The Premed Perspectives

This week Lasya sits down with Mr.Mike Woodson, the Director of Admissions at Tulane School of Medicine. They discuss the unique programs that this particular medical school offers such as their hybrid model of learning, clinical opportunities to give back to the community, and the Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine. They also discuss how Tulane School of Medicine offers an Early Decision program for applicants, and Mr.Woodson describes the pros and cons to that program. Additionally, Mr.Woodson gives his best tips on how to be a competitive applicant by sharing tips on how to write a personal statement, who to ask for letters of recommendation, and how to shine in an interview. Finally, Mr.Woodson gives us a glimpse into what happens at admissions committee meetings, where they make the decisions on who they are going to admit. 

Give this episode a listen if you want to learn more about Tulane School of Medicine, want to hear an expert share how to gain admission into medical school, and want to know some insider information on how candidates are admitted. 

In this episode, Viji sits down with Cindy Chu, an OMS-II at MSUCOM. Cindy talks about her various study abroad experiences in Spain and China and discusses how she was able to build time in for study abroad during undergrad while also meeting pre-medical requirements. She also shares how she incorporated her study abroad experiences into her medical school application and how she was able to receive different scholarships to fund study abroad. 

Additionally, Viji and Cindy talk about studying a foreign language as a pre-med and medical student. Cindy double majored in Biomolecular Science and Spanish, and she discusses her motivation for pursuing the Spanish major and how she was able to continue her Spanish education in medical school. 

Definitely give this episode a listen if you’re interested in studying a language or studying abroad as a pre-medical student!

This week Lasya sits down with Virali to discuss everything about mentorship within the premedical community. She explains why she is so passionate about mentorship, how to find mentors, what makes a good mentor-mentee relationship, and how to navigate mentor-mentee relationships. 

The path to medical school is so tremendously difficult, and it is almost impossible without mentors, so listen to this episode to learn more about how to find and maximize these important relationships. Also, Virali has a very informative Instagram page (@ thepremedmentor), so make sure you check it out!

This week, Ambika sits down with Dr. Soliman MD,PhD,MBA. He details on how he got a competitive residency and gives tips on finding the best residency fit for you. He recently matched Psychiatry at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor.

Dr. Soliman also provides details about his life coaching business and mental health.  He provides excellent advice for premedical and medical students! As someone with a lot of research experience, Dr. Soliman also talks about deciding on whether research is right for you.

This week, Lasya sits down with Samantha Saddler, the intelligent yet hilarious Tik Toker (@ sadlersammie) who graduated from Duke for undergrad and directly matriculated to Harvard Medical School. Premed culture is incredibly cut throat and can be extremely toxic; however, Samantha speaks extremely truthfully and openly about her journey of balancing a social life and an incredible academic life. She speaks about her struggles with ADHD, how she coped with the cut throat nature of undergrad, and how she was able to matriculate without a gap year to medical school. Samantha's honesty is so refreshing! 

This week Lasya sits down with the leaders of Delta Epsilon Mu of Michigan State University to discuss pre-health fraternities. With the start of the semester, it can be overwhelming to decide what organizations to join; however, pre-health fraternities provide a great social and professional support system. Listen to this episode to find out the perks of membership, how to join a chapter, and inspiration to potentially start a chapter at your school!  

This week, Esha sits down with Dr. Kunal Sood, double certified anesthesiologist and Interventional Pain Medicine specialist. He talks about his journey of realizing his love for anesthesia and then pursuing his pain medicine fellowship. 

Dr. Sood employs multimodal therapies on order to optimize patient health, and he often refers to holistic practices which can help soothe pain.

He shares insight into the field of anesthesia and interventional pain medicine, as well tips for students to stay healthy while studying. Be sure to check this episode out! 

This week, Lasya chats with Dr.Julia Kerolus, MD. Dr.Kerolus graduated from University of Missouri-Kansas City 6 year BS/MD program. She talks about the challenges of completing her medical training two years earlier than a traditional medical student, and how her young age played a factor in matching into a competitive specialty: Otolaryngology. After completing her residency in Illinois, Dr.Kerolus pursued a fellowship in facial plastic surgery in Beverly Hills. 

Apart from being a surgeon, Dr.Kerolus is a mother and wife of a Neurosurgeon. She discusses how she balances motherhood and marriage as her husband and her live apart due to his fellowship being in a different state than the one she lives in. 

In this episode, Viji sits down with Marjorie, @thehonestaudiologist, who is a current audiology student at University of the Pacific in San Francisco. Marjorie explains her motivation for becoming an audiologist and the activities she was involved with to learn more about the field, including advocating for the deaf community. 

In addition, Viji and Marjorie talk about the application process to audiology school. Marjorie also explains the structure of audiology school and describes a typical week as a student.  

Marjorie shares a lot of insight about the field of audiology in this episode, so make sure to give it a listen to learn more about this important field in healthcare!