Category: Medical school

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…

8 tips for having a baby while applying for residency

Being a medical student is tough, applying for a competitive residency spot is tough, and being a new mother is also very tough. I am one of the lucky women to do all three at the same time. I had my child early August of my fourth year of medical scho…

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…

Promote a culture of medical school peer education

I am a few days away from graduating medical school. Throughout these four years, I have given back to my medical school by passing on the knowledge and wisdom I have accumulated. I share my reflection on the importance of having medical school mentors…

It’s time to rethink what it means to be a DO

The future of our profession lies in our ability to come together with a unified voice. We must also recognize that the practice of osteopathic medicine, and the training of osteopathic physicians, has evolved significantly since A.T. Still, MD, DO, cr…

3 ways to change your mindset in continuing medical education

The seeds of emotional turmoil inherent in medical education are planted early in the pursuit of becoming a doctor. It is the unspoken fear that medical students and residents experience each day on attending rounds.  It is the worry of missing a vital…