t think were possible to get in those spaces to begin with. I had a very high success rate and was generally trusted to be able to handle almost any situation that presented itself.

Read more

Attend a Pre-Med Fair – Connect with Admissions Officers and the AAMC

by

Why attend a pre-med recruitment fair? Pre-med recruitment fairs are great opportunities to learn about applying to medical school, admissions requirements, and resources all in one place! You’ll be able to engage with medical school admissions officers and representatives in person to learn about specific opportunities at their schools. You will find a variety of medical schools, programs, and associations, like the AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges), that have a wealth of resources to support you on your path to medical school.

Read more