When I was a medical student, some enterprising classmate started a note taking service so we wouldn’t have to take notes on our own. He set up a tape recorder and transcribed the notes for distribution the next day. One day, our professor showed…
Category: Education
Why medical schools must ditch lectures and embrace active learning
When I was a medical student, some enterprising classmate started a note taking service so we wouldn’t have to take notes on our own. He set up a tape recorder and transcribed the notes for distribution the next day. One day, our professor showed…
Why helping people means more than getting an MD
“Why do you want to be a doctor?” Ask any pre-med that question, and you’ll probably hear the same answer: “I just want to help people.” I’ve said it, too—more times than I can count. But lately, I’ve started t…
Residency match tips: Building mentorship, research, and community
The residency match process is one of the most defining and often most daunting milestones in a medical student’s journey. It represents the culmination of over eight years of dedication, sacrifice, and hard work in pursuit of a dream many of us …
How I learned to stop worrying and love AI
Is artificial intelligence going to replace physicians? I think the most accurate answer that can be given at this point is “maybe.” Either way, vehemently denying the mere possibility serves no one. If the takeover does happen, being proac…
Why medical student debt is killing primary care in America
For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be a physician. My journey to medicine is not unique. My motivations ring familiar to all health care workers. Many medical students are cut from the same cloth in this regard. We want to help people,…
Why the pre-med path is pushing future doctors to the brink
I have been on the pre-med path for years. I started college excited to one day become a doctor, but I quickly learned that excitement was not part of the culture. From the beginning, pre-med students are taught to compete with one another. We are forc…
Graduating from medical school without family: a story of strength and survival
Today I graduated from medical school. It should have been one of the happiest days of my life. And in some ways, it was. I earned this moment through sleepless nights, years of sacrifice, and an unshakable drive to serve and heal. I walked across the …
Trapped by SOAP: How the residency match system fails future doctors
“We are sorry, you did not match to any position.” That sentence alone is enough to crush someone who has spent over a decade chasing the dream of becoming a physician. But what came next was a blur of rushed decisions, emotional exhaustion…
What led me from nurse practitioner to medical school
For years, I cared for patients as a nurse practitioner—managing chronic disease, guiding them through acute illness, counseling them through the often messy realities of life and health. I loved my work. I loved the relationships I built with patients…
