AMSA ad lib

What does the county fair have to do with the journey to becoming a physician? In one student's experience, a lot. Stories are great for connecting people and learning from the experiences of others. In this episode, Joey Johnson tells about his own waiting game on the way to med school from a rural community.

You’re unlikely to attend only one residency interview, and even then, it’s doubtful that it’d be right in your backyard. Traveling for residency interviews adds to the list of those hidden costs around the corner in med school, and sometimes the best way to prepare yourself is by hearing from those who did it before you. On this episode, we'll catch up with three current residents--Dr. Dimal Shah, Dr. Rita Kuwahara, and Dr. Alison Case--who went through the process not long ago. Hear how they funded their travel while still bringing their A game to each interview along the way.

What have you heard about primary care? That there's "too much paperwork?" Or that you're "too smart" to go into it? Or, paradoxically, that "there's too much to learn"? In the spirit of National Primary Care Week, let's talk about the so-called stigma of primary care, and its effect on med students' career choices. Dr. Wanda Filer of the American Academy of Family Physicians addresses the "stigma" head on--and touches on the joy a family physician can find in life-long care of patients.

Some residency programs host a social event for you to meet current residents and interns from the program before the formal interview takes place. Joining us this week are Dr. Jeremy Grayson--Pediatric Anesthesiologist at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and former Program Director--and Dr. Alison Case--first-year resident at Lawrence Family Residency Program--to discuss what you should be looking for out of this experience, how you can use it to your advantage, and how important this interaction really is to residency programs during their selection process.

Most fourth-year medical students are about to begin an annual fall ritual: residency interview season. Last year, then-fourth-year Sahar Barfchin spoke with Perry Tsai about making their specialty choice and Sahar's experience on the residency interview trail.

After being awake 24 hours straight, where’s your head at? Will it be ready for life or death decisions? The ACGME—the accrediting body for residency training in the U.S.—first adopted duty hour restrictions in 2003. In 2011, the ACGME introduced a 16-hour shift limit for first-year residents. The ACGME also granted nearly 190 waivers to certain internal medicine and surgery programs that were participating in the iCOMPARE and FIRST trials, respectively. These trials were intended to examine the effect of longer shifts for residents. Dr. Kelly Thibert says the trials themselves were—and continue to be—unethical, and that current pressure on the ACGME to reverse work hour restrictions is misplaced.

What does cultural competency have to do with guns and gun violence? And what does it have to do with future physicians? Earlier this summer on AMSA ad lib we covered gun violence as it affects the health care workplace: the hospital itself. But, of course, that isn't even the primary way that gun violence will affect physicians. There are many others, from the victims as patients to their families suffering from loss. Medical students will need to be the ones to push for change, since as physicians they will encounter the grim results of gun violence. The change may be public policy, or a community-based program. Or maybe even finding common ground with gun owners. For some insight, community and public health programming coordinator Allison Hare spoke with an expert, Dr. Daniel Webster.

Are you being taught how to help patients understand all of the overwhelming medical messaging they’re getting? Though the way that medical students are taught has changed gradually over the past century, the way patients learn has lurched forward. Arguably, the modern physician’s job has changed accordingly. The question is whether the physician will be ready for that job. Dr. Rishi Desai found himself on the leading edge of creating useful health information for patients and future physicians alike. Today, he’s the chief medical officer of Osmosis, a learning platform for medical students, where he is one of the people outside traditional medical education helping to shape the way medical students actually learn.

In the past few months, trainee wellness has been making the news again. Studies have been revisiting resident work hours restrictions. Depression and suicide among medical residents, students and physicians themselves is an ongoing crisis. Some of the solutions are systemic, but the medical education system is resistant to change; in the meantime, medical trainees must be on the lookout for themselves and their peers. Recently, Dr. Allan Peterkin presented 10 tips to participants in the AMSA Applied Match Preparation program, and in this episode, we bring you a few highlights.

What's it like to interview for a residency position in neurosurgery? How does it compare to interviewing in other specialties? In this episode, medical students share their experiences and questions, including tackling rumors about the neurosurgery interview process.