Pre-meds, as you prepare your candidacy – either for this year’s application cycle or one in the future – please recall that it is absolutely critical that you have clinical experience to be a competitive applicant. Even excellent grades and MCAT scores rarely overcome the limitations of a lack of patient contact. See my less-than-one-minute Guru on the Go® video below “Med Schools, No Patience for No Patients” for a quick review of this topic.
An Offer You Can’t Refuse
I speak to a few lucky medical school and residency applicants who are asked to write their own letters of recommendation. If you have this opportunity, first, realize that it is not unethical to write your own letter if you’re asked. If you’d like to explore the scruples of this issue, take a look at this New York Times ethicist column about this exact topic.
The mistake I see candidates make in these situations is that they feel awkward about showcasing their accomplishments fully in their letters. If you have this opportunity, write a glowing letter. Be effusive and full-throated in your compliments to yourself. After all, the letter writer can always tone it down if s/he doesn’t agree. But if s/he does, you have bolstered your candidacy tremendously.
The Fresh-Faced Physician’s Fade
Here’s a piece that is not for the faint of heart: Dr. Sandra Scott Simons is a nocturnist emergency physician who describes how disappointed her earlier-self would have been in what medical care giving has become.
Tags: Emergency Physicians, Medical Care
Medicine’s Diversity Problem
Here’s a recent article from Emergency Medicine News about Dr. Alden Landry who started the Tour for Diversity in Medicine, a project to encourage minority students to become health care providers.
It’s worth exploring the AAMC’s Practice Specialty by Race and Ethnicity table to better understand the lack of diversity in each and all medical fields.
Tags: Diversity, Medical Students
Yes, Doctors in Training Should Work Fewer Hours
Here’s a NYT piece by Dr. Dhruv Khullar, a current resident in training, regarding duty hours. His points in the last few paragraphs are his best. I remember doing – and I am not exaggerating – a 138-hour work week once during residency. I can assure you that I was not the best doctor I could be.
Dr. Finkel is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. On completing her residency at Harvard, she was asked to stay on as faculty at Harvard Medical School and spent five years teaching at the world-renowned Massachusetts General Hospital. She was appointed to the Assistant Residency Director position for the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency where she reviewed countless applications, personal statements and resumes. Read more
Listen to Dr. Finkel’s interview on The Visible Voices podcast:
Listen to Dr. Finkel’s interview on the White Coat Investor podcast:
Listen to Dr. Finkel’s interview on the FeminEm podcast:
