The Short Coat: An Inside Look at Getting Into and Getting Through Medical School

This week, M3 Jeff Goddard, M2 Taryn O’Brien, and MD/PhD student Riley Behan Bush are on hand to discuss July’s news. First, it’s hard to ignore Johns Hopkins joining the tuition free bandwagon thanks to Michael Bloomberg…but this gift goes further…maybe it could actually have a desired effect! Meanwhile, the New York Times offered an expose on a practice that might prey on the emotions of anxious new parents–cord blood stem cell storage. And the public health world marks the passing of the man who exposed the infamous Tuskegee Study…a scandal that’s still reverberating today.

We welcome your feedback, listener questions, and shower thoughts. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Can we answer a question for you? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? Let us know at https://theshortcoat.com/tellus and we’ll put your message in a future episode. Or email [email protected].

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You deserve to be happy and healthy. If you’re struggling with racism, harassment, hate, your mental health, or some other crisis, visit http://theshortcoat.com/help, and send additions to the resources there to [email protected]. We love you. Music provided by Argofox.  License: bit.ly/CCAttribution
DOCTOR VOX – Heatstroke: youtu.be/j1n1zlxzyRE
Catmosphere – Candy-Coloured Sky: youtu.be/AZjYZ8Kjgs8
Hexalyte – Wandering Hours: youtu.be/FOAo2zsYnvA

Self-evaluation is important, especially in medicine, but sometimes you just gotta ask–was I a jerk? Dave Etler, MD/PhD student Miranda Schene, M4 Happy Kumar, and M2 Holly Hemann use Reddit’s ‘Am I the Asshole?’ submissions to exploring feelings of impostor syndrome, the ethics of classroom behavior, fair recognition of achievements, and cases of medical malpractice. Along the way, they provide practical advice for medical school admissions, dissect the delicate balance of maintaining professionalism in the medical field, and what to think when even mom craps on your dreams. Shut up, mom!

We welcome your feedback, listener questions, and shower thoughts. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Can we answer a question for you? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? Let us know at https://theshortcoat.com/tellus and we’ll put your message in a future episode. Or email [email protected].

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You deserve to be happy and healthy. If you’re struggling with racism, harassment, hate, your mental health, or some other crisis, visit http://theshortcoat.com/help, and send additions to the resources there to [email protected]. We love you. Music provided by Argofox.  License: bit.ly/CCAttribution
DOCTOR VOX – Heatstroke: youtu.be/j1n1zlxzyRE
Catmosphere – Candy-Coloured Sky: youtu.be/AZjYZ8Kjgs8
Hexalyte – Wandering Hours: youtu.be/FOAo2zsYnvA

Listener Neurotic Premed dropped us a message at https://theshortcoat.com/tellus to ask what medical students in long-distance relationships, both platonic and romantic, do to keep them alive and healthy. MD/PhD student Madi Wahlen, M2 Fallon Jung, M3 Jeff Goddard, an PA2 Julie Vuong have a lot of experience in that area. From long-distance parenting to making sure friends still feel connected, it takes planning and intentionality along with a slight tweak to what it means to be “together.” They share how they do it successfully!

Plus, Chinese researchers appear to have cured a man of his diabetes, Ozempic is powerful enough to affect the food and beverage industry’s bottom lines, and Florida allows c-sections outside of hospitals in a bid to improve access.

We welcome your feedback, listener questions, and shower thoughts. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Can we answer a question for you? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? Let us know at https://theshortcoat.com/tellus and we’ll put your message in a future episode. Or email [email protected].

We want to know more about you: Take the Listener Survey

We do more things on…

You deserve to be happy and healthy. If you’re struggling with racism, harassment, hate, your mental health, or some other crisis, visit http://theshortcoat.com/help, and send additions to the resources there to [email protected]. We love you. Music provided by Argofox.  License: bit.ly/CCAttribution
DOCTOR VOX – Heatstroke: youtu.be/j1n1zlxzyRE
Catmosphere – Candy-Coloured Sky: youtu.be/AZjYZ8Kjgs8
Hexalyte – Wandering Hours: youtu.be/FOAo2zsYnvA

[We’re still in the midst a summer break, so here’s a rerun in case you missed it.]

We welcome your feedback, listener questions, and shower thoughts.  Do you agree or disagree with something we said today?  Did you hear something really helpful?  Can we answer a question for you? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to?  Leave a message at 347-SHORTCT (347-746-7828) and we’ll put your message in a future episode (use *67 to be an “Unknown caller”). Or email [email protected].

We want to know more about you: Take the Listener Survey

We do more things on…

You deserve to be happy and healthy. If you’re struggling with racism, harassment, hate, your mental health, or some other crisis, visit http://theshortcoat.com/help, and send additions to the resources there to [email protected]. We love you. Music provided by Argofox.  License: bit.ly/CCAttribution
DOCTOR VOX – Heatstroke: youtu.be/j1n1zlxzyRE
Catmosphere – Candy-Coloured Sky: youtu.be/AZjYZ8Kjgs8
Hexalyte – Wandering Hours: youtu.be/FOAo2zsYnvA

[We’re taking a vacation for a couple weeks, so while we rest and recharge enjoy this rerun!]

