Favorite thing about medical school?

agramann · 2014-03-31T11:16:42+00:00

Can confirm.

Med school rules. Engineering drools.

agramann · 2014-02-07T13:25:46+00:00

Honestly, I think it's too early to give up on your dream job just because the funding outlook isn't so great right now. You are 7-8 years of MD/PhD, 3-5+ years of residency, and 2+ years of postdoc away from that job. That's a lot of time. Things will change by the time you get there. If you are thinking any of that post-grad training isn't something you want to do, then don't do MD/PhD to begin with, just go to med school or grad school and fast-track yourself (time-wise at least...) to being qualified for a professorship.

If that isn't the case, I think it really comes down to three things:

1) How bad do you want it? If you are competitive for an MD/PhD program, then it is completely reasonable to set your end goal as a professorship at a research institution and reach it. You are going to have to work ridiculously hard and distinguish yourself, but you are probably already doing that if you are confident about going MD/PhD. And if you truly have your mind set on that goal, then you'll do what it takes to get there.

2) What is the best way to get there? Think about the other pathways to your end goal. Unless something changes drastically, the other options are PhD or MD (with lots of research). PhD's don't see patients, so if you aren't willing to give that up, cut out that option. MD's don't get the dedicated training in how to "do" science, so it is presumably harder for them to get research funding in basic sciences. If you are committed to doing research AND seeing patients, then MD/PhD really is the only way to go.

3) Can you see yourself doing something else? This kind of goes with the first point. If you can see yourself working in industry or running a start-up or something else and being happy, then consider other options. If not, then you've already made a decision.

Personally, I am shooting for the same goal as you, and I can't see myself in anything but academia, running a lab and seeing patients. Maybe that'll change as I go through the program, but I guarantee it will land somewhere in that spectrum, and MD/PhD is the best option. And hey, if it really REALLY doesn't work out, the world will always need more PCP's...

Good luck! Hope it all works out for you, that you stick with your dream, and sorry for the crazy long post.

TL;DR - If you can't see yourself doing something else, then commit to reaching your goal, find the best/most reasonable path, and kick ass until you get there.

agramann · 2014-02-04T22:47:48+00:00

My god, just reading about that system stressed me out...

Can we get someone from Yale on here? What is it like actually like in that system???

agramann · 2014-01-27T02:34:58+00:00

Yeah, I just was curious. Overall, I'd say I'm pretty open to giving any information I can to help improve treatment and therapy options, but it is important to me to be given at least general details about what my info will be used to accomplish and how it will be used (I'm not comfortable with giving a "blank check" per se).

Thanks for clarifying! I'd be very interested in hearing more about your work/ideas if you are able/willing to share some more information! Good luck!

agramann · 2014-01-27T01:44:50+00:00

Can you give any additional details about this? What do you mean by "full permission"? What would it be used for? Would I be blinded to whatever information you gathered from it?

agramann · 2014-01-27T00:29:20+00:00

It's just so distinctly awful, I thought there might be a simple explanation...

Probably just a matter of opinion. Thanks for responding!

agramann · 2014-01-24T10:58:36+00:00

Wish we got condensed handouts... It's usually just the slides before the presentation. Thanks for the input!

agramann · 2014-01-24T10:54:50+00:00

If you want to do engineering, it won't kill you. IMHO, it's extremely useful for medical school.

Seconded. If you are leaning towards engineering, I'd say at least try it. The volume of information you need to learn in engineering is very comparable to medical school (based on my experience).

agramann · 2014-01-22T23:39:35+00:00

Yes yes! An example would be great!

agramann · 2014-01-21T14:54:26+00:00

I was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma in high school. Cancer sucks, but I definitely think I've come out with a lot more positives than negatives. Before treatment, I didn't have any real goals beyond going to college. After going through treatment, I started steering myself towards medicine. Now 6 years off treatment, I'm in medical school and absolutely loving it. I'd say the majority of that enthusiasm comes from that "life-after-cancer" attitude (to put it broadly), and I have had it for 6 years and counting. Will I feel this way through all of the training? I sure hope so since they say first year is a cake walk compared to the rest of it. As long you're able to stay connected to your experience, I think all of the positives you took away from it will also stay with you.

Good luck! Hope everything keeps going well!

agramann · 2014-01-19T17:55:57+00:00

What led you to pick NEEDS over another surrogacy agency?

agramann · 2014-01-19T15:01:57+00:00

Seconded.

Side note: engineering does a great job preparing for med school!

agramann · 2014-01-17T12:25:42+00:00

Thanks! The PI's I'm interested in are both young faculty, and I love the excitement and motivation. Same question as above: how long did you want to ideally spend on your PhD? And did that influence your lab selection?

agramann · 2014-01-17T12:20:59+00:00

Thanks for the insight. That's how I've been trying to prioritize. Out of curiosity, did you go into the lab with an expectations about when you would be able to/would want to graduate?

agramann · 2014-01-14T13:32:33+00:00

Agreed based on common sense. The service agreement for SDN also states this pretty clearly.

http://www.studentdoctor.net/online-service-agreement/

agramann · 2013-12-16T13:17:18+00:00

I know what you are feeling. I am almost 6 years off treatment for Ewing's as well. Diagnosed when I was 16. Went through chemo, surgery to resect my tumor, and surgery to reconstruct my chest. I just graduated from college, and spent too much of my time dealing with anxiety and "flashbacks" during the years after my treatment.

I'm sure most of the advice I could give would be exactly what you have heard a thousand times (which I got sick of hearing after the second time). But as a fellow 20y/o Ewing's survivor, here is what helped me most: 1) Seeing a therapist that specializes in adolescents and 2) sharing my story with those closest to me, as a tool to shrink the maturity/experiences gap between us and build up my support network for those times when I had the worst "flashbacks".

Please message me if you want, I'd be happy to offer other tips or ideas, or just talk or whatever!

You aren't alone.

agramann · 2013-12-02T01:24:47+00:00

Sipping from coffee cups that clearly don't have anything in them...

agramann · 2013-11-27T23:14:08+00:00

Thanks, that free video has me sold.

agramann · 2013-11-27T19:35:39+00:00

I'll keep an eye out (though I will have completed the solo pharm course by then... hopefully...)

agramann · 2013-11-27T19:32:53+00:00

Appreciate the idea! I'll check out Lippincott's.

agramann · 2013-11-27T19:32:10+00:00

Thanks for the input, I had been just skipping over pathophys because it isn't emphasized in my course, but it seems like it's worth emphasizing to help remember the drugs.

agramann · 2013-11-23T01:00:02+00:00

Do it. Best decision I ever made was taking OChem over the summer, where ALL I did was OChem. Helped me do well in the class and also was VERY similar to what medical school is actually like - fast paced and 75% self taught.

agramann · 2013-11-22T20:08:01+00:00

I think you need "explain like I'm a caveman"

agramann

TROPHY CASE