I’m writing this for my tribe of worriers and self-doubters, people for whom ever-present test stress is inextricable to the med school experience. Sure, every medical student becomes preoccupied fretting over exams to some degree. That’s part of wha…
I am frequently asked: “Why are you pursuing a dual MD/JD?” Neither profession is a family business; no one in my family is a doctor or a lawyer — but I’ve always dreamt big. I always wanted to get the most possible out of my education. Beg…
I graduated from an international medical school this past spring. I’m currently in the midst of a preliminary year as an internal medicine resident at St. John’s Riverside Hospital in Yonkers, N.Y. Next year, I’ll start my dream resi…
There’s a pivotal scene in the 2007 Pixar movie Ratatouille, in which the restaurant critic Anton Ego takes a first bite of the movie’s titular food. He is then whisked back to a moment in his childhood, during which his mom provides love a…
I heard about you a few times before I ever met you in person. It was my first day on the palliative care service — a week that felt like a relaxing break from the sixteen-hour days I was used to on surgery. Many people don’t know what palliative…
“What challenges do you see yourself facing as a doctor?” I’m sitting in a suit, facing a young Asian woman with black, round glasses across a desk. On the desk in front of her is an iPad, and she sits cross-legged, hands resting on her legs. I’m in my…
OK, quick — word association time. I say “doctor,” and you think what? “Smart,” right? And it’s true. Doctors are smart. But before you buy into the myth that every doctor has breezed through school and could fall out of bed with a #2 pencil and crush …
Recently, at medical schools across the country, first-year students officially donned the physician’s traditional white coat for the first time. The white coat ceremony is a powerful symbolic moment. It signifies that the students are moving bey…
Think studying abroad doesn’t fit with your future plans? Think again. Since the day I applied to university, I had been researching how I could incorporate global learning into my undergraduate degree program, while also thinking about my future goals…
“First Aid For The USMLE Step 1 — cost: $45, format: reference book.” “Pathoma — cost: $99 (1-year subscription), format: video explanations + reference book.” “SketchyMedical — cost: $150 (1-year subscription), format: cartoon video memory device.” Ou…
