Medical Education

Starting residency can be daunting. It’s a transformative experience that will transition you from a medical student to a practicing physician. It will be busy, and at times tiring, but you’ll learn so much and should view this as your opportunity to learn how to be a stellar doctor. Your program leadership—the faculty you work read more…

Call shifts are a hallmark of residency and an important hurdle to conquer prior to becoming an attending. If you’re approaching your first call shift soon, you’ve probably racked your brain wondering: how do I survive a 24-hour shift? Caring for hospitalized patients, making important medical decisions, and answering questions from nurses, patients, and families read more…

Medical school is long and expensive, with little (if any) time to earn money. Residency may not come with much more free time, but still, it’s exciting to receive a paycheck for your work rather than pay tuition. Your resident salary, generally adjusted to your cost of living, should cover housing, food, and limited entertainment. read more…

Imagine you’re a new MS3 just starting out on clinical rotations. You’d like to eventually pursue a career in surgery, but your first clerkship happens to be in psychiatry. You go through the motions of the rotation, taking detailed histories and obtaining collateral from your patients. Generally, you perform well and receive solid evaluations from read more…

I recently returned from a medical education conference and spoke to many residents and attendings who were preparing to take their certification or board exam. One question I was repeatedly asked was: “What is your pass rate?” This seems like a reasonable question, right? But it drives me crazy. Not because someone is curious about statistics, but because some companies actually publish “pass rates.” Companies that publish pass rates are misleading you. It is that simple.