Education
This is what it’s like to be in the shoes of a medical student
The student is last on the list. But he is not fixed in that position such that he can consider some space to be his own. He must be ready to be last in any formation that the list may hold. And if, for some reason, there is no room for him on the list,…
Read MoreMy first end-of-life conversation
As a third-year medical student finally in the clinical arena, I’ve seen much more real medicine in the last three months than the entirety of my life. I’ve learned that the ethical dilemmas and the difficult patients are not restricted to TV medical dramas—it’s real life. On a Saturday morning on my inpatient Internal Medicine…
Read MoreHere’s How Education-Related Tax Benefits Could Change in 2021
The mess of education-related tax breaks available to taxpayers will become a bit easier to navigate in coming years if the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 is signed into law. The year-end act, which provides for regular government funding, coronavirus-related relief, and various other congressional priorities, would clean up a temporary education-related tax break that…
Read MoreWhat do you want to be when you grow up: a medical student perspective
“Please inform us of your intended specialty for your 4th year scheduling,” requested our administration in an email sent to students 2.5 years into medical school. Up until that instant, not knowing my future specialty was accepted and actually encouraged. Yet in one moment, that all changed. Medical education prides itself in giving students the…
Read MoreResidents are not disposible. They deserve better.
I was a fellow physician in neonatology, and my contract was recently not renewed for my three-year fellowship at the end of the first year. My experience highlights the examples that, at times, physicians are treated in a disposable manner. COVID-19 is certainly taking a toll on health care workers. So, too, are oppressive practices…
Read MoreTax Extenders Hitch a Ride on Omnibus and COVID-19 Relief Deal
Tax extenders are no stranger to hitching a last-minute ride on year-end legislation. This year they made another last-minute appearance, finding a hold in their own division of the 5,593-page bill to fund the government through the fiscal year and provide additional coronavirus relief through March. If you’ve followed the extenders debate, you know that…
Read MoreResilience is the vaccine med students need right now. Coaching can help.
Whether or not you’re a health care provider, chances are you’ve spent the year thinking, talking, and reading about health care. We’ve had national conversations about everything from the global pandemic to rising health care costs to rationing resources to the politicization of medicine. Much less discussed—but very much affected by all of this—is the unintended…
Read MoreCOVID, paternalism, and the death of patient autonomy
A year ago, if you had asked me if most doctors respected their patients’ wishes, I would have answered with a resounding yes. If you had asked me if medicine had divorced its paternalistic roots when physicians trampled over ideals like patient autonomy and non-malfeasance, I would have said yes. But that was last year,…
Read MoreLottery docs? Randomize medical school admissions for fairness
It’s this simple: The medical school admissions system is bloated and reinforces implicit and systemic biases leading to further social inequity. Medical schools across the country are going through thousands of applications and making literal life-changing choices for these students. Introducing randomization into the admission process would simplify and address the built-in issues in this…
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