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

Katee Verhoef and Corbin Weaver, from the new show The Vagibonds Podcast are in the studio to talk about their work discussing feminism through the OB/GYN student lens, as well as how they never introduce their co-host who just happens to be familiar to the SCP audience. Plus, we explore the taste of medications. Right out of the research lab, they usually taste gross. This is why pharmaceutical companies go to a lot of effort sweetening them up, otherwise you'd throw up instead of being soothed. But Dave suspects that Big Pharma hasn't fully considered the possibilities for how medicine should taste, so he devises one of his 'experiments' to test whether medicine should taste like ham and gravy baby food instead. Katee, Corbin, Elizabeth Shirazi and Hillary O'Brien help Dave test this medical marketing breakthrough (psst, GSK, call us!). And listeners Evelyn and "Maynard" wrote in with feedback and questions for The Short Coats. And Ryan Gray, MD of the Specialty Stories Podcast wrote in offering a clarification of our answer to Terel's recent question. Perhaps a bigger breakthrough, however, is the news that the FDA is willing to consider evidence that MDMA (or ecstasy) could be a "Breakthrough Therapy" for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. And what about the new genetically engineered T-cells designed to seek out and destroy childhood leukemia, which the FDA has actually approved? What experiments should Dave inflict on his co-hosts next? Do you want to call us out on some bogus thing we said? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email [email protected]. Do all three!

Interview season begins soon, which means it's time to worry about the weird questions you'll be asked during med school interviews. Kayla got in touch with us at our new Facebook Group, The Short Coat Student Lounge, and asked what strange or difficult questions Lisa Wehr, Liza Mann, Irisa Mahaparn, and new co-host Mackenzie Walhof had been asked when it was their turn. Kayla's question, of course, inspires Dave to have them try to play a game of Questions, at which all the co-hosts fail miserably. The FDA announced that it's seeking public comment on plans to reduce nicotine in cigarettes to sub-addictive levels. Interesting idea...but we have questions. Google is trying to give US mobile users who search for info about depression a link to a screening tool for the disease...but we have questions. One thing we don't question: our old friend Martin Shkreli's securities fraud trial jury selection transcripts were released, and let's just say the jury of his peers don't give a rat's butt about what he's actually on trial for...they hate him for the drug thing. What questions do you have for us? We'd love to hear your thoughts. Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, join our Facbook group, and email [email protected].

Our recent show on mental illness in medical school generated some listener feedback. K wrote to say thanks for the honest discussion (our pleasure!), and wondered how open she should be on her medical school application about her journey to sobriety and how it led her to find a love for community service. Dave's six (!) co-hosts this week--Kalyn Campbell, Kylie Miller, Levi Endelman, Irene Morcuende, Kaci McCleary, and Laura Quast--agree that it's a tough question with two answers...the one we'd like to be able to give, and the perhaps more realistic one that acknowledges human nature.

Listener Erica called in wondering how students cope with the challenges of medical school and residency, especially in the context of a mental illness. And Terel dropped us a line to ask the differences between a hospitalist and an internist. Groundbreaking research from the Journal of the National Cancer Institute shows that alternative medicine is a crappy option for cancer patients' survival rates...except for prostate cancer. And a Chinese startup publishes a study in which CRISPR knocks out pig PERVs. That's Porcine Endogenous Retroviruses, silly, and it means if you need an organ transplant one day, you might have to thank a pig for that heart. Are you ready for your future pig heart? Who would win in an alpha-gal fight, Kylie or Kalyn? We'd love to hear your thoughts. Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and email [email protected].

While Dave was on vacation, Teneme Konne got together with some folks we talked to back in July, pre-health students in UI's Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP), a program that offers minority students and others access to mentorship and insight into future health careers. Yasmine Rose, Kristine Pham, Gil Osuna-Leon and Martin Rosenfeld came back, along with program administrator Nicole, and shared with us the progress they made, what they learned, and where they're going to take their newfound confidence in their health career choices. Also, are Iowans really the rudest drivers? And Yasmine is passionate about her rant on the hypocrisy of environmentalists that eat meat. If you want to rant for any reason, and think we are the best people to rant at, give us a call! Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and email [email protected].

[Hey, gang! We're re-releasing this super good episode because when it first posted the file was screwed up. Enjoy!] Physicians are no better than the rest of us at dealing with mental illness, even as they struggle to get their own patients to recognize and have treated their own disabilities. As society becomes more open about 'mood disorders,' it is still common for MDs to reject treatment for depression, substance abuse disorders, anxiety, and more...and physicians and medical students are literally killing themselves. Our co-hosts this week, Zeynep Demir, Innie Kim, Jason Lewis, and Kaci McCleary all have e xperienced their own disorders, and have formed a CCOM chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Still in it's infancy, they hope to destigmatize mental illness among physicians, residents, and medical students in the hope that those who suffer can be saved and become what they always wanted to be: effective, compassionate, and healthy physicians. We want to hear from you! Do you suffer from a mental illness, and worry about your future as a physician? We'd love to hear your story, anonymously if that's what you'd prefer. Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and email [email protected].

