The things everyone gets wrong about medicine and medical education
Your family and friends, maybe even students themselves before they got to med school, have some weird ideas about doctors and medical school. No matter where these ideas come from–medical dramas, social media, movies–chances are you’ll find yourself explaining them or falling for them.
M4s Mason and Talia, and M1s Jeff and Trent discuss the myths and misunderstandings they’ve heard about their world.
Also, stories of medical students embarrassing themselves. It’s part of learning, but also cringe.
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How medical students keep from going nuts while programs and schools decide they’re worthy
This is the season of uncertainty, as both pre-meds and med ask themselves, “will they let me in?”
It’s out of their hands, but M4 Mason, M3 Ananya Munjal, and M1s Jeff and Faith have some experience to draw upon to keep you from going nuts.
Also, we discuss the revolt underway as medical schools around the country back away from the US News and World Reports rankings.
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No matter where you fall on any spectrum, we want your thoughts on our show. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? We’ll be sure your ideas are heard by all–leave a message at 347-SHORTCT (347-746-7828) and we’ll put your message in a future episode (use *67 to be an “Unknown caller”).
UVA med students create app to find AnKing flashcards for you.
M3s AJ and Ananya, and M4 Mason get a visit from the medical student creators of the machine-learning app NovaCards.ai.
Shane Chambers and Jordan Bagnall (and their co-founder Charbel Marche) found themselves spending tons of time finding AnKing flashcards to learn pre-clinical medicine, so they did what any modern medical student with AI-building chops does: get a computer to do it for them, automagically!
NovaCards is especially useful during pre-clinical courses, but Shane also talks about how he’s been using it himself during clinicals–and you can join the fun for free.
We also discuss the state of (and barriers to) the use of artificial intelligence in medicine.
No matter where you fall on any spectrum, we want your thoughts on our show. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? We’ll be sure your ideas are heard by all–leave a message at 347-SHORTCT (347-746-7828) and we’ll put your message in a future episode (use *67 to be an “Unknown caller”).
How straightforward is any discussion about genetic engineering?
M1 Jeff talks with M3 Ananya, MD/PhD student Riley, and M3 AJ about the nuances of genetic engineering, a scientific pursuit that not everyone agrees should happen.
Despite that view, it seems likely that genetic engineering has been, is, and will be an increasingly available tool in medicine’s arsenal as our understanding of genetics increases.
But first, we answer Listener Helina’s question: what should she be thinking about when picking medical school electives?
We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS!
No matter where you fall on any spectrum, we want your thoughts on our show. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? We’ll be sure your ideas are heard by all–leave a message at 347-SHORTCT (347-746-7828) and we’ll put your message in a future episode (use *67 to be an “Unknown caller”).
M4 Nathan, M1s Trent and Leon, and MD/PhD student Aline talk about the nature of trust–what it really means, how we trust ourselves and others, and what it means when it’s lost.
Trust is, after all, the thing that makes much of society possible–it’s the belief that people do not only what’s in their own interest, but what’s in the best interest of other people.
Medicine is a perfect domain to explore trust, given what doctors ask of patients and what patients ask of doctors.
We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS!
No matter where you fall on any spectrum, we want your thoughts on our show. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? We’ll be sure your ideas are heard by all–leave a message at 347-SHORTCT (347-746-7828) and we’ll put your message in a future episode (use *67 to be an “Unknown caller”).
Decisions made at the end of life are among the most complicated.
M1 Jeff, M3 Ananya, and MD/PhD students Riley and Miranda discuss what they’re taught about the ethics surrounding the end of life.
What are the physician’s responsibilities? How do they balance the patient’s wishes, the family’s desires, the directive to do no harm and to provide the best possible care, and the need to ensure that such considerations are supplied to any and all patients.
Add in the myriad cultural and religious beliefs that doctors, patients, and families have, and you get quite a difficult set of calculations to ponder.
We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS!
No matter where you fall on any spectrum, we want your thoughts on our show. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? We’ll be sure your ideas are heard by all–leave a message at 347-SHORTCT (347-746-7828) and we’ll put your message in a future episode (use *67 to be an “Unknown caller”).
Three Medical Students’ perspectives on their first med school semester
Co-hosts Hend, Brian, and Leon are on hand to discuss the things they learned in first semester about medical school, including how their own understanding of it has changed.
What is medical school like in those first, rather intense few months? Did they adjust to the (much) faster pace? Did they learn the language of medicine? Have they found their people?
No matter where you fall on any spectrum, we want your thoughts on our show. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? We’ll be sure your ideas are heard by all–leave a message at 347-SHORTCT (347-746-7828) and we’ll put your message in a future episode (use *67 to be an “Unknown caller”).
Communication skills are just as important as medical knowledge and clinical skills
M3 Ananya, M3 Eric, MD/PhD student Madi, and our admissions guru Rachel talk about communication skills and their importance for patient outcomes, professional development and advancement, and career satisfaction.
Whether it’s patients reviewing their notes in the electronic health record, residents passing on knowledge to students, providers empathetically communicating findings and plans to patients with no scientific background, or scientists collaborating professionally with their colleagues, everything depends on this thing that humans do all the time–with varying degrees of success.
Meanwhile, some students may see these as “soft” skills, giving less importance to them than grades on exams or their scores on boards.
We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS!
No matter where you fall on any spectrum, we want your thoughts on our show. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? We’ll be sure your ideas are heard by all–leave a message at 347-SHORTCT (347-746-7828) and we’ll put your message in a future episode (use *67 to be an “Unknown caller”).
Trauma informed care, restorative justice, and compassionate advocacy are all tools that must be shared between the law and medicine.
As Aline and Jessica discuss very sensitive and disturbing topics with her–listeners beware–we think you’ll find Judge Aquilina’s courage and values resonant with attributes of the best medical practitioners.
We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS!
No matter where you fall on any spectrum, we want your thoughts on our show. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? We’ll be sure your ideas are heard by all–leave a message at 347-SHORTCT (347-746-7828) and we’ll put your message in a future episode (use *67 to be an “Unknown caller”).
Is race, a social construct, appropriately used to make medical decisions?
Race is commonly spoken of in medicine as a risk factor for diseases. It has even found its way into the equations that help doctors assess biological function.
But is race–commonly acknowledged these days as a social construct and not a biological one–really a valid way to factor in the differences between one patient and another? M3 Vijay and other students are helping lead the charge to re-assess these ideas.
Also, MD/PHD students Aline, Levi, and Riley help listener Michelina decide what to do about her hair during interviews…and debate whether aspiring docs should even be worried about their physical look when applying.
We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS!
No matter where you fall on any spectrum, we want your thoughts on our show. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? We’ll be sure your ideas are heard by all–leave a message at 347-SHORTCT (347-746-7828) and we’ll put your message in a future episode (use *67 to be an “Unknown caller”).
