Category: Residency

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 …

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…

The brutal emotional challenge of medical training

I can vividly remember the day the phone call came. My cousin screaming over the phone, trying to make out words but unable to speak, disbelief, horror, the fear in her voice palpable even though she was thousands of miles away. It was barely 5:30 a.m….

Pause before writing your personal statement

Trust me: The time you spend thinking about your personal statement before you start writing will make the actual writing process much, much easier. Before you even start writing a word, spend some time reading personal statement examples. Read good on…

Pause before writing your personal statement

Trust me: The time you spend thinking about your personal statement before you start writing will make the actual writing process much, much easier. Before you even start writing a word, spend some time reading personal statement examples. Read good on…

What is the best student loan repayment plans for medical students and residents?

If you’ve ever tried to learn about student loan repayment plans, you might have felt overwhelmed and confused. Instead of spending days researching information — as I did — here’s a summary of the different repayment plans to help you choose the right…

What should you consider when establishing a peer-mentoring relationship?

Mentorship is a common topic in medicine. We, as a profession, spend significant time discussing, attending workshops about, and researching the role of mentorship. Mentorship is key to personal development, career choice, and improved academic product…

Would this be what a modern-day House of God would look like?

I want to write a book about the modern intern experience, a successor to The House of God, if you will.  I’m going to call my book Seaport General.  It’s about a young intern named Troy, who is starting his internal medicine training at a fictional un…

A love-hate relationship with the resume-guided voice

In medical school, I’m having a hard time choosing among extracurricular activities. Some of the difficulty comes from the fact that our mandatory classes are hard enough for me to manage. On top of managing coursework, I feel an enormous pressure to q…

How to study smarter for USMLE Step 1: 5 tips for success

To reach my current position as a general cardiologist, I have taken nine board exams. I have also been teaching medical students for over ten years with several colleagues who write questions for the USMLE Step 1 exam. Through this experience, I have …