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

The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene is a sprawling organization, and for good reason. As CEO Karen Goraleski says, it's a big tent. And with all the disciplines needed to fight emerging infectious diseases like Leishmaniasis and other neglected tropical diseases, from veterinary medicine to ecology to entomology to logistics--it's no wonder. With University of Iowa College of Public Health epidemiology student Kurayi Mahachi, this bonus episode explores the job of eliminating the world's most difficult to treat diseases--infectious or otherwise--and why Americans must not shrug it off as someone else's problem but join the fight. Also, premedicine and med students take note: TropMed is the ASTMH's yearly conference, and it sounds very friendly and is a ridiculous bargain for those looking to explore this fascinating, world-saving effort as a career. This November, consider joining them in Maryland, just 10 miles from Washington, DC.

We offer free advice! Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, or email [email protected]. We'll answer your questions or find someone who can!

We're devoting this episode to the perils of love between med students and their non-medical partners. Despite the clickbait title (don't hate the player, hate the game), it isn't destined to end badly! It just takes lots and lots of patience, communication, and sacrifice, not to mention a plan. Kelsey Adler, Madeline Slater, Terry Hayes, and new co-host Chris Schanbacher--all married or in committed relationships with people who aren't medical learners--are ready to offer an anonymous listener advice on keeping love alive with her soon-to-be med student. Plus, we talk about how med students socialize, how "their persons" can join in some of the more fun bits, and what changes significant others can expect to change about their relationships. To cap off their hard-earned words of wisdom, Dave decided to see how close his co-hosts and their "persons" really are, with a bit of fun we're calling The NewlyMed Game. Will each couples' answers to Dave's questions agree? Will their loving relationships dissolve in acrimony when they disagree? That's a chance Dave's willing to take! Are you dating a medical student? What advice do you have for others? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

Dr. Marley Doyle is a reproductive psychiatrist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. She's also "legally blind", with 20/400 vision. She struggled through medical school just like all med students, but with that additional complication. She made it, however, and her discussion with Aditi Patel and Irisa Mahaparn gives some clues as to why. First, her disability was invisible which made it easy for people to assume that she wasn't disabled. And second, she was naive to the fact that she could ask for help. In other words, she stumbled through it all and came out the other side without having been a "burden" for her school. Years later, she acknowledges that she could have asked for more help. We also discuss the technical standards that most schools have in place to define what a student physician should be able to do physically, intellectually, and emotionally to succeed in school. These standards, however, often seem to be written with a stereotypical disabled person in mind, one who cannot possible succeed because of their disability, and thus should not be in medical school. We discuss the concept of "assumed competence" which, as recent CCOM guest lecturer Dr. Oluwaferanmi Okanlami pointed out, allows people with disabilities to show they are able to fulfill their duties as opposed to assuming they cannot. And we discuss the AAMC's recent first-of-its-kind report "Accessibility, Inclusion, and Action in Medical Education Lived Experiences of Learners and Physicians With Disabilities," which brought to light the inconsistent policies and procedures for, lack of support of, and lack of awareness many schools have of their legal obligations under the law towards students with disabilities. And we talk about why med schools that don't encourage disabled people to apply are missing out on a piece of the diversity puzzle. Plus, Dr. Doyle helps answer a listener who is lucky enough to have several med school acceptances, and wants to know how to decide among them! Lucky you, 'Anxious Premed!' Don't worry, we can help. Are you living with a disability and discouraged about your med school plans? Are you in medical school, disabled, and have some advice to offer? Tell us about it by calling 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

If you got only rejection letters this application season, you might be thinking your dreams of attending med school are dead. Well, pick yourself up off the ground, soldier, it's not over yet because you can apply again. But don't go throwing good money and time away by reapplying without taking a close, honest look at what your application was missing. Amy A'Hearn, our admissions assistant director, visited to discuss what you should think about when re-evaluating your competitiveness, with the help of Aline Sandouk and Irisa Mahapan. Don't give up...find out what Amy's top recommendations are, and get your dream back on track! Match Week was great for us here at UI as our students did better than the national average for finding a job after med school. But all was not perfect this year, as during the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP), the servers crashed denying unmatched residency programs and applicants critical time to do the same. In the end, it all worked out...but it was a stressful time for all--but from our viewpoint, especially for SOAPing students! And it isn't the first time, either. Share your stories--anonymously, if you like--of your rejections and how you fixed it! Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

Think of an inventor. What comes to mind? The quirky lone genius, coming up with a blockbuster device that will save the world? The Avengers' Tony Stark in a cave throwing together a functional exosuit from scrap metal? Back to the Future's Doc Emmet Brown crying "1.21 jigawatts?!" and then immediately coming up with the perfect solution? Or is it a person like neurosurgeon Matthew Howard, toiling away year after year alongside a team of trusted experts, all working together to take an idea--slowly--from problem to concept to prototypes to product to FDA approval to market to patient? Dr. Howard was recently named the University of Iowa's first ever National Academy of Inventors fellow, with 34 patents in his portfolio, so we wanted to take a look at yet another amazing aspect of medicine: the people who define and then create solutions that make the surgical world go 'round. Some of his inventions succeed--including a way to guide catheters to their destinations using magnetic fields--while others --like the "shunt scissors" he discusses--are waiting to set the surgical world on fire. But to Dr. Howard it's just a good time. Also, Dave gives the crew--Aline Sandouk, Miranda Schene, Hannah Van Ert, and Maddie Mix--a pop quiz to see if they can guess the invention from some weird patents. Some of the quiz's incorrect answers could be money makers, so feel free to patent them and make a fortune. We Want to Hear From You. Have you ever had an idea for something and thought, I should patent that? Like that time Dave thought up an ejection seat for motorcyclists? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected] and tell us about it.