We welcome your feedback, listener questions, and shower thoughts.  Do you agree or disagree with something we said today?  Did you hear something really helpful?  Can we answer a question for you? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to?  Leave a message at 347-SHORTCT (347-746-7828) and we’ll put your message in a future episode (use *67 to be an “Unknown caller”). Or email [email protected].

We want to know more about you: Take the Listener Survey

We do more things on…

You deserve to be happy and healthy. If you’re struggling with racism, harassment, hate, your mental health, or some other crisis, visit http://theshortcoat.com/help, and send additions to the resources there to [email protected]. We love you. Music provided by Argofox.  License: bit.ly/CCAttribution
DOCTOR VOX – Heatstroke: youtu.be/j1n1zlxzyRE
Catmosphere – Candy-Coloured Sky: youtu.be/AZjYZ8Kjgs8
Hexalyte – Wandering Hours: youtu.be/FOAo2zsYnvA

[This episode has visual content you might find more enjoyable using YouTube Music, where you can listen with your phone in your pocket as usual, but then watch for the more visual content]

Listener Eden is looking ahead to how she’ll finance medical school as someone who is in the disadvantaged category of applicants. One option she asked us to talk about is the Health Professions Scholarship Program offered by the US military, and she wanted to hear from someone who is in that program. M4 Wilson Fitzgerald gave us the details, some ideas about what it’s like to be a physician in the military, the sacrifices he’s decided to make to take advantage of the program, and how it’s working out for him so far. PA faculty member Jeremy Nelson, M2 Fallon Jung, and M3 Happy Kumar helped discuss why it might not be a great idea to wait to start medical school so that you have time to save up tuition. And Dave pulls out a bunch of reels he’s been saving in his drafts because he doesn’t think they’re any good. Spoiler alert: they should have stayed in his drafts–but you can see them on our Instagram anyway!

We welcome your feedback, listener questions, and shower thoughts. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Can we answer a question for you? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? Let us know at https://theshortcoat.com/tellus and we’ll put your message in a future episode. Or email [email protected].

We want to know more about you: Take the Listener Survey

We do more things on…

You deserve to be happy and healthy. If you’re struggling with racism, harassment, hate, your mental health, or some other crisis, visit http://theshortcoat.com/help, and send additions to the resources there to [email protected]. We love you. Music provided by Argofox.  License: bit.ly/CCAttribution
DOCTOR VOX – Heatstroke: youtu.be/j1n1zlxzyRE
Catmosphere – Candy-Coloured Sky: youtu.be/AZjYZ8Kjgs8
Hexalyte – Wandering Hours: youtu.be/FOAo2zsYnvA

Sometimes, you need someone to tell you if you’ve crossed the line. That’s why Reddit’s Am I The A**hole subreddit exists. M2 Holly Hemann brought some med-school themed samples for MD/PhD students Miranda Schene, Faith Prochaska, and PA2 Julie Vuong to react to. How compatible is MMA fighting and med school? Is it okay to get a secret horse? And isn’t an Eagle Scout the same as a doctor when you get right down to it? Let’s talk about all that!

We welcome your feedback, listener questions, and shower thoughts. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Can we answer a question for you? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? Let us know at https://theshortcoat.com/tellus and we’ll put your message in a future episode. Or email [email protected].

We want to know more about you: Take the Listener Survey

We do more things on…

You deserve to be happy and healthy. If you’re struggling with racism, harassment, hate, your mental health, or some other crisis, visit http://theshortcoat.com/help, and send additions to the resources there to [email protected]. We love you. Music provided by Argofox.  License: bit.ly/CCAttribution
DOCTOR VOX – Heatstroke: youtu.be/j1n1zlxzyRE
Catmosphere – Candy-Coloured Sky: youtu.be/AZjYZ8Kjgs8
Hexalyte – Wandering Hours: youtu.be/FOAo2zsYnvA

Project 2025 is the name of a project that hopes to serve as a blueprint for a future conservative administration that would promote natural family planning methods and reduce insurance coverage for certain contraceptives. M1s* Fallon Jung, Taryn O’Brien, and Gizzy Keeler (who are–boop boop boop!–leveling up to M2s), with help from Curriculum Manager Billie Ruden, discuss what that might mean for training MDs, where they’ll be willing to go, and why it’s not just OB/Gyn aspirants paying attention. Meanwhile, congress will consider a bill to make permanent several telehealth changes that were enacted to ease the healthcare crisis during the COVID crisis. KFF.org releases a helpful primer about the US healthcare system everyone should know about, and a scandal at the NIH further jeopardizes trust in science.

