Tag Archives: grades

Tips and Tricks for Crushing it in Clerkships

Audio January 15, 2026 Dave Etler

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:05:07 — 90.7MB)

What to expect for med students moving from classroom to exam room

The beginning of clerkships mark a medical student’s progress from theoretical learning to practical application of what they’ve been taught. This past week, our M2s received a 4-day long orientation to clerkships (we call it “transitions week”), and M2s Samantha Gardner and Alexis Baker were joined by M3s Fallon Jung and Zach Case to talk about this important milestone. What are clerkships like? How will students know what to actually do? Who will they be working with? What are residents and attendings looking for when they evaluate a clerkship student? How should they react when a patient says something out-of-pocket?

There’s so much to be learned in clerkships…including that they really are prepared to enter the real world, even if they don’t yet feel it!

Episode credits:

Producer: Fallon Jung
Co-hosts: Zach Case, Samantha Gardner, Alexis Backer

The views and opinions expressed on this podcast belong solely to the individuals who share them. They do not represent the positions of the University of Iowa, the Carver College of Medicine, or the State of Iowa. All discussions are intended for entertainment purposes only and should not be taken as professional, legal, financial, or medical advice. Nothing said on this podcast should be used to diagnose, treat, or prevent any medical condition. Always seek qualified professional guidance for personal decisions.

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jump right in or watch and learn: standing out In Clerkships

Audio August 10, 2023 Dave Etler

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 47:53 — 43.8MB)

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How do you choose between jumping in with both feet vs. watching and learning?

Listener Jordan DM’d to say that she’s having trouble finding the right balance of initiative and observation in her clerkships. To stand out, should she jump into situations and try to contribute? Or is it better to step back and observe?
M2s Trent, Bridget, Maddie, and Yumi discuss their ideas about it, and we ask some faculty and experienced students to weigh in.
Plus, a dumb folktale by chatGPT offers us the story of radiologist Dr. William his magical radiograph-reading chicken Clara.

More about our guest:

Website URL Social Media URL Amazon URL [URL template for episode https://media.blubrry.com/theshortcoat/podcast.uiowa.edu/com/osa/CHANGETHIS.mp3]

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The Power of Discomfort in Learning Medicine

Audio May 12, 2022 Dave Etler

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:14:13 — 68.0MB)

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If you don’t like what you’re learning, look even closer.

TL;DR

Dave asks his co-hosts to think about the role of discomfort in learning. It’s a signal that you need to pay very close attention, both to the topic and to why you feel that way.
Listener Michelina, an undergrad mom with a full-time job, asks if her COVID-affected grades mean she should extend her time in college to seek a toxicology degree or just stick with biology.
The discussion on working during medical school continues, as Michelina wonders if she can work full time while she balances motherhood and med school.

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Rising From the Ashes

November 28, 2011 Dave Etler

Failure is a difficult topic for medical students. It’s not something they’re used to, after earning undergrad degrees near the tops of their classes, and generally being the smartest people they know. But science is all about failure. Scientific experiments, part of the foundation upon which evidence-based medicine rests, fail again and again before they make the discoveries that change our understanding of the world in which we live.

Doctors must make their peace with failure. Even the best cannot always help those counting on them. This time on the Short Coat, we got a group of students together to discuss their experiences with failure and what they learned from it.

Given the sensitive nature of the discussion, everyone was given the opportunity to remain anonymous, and they were cautioned to speak only of their own experiences. Officials of the Carver College of Medicine reviewed the recording before it was released to ensure that no student’s right to confidentiality was violated.

Listen: Episode 013: Rising From The Ashes

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.