Category: Education

From medical humanities student to physician

At seventeen, I envisioned two types of physicians: the doctor who cared about me and my needs, and the doctor who was cold and detached. At that point in my life, I had experienced both types of physicians from the patient perspective. My dream was to…

How Tratak yoga reshaped my USMLE Step 2 prep

This is a notable example of the impactful outcomes that can arise from venturing beyond conventional routes to chart distinctive journeys toward success. Like countless other medical students, I committed months to intensive preparation, diligently ta…

The role of income in medical school acceptance

It was during my general surgery rotation that I had an encounter with a urologist attending while waiting for pending surgery to occur. As we made small talk about the medical field, our conversation gravitated toward the topic of medical school admis…

Balancing tension and kindness in medical education

I recall a particularly tense interaction on my surgery rotation in medical school. The sub-intern on our team, a dedicated classmate of mine, was instructed to carry the call pager one Friday afternoon, to the undue chagrin of the team’s nurse p…

I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

The major implications of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, overturning Roe v. Wade, have centered on state-based rulings to remove a person’s right to abortion, thus preventing clinicians from supplying lifesaving …

A chance encounter in Chicago: lessons in compassionate medicine

It was a frigid January night in Chicago. My whole body felt cold as flurries of snow landed on my clothes, prompting me to quickly enter the restaurant to find my friend. The dinner began to unfold how I had imagined. My friend, a fellow medical stude…

Vivek Ramaswamy Makes Unfounded Claims About SAT Scores, Physical Fitness

Ramaswamy claimed that “It’s a fact that those who perform well on math & reading tests tend to perform more poorly on the 1-mile run, and vice versa.”

Business education’s role in preventing physician practice decline

Physicians, particularly those who haven’t received business education, must address the frequently circulated question among their ranks: “Can you practice medicine without money?” Medical history unveils an era when most physicians …

The impact of assumptions on patient communication in medical training

At one of the medical schools where I am a standardized patient (SP), a student recently failed a portion of the exam because he did not ask his SP questions that were integral to her medical care. When asked by his faculty preceptors why he didn&#8217…

Reactions to eliminating race conscious admissions from medical schools

The medical community was rocked by the United States Supreme Court’s (SCOTUS) decision in Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and SFFA v. University of North Carolina, et al. The ruling essential…