Category: Education

Why creative endeavors are important for the future surgeon

As an aspiring surgeon, I at times contemplate whether being creative has any effect on my future career. On one hand, if you see surgery as an “art,” then possibly a creative personality is beneficial. On the other hand, surgery often seems objective …

The USMLE Step 1 score reporting change looks bad. Here’s what it gets right.

Social media platforms lit up when sponsors of the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) announced Step 1 score reporting will change from 3-digit numerical scores to pass/fail by January 1, 2022. First-year Harvard Medical School student LaShyra …

A panic attack brought on by the stress of medical school

An excerpt from Cured: A Doctor’s Journey from Panic to Peace. Dead bodies surrounded me. They lay on their backs, supine in medical terminology. I imagined some staring at the white plastic sheets that covered them completely, others glaring at …

Jealousy and missed opportunities in medicine

“Julie” began the telehealth encounter in her car, greeting me with a cheerful smile. The sun glimmered through the driver-side window, illuminating the water spots to sparkle like diamonds. “How are you doing with your suboxone dose? Do you feel that …

How chess can make you a better physician

“Checkmate,” she whispered. A silent wave swept across the tournament area. Players turned their heads in our direction, eager to see who had lost 30 seconds into the round. It was me—I had fallen victim to the infamous four-move checkmate. My opponent…

Beyond the Fauci effect: As medical school application rates soar, medical students struggle

I am sitting at my desk, scribbling down notes as my pre-recorded lecture races ahead of me at two times speed. My phone buzzes with another New York Times notification about the spread of coronavirus variants. I regret turning on push notifications ab…

Will The CDC Guidelines Help Schools Reopen?

The CDC published guidelines for school reopening. How will the new guidelines affect you? Can you count on school reopening in the fall? Here’s what parents should expect and how families can best handle the coming months.

The opportunity to connect with another person on the most human of levels

One of my most impactful experiences during my third year of medical school was spending time with my patients and getting to know them. I went into medicine because I believed in the special relationship between doctor and patient. As I was shadowing …

What medicine can learn from a poem

On Inaugural Day, January 20th, 2021, Amanda Gorman eloquently recited her poem “The Hill We Climb.”. Instantaneously, she electrified a nation that resonated deeply with her words. For many, she became the highlight of the Inauguration as …

The rural health care crisis and medical education

Decades of job loss, the opioid crisis, and the current pandemic have all shaken the already tenuous health care system of rural America. This is happening in the wealthiest nation on Earth, with a GDP of over 20 trillion dollars. Why is this happening…