Medical Student Power Clicks

Powerful information to help today's medical student excel in medical school

Getting into Medical School

In efforts to gain admission to medical school, premedical students sometimes forget to reflect on the meaning and significance of their varied experiences in community service, research, and extracurricular activities. In "Do it for the right reasons," Georgia McLendon, an undergraduate student at Duke University, reminds us that it's about more than checking off items on a checklist.

 

 

Preclinical Success

Although research has shown that medical students value the guidance and support of a mentor, many students do not have one. Medical schools have responded by creating mentoring programs. At the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, four advisory colleges have been established, and two faculty mentors have been appointed for each college. In a recent article at the UCSF website, students, faculty, and administration discussed the program, and how it has benefitted students. If you would like to initiate a relationship with a mentor but are not sure how to proceed, our book, Success in Medical School: Insider Advice for the Preclinical Years, offers detailed advice on how to intitiate, cultivate, and nurture a mentor-mentee relationship. Mentoring is introduced in the first chapter of the book (Page 9), and we have made the chapter available to you on our website.

USMLE News

 

Are you interested in practicing in Israel? U.S. physicians who have passed the USMLE within the past decade are now eligible to be licensed in Israel. “We are trying to make it easier for Israeli graduates who completed their medical studies in the US and also for new American immigrants," says Dr. Amir Shannon, the head of the Health Ministry's Medical Professions Licensing Department, in an interview with the Jerusalem Post.

 

Residency Match Success

The 2013 AOA Match Results are now available. Congratulations to all osteopathic students who matched. I had the great opportunity to work with some of these applicants, and was impressed with the contributions they had made in community service, patient care, teaching, and research as students. A phone call from an applicant who has matched never gets old! It's always a joy for me to share in the excitement.

 

Medical Student Power Clicks

Powerful information to help today's medical student excel in medical school

Getting into Medical School

Are you applying to a medical school that has adopted a longitudinal clerkship system during the clinical years? If so, you'll definitely want to read about research performed at the University of California San Francisco. In a study led by Dr. Arianne Teherani, researchers compared students in three clerkship models - traditional block rotations, longitudinal clerkship system, and hybrid model. Students in the longitudinal program rated certain aspects of their training higher than other students, including teaching, faculty observation of clinical skills, and feedback.

Preclinical Success

In 2007, over 27% of all medical students in the U.S. had taken part in an international health experience. The opportunities for preclinical students to participate in international health experiences have increased considerably in recent years, and medical students are seizing these opportunities.  Adam Cantor, a first-year medical student at the Indiana University School of Medicine, is one of these students. After learning about the Take a Trip with Timmy Global Health contest, Adam entered the contest, and is now one of 10 finalists. The two winners of the contest will have the chance to work in a health clinic in underserved countries in Central and South America. Applicants were asked to submit an essay about what it means to be a healer versus being a doctor. Following review of submitted essays, finalists were chosen and asked to submit a video. Read the Q & A with Adam.

 

USMLE News

 

Congratulations to the entire class of 2014 at the West Virginia University School of Medicine for passing the USMLE Step 1 exam on the first attempt. "I believe this reflects the outstanding learning environment our clinical faculty has created for our students as well as the impressive dedication our students have toward becoming fine physicians," said Arthur Ross, Dean of the School of Medicine, in an article written by The Daily Athenaeum. This is no easy feat, as the fail rate for the Step 1 exam is about 5% for first-time takers. In other words, for every 100 U.S. students who take the test, 5 will fail.

Clerkship Success

The Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine has created an excellent website for medical student career development. Reading our book, Success on the Wards, is included among the items on their Year 2 Checklist. We have made the first chapter available to you on our website.

 

Residency Match Success

As interview season draws to a close, applicants will now be faced with the challenges involved in developing a rank-order list. Medical students at Case Western Reserve University and Northeast Ohio Medical University describe their approach.  

 

Doctors / Medical Students Behaving Badly

In writing books to help medical students succeed, I've found the process enjoyable but not without its challenges. Never did I feel the need to rob a bank like this enterprising medical student author.

 

Simple but Effective Way to Increase Exercise

Exercise. As physicians, we encourage our patients to incorporate exercise into their daily lives. Unfortunately, we don't always follow our own advice. The stress and demands of a career in medicine may affect physical activity and fitness, and this can occur as early as the preclinical years of medical school.

In a study of freshman medical students at 17 U.S. medical schools, 36% were not in compliance with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services exercise recommendatons. Researchers at the Uniformed Services University recently reported a decline in individual levels of physical fitness over 4 years with the most notable effect seen during the preclinical years.

As I reflect back on my own medical school experiences, I do recall exercising less frequently during the preclinical years. Halfway through my third year of medical school, everything changed and exercise became part of my daily routine. Surprisingly, this change occurred during my surgery core clerkship, arguably the most demanding rotation for students, and persisted throughout the rest of my medical school education.

What led to the change in my exercise habits? A simple but very effective strategy - I scheduled a time slot for "exercise" in my daily planner. I was reminded of the effectiveness of this approach while reading the The Power of Habit. In the book, the author describes an interesting study. Researchers had patients recovering from hip or knee replacement surgery write down specifics regarding what they were going to do during the rehab process. At the end of three months, this group was walking twice as fast as the control group.

Medical Student Power Clicks

(January 6, 2013)

Powerful information to help today's medical student excel in medical school

Getting into Medical School

"Why are you interested in our medical school?" is a question that is routinely asked at medical school interviews. Interviewers are impressed with applicants who have thoroughly researched the school, and can offer specific reasons for their interest. In your research, we encourage you to take extra steps beyond simply reading the school's website.

