AMSA ad lib

Med school admissions isn't just about GPA and MCAT scores anymore. Applicants have to explain how medicine is a good fit for them, and vice versa. But how do they convey that in their application and to a medical school admissions committee? We talk to admissions expert Dr. Gary Rose.

Last Friday, Dr. Vivek Murthy was abruptly replaced in his position as the U.S. surgeon general. In this episode, we look back at the inspiring words of one of the youngest surgeons general. As the 19th Surgeon General of the United States, Dr. Murthy worked to educate the general public about their own health. But drawing on his own background and lessons from his personal journey, he offered sage advice at AMSA’s 2015 convention to medical students about overcoming challenges they’ll face in training, the value of their youth and enthusiasm, and the importance of taking risks.

Don’t think you’ll be affected by addiction? If you’ve spent any time on the wards, you’ve almost certainly heard disparaging comments about patients suffering from substance abuse disorders—you may have even made some of those comments yourself. Next week there’s a chance for you to learn about better ways to frame this disease, from which physicians themselves are far from immune.

The AWARE week is a collaboration between AMSA’s Medical Education team and Community & Public Health team, with the goal of shedding light on addiction and recovery. In November 2016, the surgeon general released a report on addiction in the United States and declared the opioid epidemic in the United States a public health crisis.

The training medical students receive on addiction varies widely by institution, and the AWARE week aims to offer some direction for medical students to find more information appropriate to their level of knowledge of addiction.

Balancing medical school and advocacy work is difficult--how can you find the time to change the world when you're busy making your clinical rounds or studying for the USMLE?

AMSA's Chief Executive Officer Joshua Caulfield spoke with AMSA National President Dr. Kelly Thibert about things you can do and ways you can make a difference, all while keeping a successful balance between your medical school workload and your extracurricular activities.

As a physician, you won’t be able to solve all of your patients’ problems. Some of those problems, especially systemic ones, will remain just out of a doctor’s reach. In this episode, we learn how to extend that reach.

When it seems like medicine isn’t enough, that caring for patients goes beyond the scope of your abilities as solitary provider, or that the problems facing your patients are deeper and more entrenched than medicine can possibly address, those thoughts can be demoralizing. It may even make you question medicine as a career choice.

But you aren’t the first to come to that realization, and today we have some concrete advice for you from Dr. Leana Wen, commissioner of health for the city of Baltimore.

Discrimination in health care settings sets barriers for LGBT individuals to receive proper care, which leads to significant health disparities in the LGBT community. And one of the biggest barriers LGBT individuals are facing is the lack of trained providers. How can you learn the proper patient care techniques in your medical training, especially if it's lacking from your med school's curriculum?

This week is National LGBT Health Awareness Week, and Benjamin Brooks with the National Coalition for LGBT Health joined us to discuss why LGBT health is important and how you, as a provider, can help reduce the existing disparities in health care delivery.

Since its creation in 2000, the National Coalition for LGBT Health has advanced the health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals through advocacy, education, and health services research. Learn more about the Coalition and its programs at www.healthlgbt.org.

As overseas clinical experiences continue to grow in popularity and importance, how do you choose the right one? Are you considering the ethics of the program? If not, you should be--medical schools and residency programs are watching. Hear from Dr. Jessica Evert of Child Family Health International on how students can evaluate programs beforehand and what you can do if involved in an ethical dilemma on the ground.

You use designed objects constantly. Chances are very strong you are using one right now, as you listen to this episode. Have you taken a moment to consider where design in medicine succeeds? And what happens when it fails?

If design in medicine and health care doesn’t interest you, you may not have taken long enough to consider how important and far-reaching it is. Devices, systems and processes can all be designed. And too often, they haven’t been well-designed. That leaves a lot of room for physicians—and even medical students—to involve themselves in improving how things work in health care.

For fourth-years, it all comes down to a single moment. The Match Day ceremonies that will cap off next week at campuses across the country are the end of a long journey for fourth-year medical students. Along the way, they made some huge decisions about themselves and their careers. On Friday of Match Week, they'll get their envelopes. Here's what that's like.

You’ll hear about the classes, the professors. You’ll hear horror stories about particular rotations. Friends and other med students will tell you all about exams. But when it comes to looking at the big picture of being a med student, there’s a lot they’ll leave out.