A listener wants to know more about the secondary application. Given the the turnaround time often recommended (a week), how important are they? Do they need to be as well crafted as your personal statement? What do schools get out of them? And are they just a way for schools to extract more money from applicants? We asked our medical school's admissions staff for answers to these questions so you can get on with crafting your best possible application. And JC writes in to say nice things, including that he wants to start his own show when he matriculates this fall. Go, JC, GO! In science and medicine news, one major destination for patients' medical dollars is the emergency room visit. One recent study asks what do docs know about the costs of caring for some common complaints they see in the ER? Turns out, not much...but when doctors are in charge of knowing the costs of care, is the patient really helped? Meanwhile, a startup in (where else) California wants to charge $8000 to give old people young blood, because we need more dystopian sci-fi concepts. And a discussion on the problems people can experience surrounding orgasms reveals something about Kylie that would have made Jim Henson blush. We LOVE hearing from listeners, and we really work hard to answer your questions. If you have something to say or a question to ask, call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and email [email protected].

Sometimes you're having so much fun that the time flies by and you forget that you have other important things to do. That's what happened on this week's show, in which Dave brings Aditi Patel, Aline Sandouk, Kylie Miller and Irene Morcuende along for a trip through the medical supplies section of Amazon. Can they guess what the medical device is based on the reviews alone? We did get to talk about one bit of medical news, pointed out to us on twitter by AJtha808Scientist: the fact that Iowa made national news by forcing the closure of 1/4 of its Planned Parenthood clinics. Thanks for the tip! We also heard from Hannah of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. She wrote in to let us know why, according to the study we discussed in our last show about longevity in US counties, her beautiful corner of the country is so damn healthy. Spoiler: it doesn't involve sitting on the couch and eating chips like Dave was hoping. Listeners, share your suggestions with us each week. Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and email [email protected].

The world of work, and medical school, is often about adjusting for a number of "top" priorities. Dave's been having one of those weeks where his work is pulling him in several directions at once, and thought to ask his co-hosts Erin Pasaski, Patrick Brau, Elizabeth Shirazi, and Kaci McCleary what techniques they use when they, inevitably, find themselves struggling to manage all of the important tasks med school throws at them. Also, since the CCOM Writing and Humanities Program exists to bring art into the lives of busy med students, Dave went out and bought playdough so his co-hosts could flex their sculpting skills on common patient complaints. Visit our Facebook page for the gallery! Speaking of priorities, a research letter in JAMA takes note of the FDA's somewhat lackadaisical interest in surveilling the cosmetics and hair care industry, and why that should probably change. Will flu shots (and other vaccination injections) soon be replaced by a tiny bed of nails? And Dave warns medical students not to study with their phones in the same room. If you have something to say or a question to ask, and think we are the best people to do so, who are we to question your judgement? Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and email [email protected].

The world of work, and medical school, is often about adjusting for a number of "top" priorities. Dave's been having one of those weeks where his work is pulling him in several directions at once, and thought to ask his co-hosts Erin Pasaski, Patrick Brau, Elizabeth Shirazi, and Kaci McCleary what techniques they use when they, inevitably, find themselves struggling to manage all of the important tasks med school throws at them. Also, since the CCOM Writing and Humanities Program exists to bring art into the lives of busy med students, Dave went out and bought playdough so his co-hosts could flex their sculpting skills on common patient complaints. Visit our Facebook page for the gallery! Speaking of priorities, a research letter in JAMA takes note of the FDA's somewhat lackadaisical interest in surveilling the cosmetics and hair care industry, and why that should probably change. Will flu shots (and other vaccination injections) soon be replaced by a tiny bed of nails? And Dave warns medical students not to study with their phones in the same room. If you have something to say or a question to ask, and think we are the best people to do so, who are we to question your judgement? Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and email [email protected].

This week, Teneme Konne introduced Dave to some students participating in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/AAMC venture, the Summer Health Professions Education Program, which has as it's aim to strengthen the academic proficiency and career development of minorities and prepare them to apply, matriculate, and succeed in healthcare professional education. Yasmine Rose, Kristine Pham, Gil Osuna-Leon and Martin Rosenfeld talk about how students of ethnicities underrepresented in medicine need this kind of mentorship from people who have faced, fought, and vanquished the same challenges they'll face on their path to medical school. If you have something to say or a question to ask, and think we are the best people to do so, who are we to question your judgement? Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and email [email protected].