Listener Zachary wrote to [email protected] to ask whether it's useful for students to join medical associations and societies such as the AMA, ACOG, or AAP. Co-hosts Aline Sandouk, Laura Quast, Hillary O'Brien, and newbie Sophie Williams-Perez offer some things they find useful about their memberships, including staying informed about political positions and the latest research in their fields, as well as for understanding what it means to be a physician. Listener Oscar about had a heart attack when he read how much money the Carver College of Medicine thinks a first-semester student should budget for additional expenses (aside from tuition and living expenses). So we asked Financial Aid Counselor Chris Roling to help, and it turns out that this area of the med student budget is real squishy. Plus, Dave has some mouth spreaders to use up, so he makes his co-hosts deliver made-up diagnoses to fictitious patients with them. Because that's educational. A BMJ article got us talking about whether or not doctors should be crying at work. And we revisit everyone's favorite anti-anti-vaccination 18-year-old Ethan Lindenberger--who has famously annoyed his mother by getting his vaccinations just as soon as he legally could--after he testified before the US Senate. Are you a member of a medical society or organization? What do you get out of membership? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. SCP T-shirts are available at theshortcoat.com/store!

As CCOM's second-look day (which we call Get Acquainted Day) approaches, Aline Sandouk, LJ Agostinelli, Miranda Schene, and Danial Syed discuss the benefits--to both the student and the school--of taking a second look at the schools they've been admitted to. And listener Caven wants us to talk about our fantasy gap years. Can our co-hosts articulate the benefits of gap year jobs that Dave made up for them? Spoiler--they sure can. UC Berkeley biologists have found a way to genetically engineer brewers yeast so that they pump out dank medicines. Texas Republican state representative Bill Zedler has some pointless thoughts about why vaccines aren't needed in the US. And we discuss what Click and Clack, The Tappet Brothers have to offer med students. If you could do anything you want--and you can--what would you do during your gap year? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

Here's a question we get often, in one form or another: will [some aspect of my life to date] hurt my chances for getting into medical school? Kyle Kinder, Irisa Mahaparn, Aline Sandouk, and Hanna Van Ert are here to reassure listener Rachel that, despite her background in medical malpractice law, she's going to be fine...if she can articulate what she took away from that part of her life. Listener Fifi Trixiebell, who you may recall set off the keto wars of 2018 which ultimately led Dave to declare a moratorium on diet related topics, wrote in to apologize (no need, Fifi), and also point out that Iowa is the most America of the states. Can the co-hosts discern which other states have achieved total-Murica status based on their rankings for bald eagles, fast food, and astronauts? The Chinese researcher who claimed that he'd genetically engineered two girl infants may have accidentally (or as Dave speculates, purposefully) made them into super-intelligent, super-stroke-recovering humans. And researchers my have discovered an entirely new form of neural communication. We Want to Hear From You. Do you need advice? We give it out, whether it's related to med school or not? Call in your pleas for help to 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

Listener Nathan called in to the SCP Hotline at 347-SHORTCT to ask how research works for medical students. Is it necessary? Is it recommended? How do you find research to do? Irisa Mahaparn, Miranda Schene, Emma Barr, and newcomer Nadiah Wabba are on hand to discuss the roles of research in med school, how it can help a residency applications, for which residency applications research is a recommended component, and how it all works.

Also, can the crew figure out what has been censored from medical stock photos? To play along, visit the show notes for this episode at theshortcoat.com.

Cancer Dogs is a Canadian organization looking to make cancer-smelling dogs a valid screening tool; we discuss whether physicians and med schools discourage med students from pursuing primary care; and as a generation of vaccine deniers' children comes of age, are they going to defy their antivaxxer parents?

Is research important to you? Do you plan to do research in med school or residency? Let us know at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

Dr. Mamdouh Aker is a very big deal in Palestine, the kind of man everyone knows and respects, and it's easy to see why. He’s urology surgeon and the deputy chair of the Board of Trustees of Berzeit University in Palestine's West Bank. Among the founders of the Mandela Institute for Political Prisoners and the Independent Commission for Human Rights, Dr. Aker was also a member of the Palestinian delegation to the Madrid Peace Conference and in the Palestinian-Israeli bilateral talks between 1991 and 1993. He's also a member of several councils and committees focused on the health, education, and wellbeing of the Palestinian people. During his visit to the Carver College of Medicine he spoke to our students and faculty about the state of Palestinian healthcare. He was generous with his time, as he also sat down with med students Shakoora Sabree, Ossama Habu-Halawa, Jordan Harbaugh-Williams, and Joelle Friezen to discuss the topic. Our discussion was near the anniversary of his 45-day ordeal in the custody of Israeli security forces in the early 1990s because of his outspoken views that his Palestinian patients were prevented from receiving adequate healthcare.