Tag Archives: Jay Miller

Going on Leave: The Power Move No One Talks About in Med School

Audio September 18, 2025 Dave Etler

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:11 — 75.8MB)

What med schools don’t tell you about hitting pause.

Turns out, pausing med school can actually be the smartest career move. Whether you’re spiraling in burnout, floundering in step prep, or just eyeballing that MPH, here’s an option you should consider: taking a leave of absence.

MD/PhD student Riley Behan-Bush, and M2s Srishti Mathur, Megan Perry, and Jay Miller take on the taboo option you’ll only find in the student handbook—what happens when med students hit pause. From Riley’s built-in MD/PhD “leave” to Srishti’s public health ambitions and Dave’s stats on distress, the Short Coats break down the reasons people step back… and why they return stronger.

Of course, going on leave isn’t without risks. The crew spills on insurance nightmares, loan limbo, and the heartbreak of watching your classmates match without you. But they also dish on planning your leave, making it productive, and protecting your peace.

Look to your left. Look to your right. Y’all are going to graduate.

Episode credits:

Producer: Dave Etler
Co-hosts: Riley Behan-Bush, Srishti Mathur, Jay Miller, Megan Perry

We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

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The Short Coat Podcast is FeedSpot’s Top Iowa Student Podcast, and its Top Iowa Medical Podcast! Thanks for listening!

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Short Coat Podcast

Feedback is Data, Not Devastation.

Audio September 11, 2025 Dave Etler

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:10:32 — 96.9MB)

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How to Take Negative Feedback And Use It to Win in Med School

Recently, our admissions coordinator Rachel was surprised by the reaction from an applicant CCOM chose not to admit. She’d set aside time to give the applicant some feedback on their application–an extra service we provide those who weren’t successful in their bid to study medicine here. But instead of a thoughtful reaction to her notes, the unsuccessful applicant told her that they “didn’t agree with any of that.”

The problem with this attitude is that in medical school feedback is never ending! Students get notes on interpersonal skills, professional behaviors, clinical skills, your knowledge base. And the feedback comes from everyone involved: simulated patients, actual patients, faculty, residents, nurses, even each other! Sometimes the feedback is formal and written; sometimes it’s verbal; and sometimes all you get is a raised eyebrow or a smile. Sometimes it’s rough, other times it’s SMART.

So M2s Zach Grissom, Sahana Sarin, Srishti Mathur, and Jay Miller give their take on this vital skill in medicine: using feedback as data, as fuel for growth. They share stories of getting useful and useless feedback. And whether you love it or hate it, you’ll leave with a playbook for using feedback to boost your success in medical school and your career.

Also, we discuss a study on AI “de-skilling,” and recent shifts in the amount of research medical students are doing versus the number of service and humanities experiences they’re doing.

Episode credits:

Producer: Dave Etler
Co-hosts: Zach Grissom, Srishti Mathur, Sahana Sarin, Jay Miller

We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

The Short Coat Podcast is FeedSpot’s Top Iowa Student Podcast, and its Top Iowa Medical Podcast! Thanks for listening!

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Short Coat Podcast

Med School’s Unique Problems (AITA)

Audio May 8, 2025 Dave Etler

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:13:15 — 100.9MB)

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Behind every successful doctor is someone who paid their rent or walked their dog.

What makes someone a real astronaut? Dave Etler, MD/PhD student Miranda Schene, M1 Jay Miller, and M3 Jeff Goddard blast off this episode with ass-tronaut Katy Perry before diving into Reddit’s finest med school dumpster fires. Should you crush (AKA, be vocally realistic about ) your C-average friend’s medical dreams? Is a boyfriend who gives unwanted pop-quizzes to his exhausted med student girlfriend helping, or being an a-hole? We also tackle the awkward truth about teaching hospitals – yes, that medical student might be practicing on YOUR sensitive bits (hopefully with proper patient consent)! Finally, we settle the age-old debate of who deserves the credit: the emergency medicine resident who completed training or the partner who paid his rent, fed his pets, and sacrificed their social life for years. Join us for this romp through the messy human side of medical training that your white coat ceremony definitely can’t prepare you for!

We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

The Short Coat Podcast is FeedSpot’s Top Iowa Student Podcast, and its Top Iowa Medical Podcast! Thanks for listening!

Continue reading →

Short Coat Podcast

First Semester Med School: What Worked, What Failed, and How We Fixed It.

Audio February 13, 2025 Dave Etler

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:05:47 — 60.2MB)

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Anki? Lecture notes? Study groups? Med students spill the truth about what actually works.

First semester of med school is like eating a never-ending stack of pancakes—it’s fast, overwhelming, and it doesn’t care if you’re full. Listener G asked us for some tips, and in this episode, M1s Zach Grissom, Megan Perry, Jay Miller, and Srishti Mathur take us through the rough transition from undergrad to medical school and what they wish they knew before starting. From study methods that failed (Anki obsession, passive learning) to strategies that actually worked (active recall, selective focus, study groups), they share what helped them survive.

Burnout hits hard, and everyone here felt it–the mental exhaustion, learning to take breaks, and the power of peer support. Plus, the surprising truth about exams—sometimes failing is the best teacher. they also tackle balancing med school with real life: keeping hobbies, staying social, and even reading trashy novels.

Finally, an improv game throws the med students into hilarious situations. Listen for our unfiltered med school survival tips, study hacks, and some much-needed laughs!