Tag Archives: debt

Short Coat Podcast

Recess Rehash: Med Schools Hate When Students Have Jobs. Some People Take the Risk Anyway.

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Perhaps no school would recommend working during med school, but plenty of people do it.  

[We’re on a break! But we’ll be back with a new episode on August 11, 2022. Enjoy this re-run!]

TL;DR

  • Sometimes, you just don’t want to take that extra loan money.  One option: a part time job.
  • But that is risky–the time you devote to that job could have been spent on studying, and perhaps could decrease your chances at those competitive residency programs.
  • But there are medical students who make the choice to work, and some jobs might even help your chances.
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Eliza wrote to us at theshortcoats@gmail.com because, as an older, married medical student with a young child in an expensive city, she wondered what our thoughts were on students who work during medical school.  We invited her on the show so M3 Nathen Spitz, M4s Abby Fyfe and Nick Lind, and M1 Grant Stalker could find out more about her choice to work as a therapeutic yoga teacher, and discuss some of the equity issues surrounding work during medical school.  And Nathen offers some ideas about paying jobs that can actually be a benefit to medical students in their academic lives.

We also discuss the Biden administration’s new mental health-focused initiatives, especially those focused on healthcare workers, as outlined in the president’s state of the union address. 

We Want to Hear From You

How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email theshortcoats@gmail.com.  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!

Continue reading Recess Rehash: Med Schools Hate When Students Have Jobs. Some People Take the Risk Anyway. →
Short Coat Podcast

Med Schools Hate When Students Have Jobs. Some People Take the Risk Anyway.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:38 — 50.9MB)

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Perhaps no school would recommend working during med school, but plenty of people do it.  

TL;DR

  • Sometimes, you just don’t want to take that extra loan money.  One option: a part time job.
  • But that is risky–the time you devote to that job could have been spent on studying, and perhaps could decrease your chances at those competitive residency programs.
  • But there are medical students who make the choice to work, and some jobs might even help your chances.
reject photo

Eliza wrote to us at theshortcoats@gmail.com because, as an older, married medical student with a young child in an expensive city, she wondered what our thoughts were on students who work during medical school.  We invited her on the show so M3 Nathen Spitz, M4s Abby Fyfe and Nick Lind, and M1 Grant Stalker could find out more about her choice to work as a therapeutic yoga teacher, and discuss some of the equity issues surrounding work during medical school.  And Nathen offers some ideas about paying jobs that can actually be a benefit to medical students in their academic lives.

We also discuss the Biden administration’s new mental health-focused initiatives, especially those focused on healthcare workers, as outlined in the president’s state of the union address. 

We Want to Hear From You

How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email theshortcoats@gmail.com.  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!

Continue reading Med Schools Hate When Students Have Jobs. Some People Take the Risk Anyway. →
Short Coat Podcast

$600,000 in med school debt?!

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:18 — 76.0MB)

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shout photoListener Salutes McGee (not her real name) is planning on med school after her tour of duty.  What hard-won skills, she wonders, will transfer to medicine?  And Krystal writes in with her med school debt worries.  Will she need to plan to pay off $600,000 all in?  No need to fear, Krystal and Salutes, because M4s Liza Mann, Derek Bradley, Jessie White, and M2 Abby Fife are here to soothe your fears and answer your questions.

Dave quizzes his co-hosts on medicinal booze.  And And Dave heard from University of Maryland medical student and Elisabeth Fassas that she’d written a book published by Simon and Schuster’s Kaplan arm just before she started medical school last fall.  So as a bonus, he asked her for some tips on how you can set yourself up for a successful pre-medical experience from the very beginning.  Pick up her book, Making Pre-Med Count, at your favorite bookseller.

Buy Our Merch and Give At The Same Time

You care about others, or you wouldn’t be into this medicine thing. Our #merchforgood program lets you to give to our charity of the semester and get something for yourself at the same time!