Look for and seize opportunities to talk with current students and graduates. The College of Osteopathic Medicine at Oklahoma State University offers an open house for students interested in their school. "Med-Xtravaganza offers student the opportunity to meet with faculty and admissions staff, interact one-on-one with current OSU medical students, get information on admission criteria, tour campus facilities, participate in hands-on laboratory demonstrations and learn more about osteopathic medicine," writes the Daily Ardmoreite. This is the type of effort that can yield valuable information, allowing you to more convincingly convey why you are a good fit for the school.

Preclinical Success

In our book, Success in Medical School, we highlighted strategies for active learning in medical school. One approach that we didn't include is music. At the University of California San Francisco, Dr. Arie Perry is putting lyrics to music to help students learn neuropathology. "The ability to make these creative songs that help you learn neuropathology is pretty engaging for students,” said Dr. S. Andrew Josephson. “I find that a lot of our students in the Brain, Mind and Behavior course are listening to recordings of these songs as they try to prepare for an exam and are whistling them down the hallway.” Visit Dr. Perry's website for more information.

Clerkship Success

As important members of the health care team, medical students have the power to protect their patients and improve patient care during clerkships. However, students often feel uncomfortable taking the initiative in this regard and discussing such issues with senior team members. The University of Connecticut School of Medicine has created an excellent interactive case-based module to help students improve patient care during rotations. We also believe that students can make significant contributions to patient care and safety, and offer practical strategies for clerkship students in the "Patients" chapter of our book, Success on the Wards.

Residency Match Success

Halley Briglia is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Toledo College of Medicine. She hopes to become a neurologist, and has been interviewing for residency. As any residency applicant will tell you, interviewing for a residency position can be stressful. For Halley, however, the stress likely pales in comparison to what she experienced one day in October.

After leaving her apartment for a hospital shift, Halley was robbed and shot. She sustained multiple injuries to her jaw, neck, and right thumb, requiring several surgeries. As she recovered, she decided to continue with her efforts to match this year. “I never even really considered waiting until next year,” said Halley in an interview with the Toledo Blade. In fact, her first few interviews took place with her jaw still wired shut.

Halley's story is an inspiring one, and we wish Halley all the best with the residency match and her ongoing recovery. Read more about her story here.

Challenging Residency Interview Question (Who are your Role Models in Medicine?)

Who are your role models in medicine? How have your role models shaped the way you want to practice medicine?

In a recent mock interview session, a residency applicant asked me for advice on how best to answer these questions. He had been asked these challenging questions in a family medicine residency interview, and felt that he had delivered a poor response. I asked him to reflect on teachers that had made a significant impact in his medical education.

There are teachers at every medical school that make a lasting impression on their students. At the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, that teacher is Dr. Jeanette Norden. Dr. Norden is a Professor and Director of Medical Education in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology.

What makes her stand out as an educator? Long ago, Dr. Norden recognized that students must be prepared to handle the emotional side of medicine. The physician-patient encounter is often an emotional interaction. Physicians must be equipped to manage varying emotions, including sadness, grief, anger, and distress. The astute physician is also aware that emotional cues may be subtle.

Although emotions must be recognized and acknowledged, research indicates that medical professionals sometimes fail to do so. One videotaped analysis of histories performed by senior medical students found that "patients were often forced to repeat key phrases such as 'I was feeling very low' as many as 10 times in order to get students to acknowledge their mood disturbance."
 

Ken Bain, Vice Provost for University Learning at Montclair State University, described Dr. Norden's innovative approaches in the journal Women in Higher Education. "She invited surviving family members to speak with the class about how doctors had treated them during the loved one’s fatal illness," wrote Bain. "She brought in a woman who had cared for a husband with Alzheimer’s disease to talk about it.”

“Students told me that they didn’t feel like they were getting good exposure to how a disease affects someone as an individual, how it affects families,” said Dr. Norden in the Vanderbilt University Medical Center Reporter.

For her efforts, Dr. Norden has been the recipient of multiple teaching awards. There are dedicated individuals like Dr. Norden at every medical school. Which teacher made a significant impact on you? Why?

 

 

Use of Facebook and Twitter by Residency Programs in Evaluating Applicants

Personal statement. Letters of recommendation. MSPE. Medical school transcript. ERAS application. Your social media presence. All are important components of the residency application. "Wait a minute," you say. "Did I read that right? Social media presence?"

Some residency programs are now assessing an applicant's social media presence, and possibly using the information in the residency selection process. Researchers at the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami, led by Dr. Carl Schulman, surveyed 600 medical school admissions officers and residency program directors. Nine percent reported using social networking websites in the selection process. The study was published in the Postgraduate Medical Journal.

“There is no question in my mind that some percentage of medical admissions officers and residency directors do go online and Google and Facebook people to see what they’ve got up on their personal sites,” said Dr. Henry Sondheimer in a Kaiser Health News article. Dr Sondheimer is the senior director of medical education projects at the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).

In 2008, we raised this as a potential issue in an article written for the Student Doctor Network, and offered advice to residency applicants on how to manage their online presence.

USMLE Test Prep Company Crosses the Line

USMLE Test preparation companies aim to elevate scores, and may go to great lengths to accomplish their goals. One company crossed the line. In fact, the owner of the company crossed the Atlantic Ocean and landed in Milan to take the USMLE exam. During the exam, she used a digital video recording device to capture questions. These questions were then used in practice examinations offered to the company's students. As you might expect, the National Board of Medical Examiners and the FBI were not impressed.

Read more about the suit filed against Optima University by the Federation of State Medical Boards and the National Board of Medical Examiners