MD Program

Folk rock god Neil Young and others have removed their music from Spotify, which hosts Joe Rogan's controversial podcast over his discussions with COVID and vaccine deniers. Does that actually accomplish anything, or is it too late to win over the hesitant? And we play Kiss, Marry, Kill: Medical Specialties Edition.

Whether it’s a class assignment, a personal statement, or a scholarship essay, students are often commanded to reflect on their experiences. Reflection is can be a useful part of understanding what you are becoming. But what that means and how to do it are frequently not well defined. Our M4 co-hosts discuss whether their fears about the residency application process were well-founded or just wheel spinning.

Listener Riley wants some suggestions on experiences that will help him grow while he pursues his path to medicine. We discuss some comments from YouTube on female urologists and male patients. That leads to a discussion on why hospitals default to environments for their adult patients which are downright icky.

If your undergraduate studies in a different field lacked a certain enthusiasm but you’ve now decided to pursue medicine, it can be difficult to know where you’ll stand with admissions committees. Fortunately, adcomms don’t just look for perfect grades and unwavering and early certainty from med school candidates on their path to medicine.

Most people don't see themselves as partners in success, but as hired hands. Doctors are employees, too, and have similar issues with their employers! 30% of administrators reported losing physicians during the pandemic. Either an exit from healthcare or a mass shift of physicians from low-engagement jobs to higher engagement positions may have already begun.

Medical school is all-consuming, but sometimes you need to take time to deal with the slings and arrows of life. Don’t be afraid that you’ll jeopardize your career by taking a leave during medical school. Better to do it before your situation causes harm to your test scores or grades. A Brown University study finds that schools are failing in their diversity goals for admitting URMs.

Doctors who practice community medicine make more than academic physicians (sometimes lots more). As it often does, the question of which to choose depends on which aspect of each you can live without. The co-hosts also visit with Santa, because Dave’s been naughty, to answer pop quiz questions on holiday crimes.

If you want to be an author on a publication, you’ve got to be open with your lab about your goals. Go into research with the aim of improving your skills, and know exactly what skills you want to work on. Some kinds of research are easier to do and get published in medical school.

Our expert looks at the mistakes that can keep you from landing your spot in med school. Give the admissions committee what it needs to assure them you want this more than anything, and that you’ve done your homework. When is the right time to apply? When YOU are ready. Don’t rush it, because whether you’re successful or not in finishing med school, a bad decision will affect you for many, many years.

Eliminate unnecessary friction to the completion of a task. Paying others to do other life tasks can be helpful. Saying no is as important as maximizing efficiency.