This Week in Medical News

For the first time, lab-grown heart muscle tissue has been transplanted into a human patient.  And never mind coughing into your elbow or sneezing into a handkerchief; if you want to stop the spread of germs, just lower your damn voice.

We Want to Hear From You

Are you (or do you know of) a medical student anywhere who’s done something cool like Elisabeth Fassas? Write to us at theshortcoats@gmail.com.  Maybe we can help spread the word!

Continue reading $600,000 in med school debt?! →

Short Coat Podcast, Uncategorized

Owning a Visible Disability during Med School Interviews

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:46 — 71.1MB)

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Photo by davitydave

On today’s show, we’ll answer a question from listener Victoria about having a feeding tube during med school interviews–should she worry that it will make her look weak and infirm, and thus not a good applicant for med school?  Aline Sandouk, Mark Moubarek, Jayden Bowen, Marissa Evers and Gabe Conley tell her why she should OWN it by not being the first to mention it!  Go Victoria!

Meanwhile, Mark tells us what he did to overcome his sadness in the past year after his wife moved to pursue her own medical education in California while he finishes up at CCOM, and what he’s learned by adopting his new unconventional lifestyle.  Go Mark!

This Week in Medical News

A CNN story about an alleged “medical kidnapping” of an 18-year-old brain aneurysm patient shocked many, but it turns out the story wasn’t as simple as the article made it appear.  And reaction to New York University’s plan to make tuition absolutely free to all medical students forever took the med ed world by storm…but some aren’t buying that it will have the ostensible consequences of lowering the barrier for underrepresented minorities and encouraging more to go into primary care.

We Want to Hear From You

Did NYU’s announcement move it higher on your list of schools to apply to? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email theshortcoats@gmail.com.  Do all three!

Continue reading Owning a Visible Disability during Med School Interviews →

Uncategorized

Med Student Parents, Part 2 | Plan for Debt but Don’t Worry

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 49:49 — 68.5MB)

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This time, a mom’s point of view.

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Photo by j.reed

On our last show, we fielded a question from Courtney who wants to go to med school but is worried about being a mom and a med student.  We got one dad’s perspective then, and now it’s time for mom.  Dr. Maya Lopez (CCOM MD ’04) was another non-trad entering school with a supportive husband and a few bundles of joy.  She told Eric Schnieders, Tucker Dangremond, and Sanjeeva Weerasinghe how she dove headlong into med school, how she and her husband (along with a village) made parenting and med school work for them.

To top it off, we got another question from Clovis (not his real  name) who was worried that he’d either have to join the military or sell all of his internal organs to afford medical school…unless we could come up with some other options for him.  CCOM debt counselor Chris Roling had some good news (not to mention advice) for him.

This Week in Medical News

The medical education world is humming with the news that the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services has reversed a long-standing prohibition against students contributing to patients’ medical records.  Boring?  Maybe, but it’s going to change how clerkships are done and the ease with which students make the transition to residency in the very near future.

We Want to Hear From You

Do you have worries we can soothe (or stoke)? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email theshortcoats@gmail.com.  We’re ready to give free (and perhaps even good) advice!

Continue reading Med Student Parents, Part 2 | Plan for Debt but Don’t Worry →

Short Coat Podcast

Off the Hook On the Cheap

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Medical school is expensive, as everyone knows. The Association of American Medical Colleges tells us that annual tuition and fees at state medical schools in 2010-2011 averaged $25,000 for in-state residents and $48,000 for non-residents. Out of state residents at private medical schools paid even more, and these figures don’t include living expenses and housing.

Fortunately, there are lots of sources of financial aid available; but it’s important to take care with your discretionary spending while you’re in medical school so that you don’t graduate with unmanageable debt. Which brings up the question: how can you have live your life and have fun while you’re in medical school? In this episode of The Short Coat, financial aid counselor Penny Rembolt talks with students Molly Calabria, Priyanka Rao, Tyler Gunn, and Will Zeitler about their methods for saving money while having a good time in medical school.

Listen:  Episode 008: Off the Hook On the Cheap

The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine.