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?

 

 

Communicate Meaningful Contributions During the Residency Interview

Which of the following discoveries is credited to a medical student?

A) Heparin

B) Insulin

C) Sinoatrial node

D) Pancreaticobiliary sphincter

E) Ether anesthesia

Give yourself a gold star if you selected any of the above answer choices (if only all standardized exams were this easy!). In fact, the most appropriate answer is not listed and would have been F) All of the Above. You can read about famous discoveries made by medical students in a wonderful article written by Drs. Mark Stringer and Omid Ahmadi published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Surgery.

Today's medical students continue to make significant contributions to patient care, teaching, research, and community service. In reviewing ERAS applications, guiding advisees, and conducting mock interview sessions with residency applicants, I have the great opportunity to hear or read about these fantastic accomplishments.

In residency interviews, I often ask applicants, "What sets you apart from other applicants?" or "Why should our program choose you as a resident?" This question is an ideal opportunity to discuss meaningful contributions you have made as a medical student. You  may not have discovered heparin or insulin but I have yet to meet a medical student who has not made a significant contribution.

To help you identify contributions and communicate them effectively during the residency interview, I refer you to an article I wrote several years ago for the Student Doctor Network:

The Successful Match: How to Succeed in Your Residency Interview

A Different Way to Interview Residency Applicants

"Wear comfortable shoes to our interview, and remember you will be changing into scrubs." This is information you may receive if you are invited to an interview by the general surgery residency program at the Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle.

The program developed a "working approach to interviewing" in the late 1970s. In this approach, following check-in, the interviewee changes into scrubs, attends morning conference, and receives an overview of the program from the chief resident. The bulk of the day is then spent with an assigned surgical team in the OR and on the wards. Faculty are given the applicant's ERAS application to review before the visit. Faculty and senior residents are both asked to evaluate the interviewee.

What was the impetus for the program's use of this novel approach? "This method was developed to help faculty continue with their day-to-day activities, encourage candidates to experience the professional environment, and provide a forum for evaluating candidate's knowledge and interpersonal skills in a fair way," wrote Dr. Richard Thirlby in an article published by Academic Medicine. Dr. Thirlby is the program director of the general surgery residency program at Virginia Mason Medical Center.

The program seeks feedback from its applicants on its interview approach, and the feedback has been consistently positive over the years. What do you think? Would you like to have programs evaluate you in this manner or do you prefer the traditional interview?

Good Questions to Ask During Residency Interviews

As a graduate of the Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, I had the opportunity to complete rotations at many fine institutions in Southeast Michigan, including Henry Ford Hospital and William Beaumont Hospital. Both are recognized for excellence in patient care, teaching, and research.

When news broke that a letter of intent to merge had been signed last week, it certainly caught my eye. "We are a strong, profitable and growing organization today, but the world of health care delivery is changing, so we are taking proactive steps to ensure continued growth and success,” said Gene Michalski, CEO of Beaumont Health System in a news release.

Both hospitals have a rich history of training residents in a number of specialties. For the residency applicant considering a position at Henry Ford or William Beaumont Hospital, this news comes with some concern. What effect will the merger have on the residency program? Will the residency programs be merged?

 

Although both institutions are financially sound, this news serves as a reminder to ask questions about the financial and educational stability of residency programs and institutions. "In the current times of cutbacks, decreased reimbursements and mergers, it is vital that you are familiar with the finances and outlook of the institution at which your are considering training," writes Dr. Jeff Gonzalez at the AMA website. "The last thing you want to happen when you arrive to start your training, is to find that the community hospital you were hoping to spend much of your time at has been sold."

Answering Health Care Reform Questions in the Residency Interview

Health care reform has been a hot topic for some time now, and interviewers love to ask residency applicants questions about reform. With this being an election year, I wondered months ago whether applicants would be asked about reform more often. Feedback I have received from my mock interview clients early in this interview season seems to suggest just that, and you should certainly be prepared to field these questions.

 

Applicants are understandably concerned about their ability to answer these questions. The health care system is complex, and even seasoned practitioners of medicine may not have a firm grasp on all aspects of the system.

To answer these questions effectively, you obviously have to be well read on the topic. For many residency applicants, the last time they were asked about the health care system was at the time of the medical school admissions interview. Much has happened since then, and you may be feeling unprepared to engage in a conversation about these issues.

One useful resource to bring you up to speed is The Health Care Handbook written by Elisabeth Askin and Nathan Moore, medical students at the Washington University School of Medicine. “We wanted to write a book that would be like giving people little floaties to help them learn to swim through the vast and confusing ocean that is health care,” Ms. Askin said in a New York Times interview with Dr. Pauline Chen.

 

 

Residency Interview Success

With residency interviews right around the corner, be sure to read our article about residency interview success on the Student Doctor Network.

In the article, we discuss specific ways in which you can stand out. If you need personalized coaching to improve your interview performance or wish to do a mock interview, contact me through one of the following websites:

Visit: MD2B
Visit: IMG Assist

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Residency Interview Cancellations

With just a few weeks left in January, we are nearing the end of the residency interview season. Programs are accustomed to having applicants cancel interviews in the latter half of January and the first week of February.

If you happen to be on the wait list at a program or simply haven't heard from a program, now is the time to contact these programs, express your continued interest, and ask if there are any interview cancellations.

Many applicants have secured interviews through these efforts. It is not unusual for applicants to match at these programs. It is well worth the effort.

Visit: MD2B
Visit: IMG Assist

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Residency Interview: Keys to Success

No matter how many residency interviews you have completed, be sure to read our latest article about residency interview success on the Student Doctor Network.

Through my own experiences interviewing applicants, and through discussions I have had with other faculty interviewers, I know that few applicants make a concerted effort to stand out from the rest of the pack. I believe that this represents a lost opportunity to really impress the program.

In the article, we discuss specific ways in which you can stand out. If you need personalized coaching to improve your interview performance or wish to do a mock interview, contact me through one of the following websites:

Visit: MD2B
Visit: IMG Assist

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