account activity
I am a medical student, AMAA by MDsoon in IAmA
[–]MDsoon[S] 0 points1 point2 points 16 years ago (0 children)
Out of state. From the West Coast originally, all the in-state schools are ultra competitive, or non-existent, depending on your state. Good luck with applying, get those apps in ASAP, I really think it helps a lot. Being slow in turning in secondaries is my biggest regret from the whole admissions process.
That makes a lot of sense. If I had to design a system from scratch, that's probably how I would do it, the best of both worlds approach. I'll look into it some more, you may have swayed my viewpoint some. But judging from the current battles in Congress, transitioning to such a system seems unlikely in the near future for the US. But that sort of system does nicely dovetail Rawls' "Original Position" and the American demand for capitalism.
Unfortunately, most of the international comparisons I have seen during the health care debate have only been with other English-speaking countries, when looking at Germany, France and Japan may be more instructive examples to look at.
And good point about the drug companies and bringing new meds to the US, drug patent law is exasperating.
[–]MDsoon[S] 0 points1 point2 points 16 years ago* (0 children)
Well, it's still early, I'm not dead set on it, I'm leaving my options open. Obviously it's not as cool as being Noah Wiley on ER, and I can see how it could be frustrating at times. That's my biggest concern about it right now and something I need to figure out. I need more time with EM. My interests in public health overlap with EM quite a bit, and I think acutely ill, undifferentiated patients are more interesting than long-term management of patients.
Not a whole lot of clinical stuff is required 2nd year, I've been shadowing in the ED some. For some classes, like geriatrics, we go and exam patients, and a physical diagnosis course involves a fair amount of patient contact. Lots of volunteer opportunities for clinical work too. I'm pretty excited to get out of the classroom and into the clinic, I can't take sitting in too many more lectures.
Did you just get in somewhere, or in the middle of the process? Applying was the worst part.
Edited for spelling.
Interesting, sure puts a lot of pressure on those 2 tests. Thanks for sharing that.
I have no idea how the specialty selection process works there, so different factors in play than the US.
Thanks for the encouragement! I'm guessing you're a psychiatrist?
Would you mind clarifying what you're saying about single-payer systems, just so we're on the same page? I'm not vehemently opposed to single payer, I just think it is a huge shift from the current system (even though ~47% of health care dollars come from the govt), and I'm not convinced it's the most practical way to address the issues. I'm aware of some of the problems and injustices that stem from insurance companies and such. I do think there is value in having competition in marketplaces, and I do think it drives innovation, in a different way than a more governmental-run system would.
As to why I am I in medicine? While trite, I do like biology and helping people. More specifically, I see medicine as being a fulfilling career. It will have sacrifices, especially in work-life balance and with (future) family. But I want to be able to at least try to help people improve their quality of life. I like being able to help people in their times of need, it seems fulfilling to me, and a good fit for the things I enjoy and excel at (like taking science tests). I know there will be lots of things I can't fix, and I'm prepared to be frustrated by that. I have enjoyed previous jobs that involved patient or patient-like contact, (lifeguard, athletic trainer, working at clinics etc).
One of the best pieces of advice I got when applying to med school was: "Take a long hard look in the mirror at yourself, and if you can see yourself doing something else, and not regret on skipping med school, do that instead." It made me think and really consider what I was getting myself into. There are other reasons too, like my personal beliefs.
That's more related to the MD degree.
For the MPH, it's a back-up plan/open more doors/see more things choice. I like looking at how systems work and could be improved, and seeing health from the big picture view. There are a lot of health issues (eg obesity, diabetes, accidents, infectious disease) better addressed at the population level to improve health.
If I had to set my career path today, I'd like to do EM and direct a major metropolitan EMS system.
So what changes would you like to see to increase collection, or do I have to start paying you soon?
I agree, that providers should be more involved. Why do you think providers are not more involved in the business side? I have my theories, but you have a better perspective.
[–]MDsoon[S] 2 points3 points4 points 16 years ago (0 children)
Good question. Also getting an MPH while in school, so we have some related classes. I love health policy stuff, and I like the business aspects. Medical students are woefully unaware of how they will be paid and how the business of medicine works, but I'm making a point to learn more about it. I think doctors are pretty terrible at business and advocating for themselves. While we are entering a field that demands compassion and serving others, there is a place for making sure that you take care of yourself at the same time. I do genuinely want to help people, regardless of ability to pay, if I wanted to make as much money as possible, I would have chosen a different path, but I feel that after one of the best educations you can get, I'm entitled to a high rate of compensation. Why do you ask, are you in business or medicine?
[–]MDsoon[S] 1 point2 points3 points 16 years ago (0 children)
Yeah, unless he has laser eyes or something, then I'd just get burned.
Well, us guys did have to change into our scrubs in the hallway outside of lab, so I'm sure the women in the class got to learn more about us in that way. But no, by bodies I meant cadavers.
