MD Program

Ceremonies are important. If you're like Dave, you think they're a bit of a pain--you have to dress up and keep a straight face. But as a bit of (lengthy) symbolism, they do have their place, and the White Coat Ceremony is no exception.

Brandon Bacalzo and Angeline Vanle join the team as incoming medical students. Luckily for them they have the chance to put questions about med school to M2 Nick Lind and M3 Brady Campbell, including how to find the new study habits they'll need to succeed.

For those who have been out of the student game for a while, or who feel they need a little extra time to get acclimated to the fast pace of medical education, there are programs like our Intro to Medical Education at Iowa. Whatever an individual school calls it, these programs can act as a bridge between your life before med school to the rigours of learning medicine.

When listener Caven wrote in asking why CCOM graduates don't include hardly any specialists and why they all seemed to be going into primary care, Dave was puzzled. While it's true that a state school like ours, serving a rural part of the country, emphasizes primary care, he knew that not 'everyone' goes into primary care.

Our charitable mission is supported in this episode by CommonBond.co/scp. Be sure to pay them a visit to learn more about their new medical school loan, and tell 'em we sent you! Admissions counselor Megan Kosovski joins the fun to help LJ Agostinelli, Aline Sandouk, and new co-host Armin Avdic answer some listener questions.

Continuing our recent discussion on the price of healthcare in the United States, on this episode we talk with Dr. Martin Makary. Dr. Makary is a surgeon at Johns Hopkins, a best-selling author, and a health policy expert. Dr. Makary's latest book entitled The Price We Pay: What Broke American Health Care--and How to Fix It, is due out in September.

We're devoting this episode to the perils of love between med students and their non-medical partners. Despite the clickbait title (don't hate the player, hate the game), it isn't destined to end badly! It just takes lots and lots of patience, communication, and sacrifice, not to mention a plan.

Dan Weissmann is a former NPR journalist who was interested in the crazy world of healthcare costs in America. He'd suggested to his former bosses that he start covering people's stories of dealing with their medical care and it's often unpredictably wallet-sucking expenses, reasoning that the subject is one we all can relate to.

How do medical students deal with the stress of constant examinations? Dabin Choi, Gabe Conley, Claire Casteneda, and Erik Kneller discuss meditation, sleep, prayer, and eating habits that keep them from letting the fear derail them.

When listener Caven wrote in asking why CCOM graduates don't include hardly any specialists and why they all seemed to be going into primary care, Dave was puzzled. While it's true that a state school like ours, serving a rural part of the country, emphasizes primary care, he knew that not 'everyone' goes into primary care.