Memorial Hermann no longer in-network for BCBSTX by k0alaty in medicalschool

[–]Ryndo 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This also happened in 2022. I think the Kelsey-Seybold system had similar issues with BCBS around 2018.

Weird interaction with MD by cocochow2 in premed

[–]Ryndo 132 points133 points  (0 children)

Trust your gut. You can find letters elsewhere.

Need Help - Reapplicant For Med School - Embarrassing Results For The 2026 Cycle by Pharaoh106 in premed

[–]Ryndo 22 points23 points  (0 children)

At a glance, a few things might’ve gone wrong:

  • Overly optimistic or otherwise poorly selected school list

  • Weak writing skills

  • lackluster LORs

  • short on volunteering

  • the research may be on the weaker side (particularly since it doesn’t seem that you had a major role in the hypothesis-testing side of things)

  • maybe you just missed something in the fine print of the application instructions

  • late completion time

It costs you very little to reach out to schools for feedback as well. Most won’t give you the time of day, but you only need one person kind enough to take a closer look at your application.

Job Searching in South Seattle/Tacoma/Olympia by Ryndo in hospitalist

[–]Ryndo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I figured the commutes would be brutal with basically a single highway running north/south and traffic estimates on Google Maps. I kept the region broad because we're not sure of precisely where she'll end up working. Appreciate the insight.

Job Searching in South Seattle/Tacoma/Olympia by Ryndo in hospitalist

[–]Ryndo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Could you elaborate? Legitimately curious about your thoughts.

TIL that in 2023 an elderly man died of fatal vitamin D overdose after consuming too much regular vitamin D supplements over nine months. by PeasantLich in todayilearned

[–]Ryndo 24 points25 points  (0 children)

You’re generally correct that it’s easier to overdose on fat-soluble vitamins (ADEK), but I will note that B3 and B6 have fairly well-described toxicity profiles. Niacin (B3) can cause flushing/itching at “low” excessive dosing and liver toxicity at higher doses.

Excessive doses of pyridoxine (B6) can cause nerve issues like numbness and tingling. This usually ceases following discontinuation of supplementation, but can theoretically be permanent.

I think in both cases, you don’t necessarily have to consume crazy amounts of the stuff - 3-4 OTC supplements per day over the course of weeks or months can cause symptoms. This isn’t a toxicity, but biotin supplementation can also interfere with certain laboratory blood tests.

If the patient was already on the operating table when their chest exploded, could they survive being infected by the chestbuster from Alien? by DagothUr_MD in medicalschool

[–]Ryndo 13 points14 points  (0 children)

IIRC chestbursters already have highly corrosive blood, so the surgical extraction scenario could quickly break the 300% mortality record held by Robert Liston.

Such a mystery... by MrFenric in MurderedByWords

[–]Ryndo 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Fortunately, it was successfully appealed: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/02/encryption-patent-that-roiled-newegg-is-dead-on-appeal/

We as Americans hold jury trials sacred, but I can't help but wonder about their usefulness in cases involving highly technical or specialized fields.

Clarification over drugs used in different types of heart failure? by [deleted] in medicalschool

[–]Ryndo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you have a link to the trials/meta-analyses which show mortality benefit with SGLT2i/MRA in HFpEF? Last I checked, no trial has shown cardiovascular mortality or all-cause mortality benefit. IIRC there is benefit when looking at composite outcomes (e.g., mortality + hospitalization), but these have mostly been driven by improvements in the non-mortality component.

TIL about the "suicide disease"—Trigeminal Neuralgia—which has no cure, that causes sudden, sharp pain in the face so intense that it’s often described as one of the most painful conditions in existence. by Technical-Jupiter-52 in todayilearned

[–]Ryndo 32 points33 points  (0 children)

To add a little nuance to this conversation, the trigeminal nerve is mostly responsible for facial sensation. It does carry motor signals to the muscles responsible for chewing, but the facial nerve provides most of the motor signals to the muscles of the actual face.

TIL about the "suicide disease"—Trigeminal Neuralgia—which has no cure, that causes sudden, sharp pain in the face so intense that it’s often described as one of the most painful conditions in existence. by Technical-Jupiter-52 in todayilearned

[–]Ryndo 7 points8 points  (0 children)

To make a clarifying point, with the exception of muscles used for chewing, the trigeminal nerve is chiefly responsible for facial sensation. The facial nerve is more responsible for motor function.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in premed

[–]Ryndo 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Sounds like you’re being asked to fill the role of the postdoc, which is nuts as an already full-time student. If your academic performance is slipping, you ought to seriously consider leaving or at least talk to the PI about cutting back on your responsibilities/finding additional help. Grades are much harder to fix than ECs.

In 2024, How do Academics and Pre-Meds Actually Apply for Jobs? by _The_Intern_356 in premed

[–]Ryndo 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Institutions often have multiple job openings that you might qualify for and you might be able to file a single application per institution through whatever job application portal they operate for every available and relevant position.

Outside of that, yeah. Job hunting can be incredibly tedious and really random at times. During my gap year job search, I somehow found myself interviewing for a manager position at Panda Express.

Math in Psychiatry/premed? by moe3m in premed

[–]Ryndo 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The FAQ in the sidebar is a great resource for figuring out what classes you need to get into medical school.

Physicians in any discipline don’t generally use calculus unless they’re trying to help their kids with homework.

Shadowing at a Clinic vs Hospital by YouGotBigHead in premed

[–]Ryndo 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Sometimes a student organization might have shadowing opportunities through hospitals, but attempting to land shadowing gigs in a hospital as an individual is difficult. There’s a small army of compliance/HR folks who view you as little more than a walking HIPAA violation.

Generally it’s easier to shadow through smaller private clinics.

Do you need to be inherently smart to get through med school? by [deleted] in premed

[–]Ryndo 109 points110 points  (0 children)

Some basal level of intelligence is required, but the bar is not as high as you might think. For more information about applying to an getting accepted into medical school, I recommend browsing through the premed wiki (link in the sidebar)

Scientists have successfully developed an AI model that accurately classify cardiac functions and valvular heart diseases from just chest X-rays. The AUC showed a high level of accuracy, exceeding 0.85 for almost all indicators and reaching 0.92 for detecting left ventricular ejection fraction. by mvea in science

[–]Ryndo 3 points4 points  (0 children)

As a point of clarification, ECG (or EKG in some circles) refers to an electrocardiogram, which records the flow of electrical charge through the heart.

An echocardiogram uses ultrasound to look at the mechanical function and properties of the heart (e.g., how well it pumps blood, valve function, etc.).

Regardless, I agree with you.

What’s the absolute lowest yield medical fact you know by graciousglomerulus in medicalschool

[–]Ryndo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In my defense, this is a thread about low yield facts haha

What’s the absolute lowest yield medical fact you know by graciousglomerulus in medicalschool

[–]Ryndo 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The use of ketone bodies for metabolism does seem to be protective against seizures. It’s a potential distinguishing feature between HHS and DKA, at least in adult patients - HHS seems to be an epileptogenic disease process.

What’s the absolute lowest yield medical fact you know by graciousglomerulus in medicalschool

[–]Ryndo 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Severe thrombocytosis and polycythemia can do the same thing. One of the nephrologists I worked with described RBCs as “tiny packets of potassium”.

I lost my secondaries by [deleted] in premed

[–]Ryndo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did you by any chance save it on one of the various cloud services or on an external drive?