The residency interview trail quickly becomes a lonesome journey, so when I was on it this winter, I’d usually have the hotel room television turned on for some background noise and often find myself watching ESPN’s SportsCenter. On my last interview i…
Category: Education
5 confessions of a medical student
I’ve finally stopped thinking about the process of getting into medical school. But with friends going through the application cycle, waiting on and making decisions, I’ve been reflecting on my process and remembering just how terrible the whole thing …
Board reviews: How institutions can help students and residents pass their exams
In 2015, I began having in-depth conversations with directors of service, students, and residents about their educational needs. I asked, “What do you need? How can the library budget help you to solve your problems?” Everyone was thrilled to have this…
A medical student’s reflection of “firsts”
It is honorable to fight a battle in the face of an inevitable ending while not knowing when that end may come. First day of third year — the year most medical students take a sigh of relief as they put their Step 1 book on the shelf and prepare to fac…
You’re given feedback to “read more.” What do you do next?
Doctors are life long learners. The feedback to read more is often heard by medical students and residents in their quest to acquire the knowledge to understand health and disease processes and direct patient care. With so many demands on a resident an…
A trauma surgeon reflects on the Yale System, 20 years later
The best lens for reflection is to be immersed in the places and people that spawned those memories. Why else would reunions matter? Twenty years after we graduated the Yale School of Medicine, I found myself on campus embracing my classmates again. Bu…
Is there room for dinosaur professors in today’s medical schools?
As a “dinosaur” emerita professor of pathology who still teaches medical students, I have witnessed some of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1-induced climate changes compellingly. No, I am not a reactionary year…
The case against the Step 2 Clinical Skills Exam
In the era of the recognition of vast burnout in medicine, particularly amongst medical students, there needs to be a call to address structural problems in medical education. One particularly low-hanging fruit is the Step 2 Clinical Skills Exam (Step …
To struggling medical students: Meet the physician who conquered the “no’s”
I know what kinds of things I’m supposed to tell you. I know that your other would be advisors will usually stick to the same basic messages: “Keep reaching for your dreams” or “your hard work is all worth it in the end” o…
Why you shouldn’t place too much importance in college and medical school rankings
If you read my curriculum vitae, you might assume that I must have a high opinion of the U.S. News & World Report higher education rankings. I earned my bachelor’s degree from Harvard University, #2 behind Princeton in the “Best Nationa…
