Category: Medical school

The quiet segregation no one talks about in medical school

I hated so much of medical school. Not all of it. I started eager, positive and bright. I was excited. But I struggled to belong. There was unwritten, informal segregation. Fresher’s week: I was stoked to try out new things… Hockey and rowi…

The origin of medical licensing exams

In January 2022, the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 transitioned to a pass/fail format, sparking debate over how best to assess physician competence in an era where medical misinformation proliferates online. Although medica…

Are quotas a solution to physician shortages?

Taylor Walker, a 25-year-old pregnant woman, lived in a town of under 500 people in rural Nebraska. In 2019, she told NPR that after experiencing pregnancy pains, she endured a four-hour round-trip journey to see her physician only to discover her regu…

Small acts of kindness can change someone’s world

So much of the world is centered around looking out for ourselves. We get caught up in our own problems, our own routines, and sometimes, we forget to stop and think about what someone else might be going through. It’s easy to do—we’re all …

Medical school admissions are racing toward an AI-driven disaster

Artificial intelligence (AI) large language models (LLMs) and the systems based on this technology have recently emerged onto the medical scene with huge promises to “disrupt” and innovate upon traditional clinical practice. Ignoring the hy…

Why more medical students are leaving medicine before residency [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes! Medical student Christopher Nmai discusses his article, “Leaving medicine is not a failure: It might be the change you always needed.” Christopher shares his d…

Leaving medicine is not a failure: It might be the change you always needed

Four rigorous years, filled with countless long days and nights of education, is often just the beginning for most medical trainees. The Match and subsequent residency await on the horizon. It is the norm in health care, and very few stray from that pa…

The emotional weight of witnessing a patient’s final moments

The first time I witnessed someone die in front of me will stay with me for a long time. I was only eighteen, early in my EMT experience, and transporting a patient home from the hospital while my colleague drove the ambulance. The patient was an eight…

Finding your medical specialty: Embracing uncertainty in clinical rotations

We have all been asked the infamous question as medical students: “What kind of doctor do you want to be, or what specialty do you want to specialize in?” If you have already made up your mind, answering this question can be exciting; if no…

7 proven strategies to beat test anxiety and ace the USMLE

Test anxiety is common among medical students, especially with the high-stakes USMLE. While some anxiety can drive performance, too much can spiral into paralyzing “what-ifs.” Here’s how to turn anxiety into an ally and perform at you…