MD Program

Yes, you will (did) work hard to get your MD, but others have doctorates, too.  Lighten up.

Morgan (M3), Eric (M3), Aline (MSTP), and Abby (graduate!) discuss their experiences being evaluated in medical school. Abby offers her big tips for new MDs to get the best deal on internet service (apply for Medicaid and wait for them to give you candy). A doc goes to jail for his COVID cure kits. We practice giving sincere compliments to each other while trying to make the other person laugh.

Riley, Sahaana, Nicole, and newbie Mao discuss their answers to questions that incoming students often ask about medical school How do you find friends? Should you date classmates? How do you find your specialty? What kind of living situation works best? In the news: a medical student is suspended for allegedly retaliating against a patient with an extra needlestick; and we try to replicate the latest science from Tik Tok. Yes, it's the Hanger Reflex.

Short Coat Listener Josh wrote in to share some hacks he uses to get grumpy patients on his side the moment he walks into the exam room. Co-hosts Jessica, Aline, Hannah, and Riley share their own techniques on managing those first few seconds of the patient visit. Plus, many tangents along those lines, such as when not to use 'quips' and humor with patients and bosses.

Dave asks his co-hosts to discuss the ups and downs of their first year, which some will argue is the hardest. What were their social lives like? How much leisure time do they get? What about sleep? Dave loves a good case study, so he subjects the crew to some to see if they can guess the patients' conditions.

Dave asks his co-hosts to think about the role of discomfort in learning. It's a signal that you need to pay very close attention, both to the topic and to why you feel that way. Listener Michelina, an undergrad mom with a full-time job, asks if she should extend her time in college to seek a toxicology degree or just stick with biology.

There are at least three ways an aspiring MD/PhD can add those last three letter to their name, but why choose one way over another? To celebrate our CCOM Art Show, the crew makes some art for Dave to admire (See them for yourselves on our Instagram. The co-hosts answer Dave's probing questions as he tries to get to know them even better.

A man in Germany takes 90 for the team to sell vax cards. Tucker Carlson’s new documentary seems to sell a bizarre vision of the decline of male supremacy. Dave has an "better" idea for composing residency personal statements.

Facing a content-free episode, we discuss what medical students do when they're avoiding purpose and meaning (ie., they want to just have fun). We discuss a more nuanced view of work-life balance in medicine than is usually discussed (referenced: Necessary Interruptions: When to Let Life Get in the Way, by Jennifer Frank, MD on Medscape). Madeline challenges the gang to play 5-second rule, Medicine Edition.

Abbey Hardy-Fairbanks is an OB/Gyn who often works with expectant moms who use drugs. Future resident MDs: this episode features some of the many things she's learned about meeting patients where they are, practicing medicine without judgement, and understanding what her clients can and cannot accomplish in their circumstances.