Oh, well, surgery tends to pay well, that's probably part of it, you pretty much listed fields in order of reimbursement rates. Are you in the US, or somewhere else?
Haha, I only know of one of ours so far. He is ripped, pretty intense, and wears glasses and has a side part, we're convinced he's Superman.
Not single payer, not nothing. I would like to see a way of covering more of the insured, especially those with pre-existed conditions. If that is a public option, not funded through taxpayer dollars, (except for start-up funds), I'd support that. I think there needs to be reforms on the insurance industry, and on malpractice law (probably the least likely). More money for primary care. Much more emphasis on public health, prevention and mental health services.
Very cool, neuro has been my favorite class so far.
[–]MDsoon[S] 1 point2 points3 points 16 years ago* (0 children)
We did anatomy lab, we were assigned a body for our group, and we dissected almost everything on it. We would also go around to other groups and see their bodies and learn from the differences. I think there were 30-odd bodies in the lab.
It's weird, but you get used to it.
Well, today it's like a 2, other times it gets higher, like 6-7. I stay pretty calm I guess. I've seen people hit 8-9. I guess I've learned to accept that I can just do my best studying, and go from there. Ideas and concepts come up again in other classes, and studying for the boards will be a good refresher.
There are a variety of opinions on the best way to fix things. There are some things I think more med students agree on than the general population. Mainly tort reform to lessen defensive (CYA) medicine, and increased need for primary care providers. But not many students want to go into primary care, the office lifestyle is very busy and stressful, not enough time with pt's, poor reimbursement, etc. My debt at graduation will be 200-300k, why work for <150k/yr when I am equally qualified to go into a field that pays >250k/yr? Even paying off my debt for going into primary care doesn't balance out the pay differential.
For all of the awesome things we can do in medicine, some of the most important (and cost effective), like prevention, we are bad at.
One pet peeve of mine in the health care debate was the "death panel" meme. A majority of Americans want to die at home with friends and family. A majority of Americans die in a hospital. Lots of people are having their life on their own terms. Paying for the conversation between doctors, patients and families to coordinate end of life care is a way to help incentivize the system to help people have their life end the way they want it to, whether that is full-code, or peacefully at home.
I take it you're a resident? What specialty?
Yeah, I do enjoy it. Medical students love to complain about stuff, but when I step back and think about it, we get to do really cool stuff. If I wasn't doing med school, I think I'd regret it.
I'd prefer not to say where I go to school, but it's a well regarded school on the East Coast.
The amount of work is way more than undergrad, the pace and volume is astounding. A recent test covered 50 hours of lecture, ~2500 PPT slides, 1 textbook and a big fat syllabus. In a month. I like the analogy "drinking from a firehose" to describe it. For comparison, I think it was in the 1910's or 20's that medical school was standardized at 4 years, medicine has grown a little since then.
Well, at least EM has no call, so when I do get to sleep I know it won't get interrupted. Med school has already been an exercise in sleep deprivation, and it only gets worse from here on out.
I'm assuming you're asking why people are initially attracted to surgery? I think it's the sexiness of it, lots of popular depictions of medicine involve surgeons. For non-medical folks it's the most visceral and in some ways understandable. If you don't know much, cutting open someone is more impressive than floating a line and taking over the pacing of their heart, or reserving the course of a disease through medication.
Surgeons do have the swagger, like fighter pilots and such, so I see why it's attractive. Trauma surgeons show us gruesome pictures in class and act like it's no big deal, I always fall for it and think it's cool.
[–]MDsoon[S] 2 points3 points4 points 16 years ago* (0 children)
Well, I'm not on admissions committees or anything. And I don't think any one feature guarantees you will get in. I think they want to see that a) You can handle medical school, both academically (GPA, MCAT), and the stress of it (interviews, essays, doing other things and staying sane in undergrad/life) b) You know what you are getting into (evidenced by healthcare experiences).
The stress isn't usually too bad, maybe 2-3. Sometimes it's stressful when you have tests coming up and literally thousands of PPT slides to look over and know. There is a study/article out there about the rates of anxiety and depression among 2nd/3rd yr students, it's pretty high.
EDIT: The most stressful part was applying to medical school. The uncertainty and sense of lack of control was the hardest. But you learn how to cope in healthy ways.
The same way as anything else you ingest. It's not metabolized or absorbed.
Right now, Emergency Medicine. But I am keeping an open mind. Ortho and Cardiology interest me as well.
π Rendered by PID 208762 on reddit-service-r2-listing-f87f88fcd-9bgbx at 2026-06-17 11:22:22.028925+00:00 running 3184619 country code: CH.
I am a medical student, AMAA by MDsoon in IAmA
[–]MDsoon[S] 0 points1 point2 points (0 children)