We welcome your feedback, listener questions, and shower thoughts. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Can we answer a question for you? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? Let us know at https://theshortcoat.com/tellus and we’ll put your message in a future episode. Or email [email protected].

We want to know more about you: Take the Listener Survey

We do more things on…

You deserve to be happy and healthy. If you’re struggling with racism, harassment, hate, your mental health, or some other crisis, visit http://theshortcoat.com/help, and send additions to the resources there to [email protected]. We love you. Music provided by Argofox.  License: bit.ly/CCAttribution
DOCTOR VOX – Heatstroke: youtu.be/j1n1zlxzyRE
Catmosphere – Candy-Coloured Sky: youtu.be/AZjYZ8Kjgs8
Hexalyte – Wandering Hours: youtu.be/FOAo2zsYnvA

[This episode is sponsored by Beginly Health. The Beginly platform matches physicians and APPs with employers with complete anonymity until you’re ready for the next step. Dave and Beginly founder Kristi Olsen chat about what residents should be asking employers about when planning for their post-residency gigs and beyond.]

On this episode we welcome guest Dr. Joshua Trebach, an emergency medicine physician here at Iowa. This past spring he posted on X that medicine must “lose the mentality of thinking its okay to be miserable for years (or decades) to justify it being ‘finally worth it’ in the end.”

We couldn’t agree more–live now, not later! Which is why PA2 Julie Vuong, M2 Fallon Jung, and MD/PhD student Madi Wahlen are each finding ways to reject that mentality. Indeed, medical education is changing, perhaps slowly, to reinforce the idea that just because medicine can be a difficult life doesn’t mean that you should obsessively look forward to the day it gets better. That day is a long way away, so do what you can (what you must) to be who you want to be even as you’re drinking from the firehose.

Also, we answer one of listener Mohamed’s questions on how he can jump right into his first year this fall with his eyes on patient advocacy.

my two cents: lose the mentality of thinking its okay to be miserable for years (or decades) to justify it being "finally worth it" in the end

i know too many people that graduated from med school only to be like "wait…this sucks"

find ways to have fulfillment each day https://t.co/9OPZ2VsLyd

We welcome your feedback, listener questions, and shower thoughts. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Can we answer a question for you? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? Let us know at https://theshortcoat.com/tellus and we’ll put your message in a future episode. Or email [email protected].

We want to know more about you: Take the Listener Survey

We do more things on…

You deserve to be happy and healthy. If you’re struggling with racism, harassment, hate, your mental health, or some other crisis, visit http://theshortcoat.com/help, and send additions to the resources there to [email protected]. We love you. Music provided by Argofox.  License: bit.ly/CCAttribution
DOCTOR VOX – Heatstroke: youtu.be/j1n1zlxzyRE
Catmosphere – Candy-Coloured Sky: youtu.be/AZjYZ8Kjgs8
Hexalyte – Wandering Hours: youtu.be/FOAo2zsYnvA

It’s sometimes easy to forget from the ivory tower that relatively few American’s have, or take, the opportunity to advance beyond high school. This, of course, means that their children are also less likely to do so. Those kids that do decide to make that leap are at a distinct disadvantage to their peers whose parents did go to college. And those who advance further to attend medical school are even more rare, and are still disadvantaged compared to their peers. We call those students “first-generation in medicine,” and they’re an important group. They represent an opportunity to have a medical workforce that can serve their patients better because they understand a wider range of patient experiences and determinants of health at a gut level.

PA1 Julie Vuong, M1 Amanda Litka, MD/PhD student Faith Prochaska are all first-generation students in college or medicine, and M1 Holly Hemann is engaged in outreach activities focused on first-generation students. They sat down to talk with Dave about their battles to overcome the barriers to enter a medical career, what it means for their future practice of medicine, and how learning about medicine is often a gut-wrenching experience that highlights the struggles their families back home have in maintaining their own health.

Meanwhile, some medical schools have gone tuition free, which should have been good news…but so far it has actually *decreased* the number of low-income students that matriculate at those schools, as well as lowering the number of students from those schools who enter primary care.

We welcome your feedback, listener questions, and shower thoughts. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Can we answer a question for you? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? Let us know at https://theshortcoat.com/tellus and we’ll put your message in a future episode. Or email [email protected].

We want to know more about you: Take the Listener Survey

We do more things on…

You deserve to be happy and healthy. If you’re struggling with racism, harassment, hate, your mental health, or some other crisis, visit http://theshortcoat.com/help, and send additions to the resources there to [email protected]. We love you. Music provided by Argofox.  License: bit.ly/CCAttribution
DOCTOR VOX – Heatstroke: youtu.be/j1n1zlxzyRE
Catmosphere – Candy-Coloured Sky: youtu.be/AZjYZ8Kjgs8
Hexalyte – Wandering Hours: youtu.be/FOAo2zsYnvA