The Premed Years

In today’s episode, Ryan and Allison talk about choosing a medical school, the thought processes behind why they chose the schools they applied to, and things you need to consider as you’re going through the process of figuring out where to go to. Links and Other Resources: Full Episode Blog Post USA Today  article: “ Poor people with diabetes more likely to lose a limb “ MSAR  (for MD schools) / ...

In today’s episode, I talk with Dr. Greg Polites. For his third time on the show, Greg talks about the dos and don’ts of writing personal statements and why students make  mistakes on personal statements . Links and Other Resources: Full Episode Blog Post Check out my book on personal statements,  The Premed Playbook: Guide to the Medical School Personal Statement . Check out my  Personal Statemen...

In today’s episode, I talk with Bryan from Next Step Test Prep about the changes made to the MCAT for 2015. Links and Other Resources Full Episode Blog Post Check out my book about the MCAT, co-written with Next Step Test Prep:  The Premed Playbook: Guide to the MCAT . Free MCAT Gift : Free 30+ page guide to help you maximize your MCAT score! Related podcast:  The MCAT Podcast , co-hosted with Nex...

In today’s episode, Ryan and Allison answer some questions that have been emailed to us over the last couple of months. This week, we touch on topics involving taking prerequisites at a community college, personal statements, volunteering opportunities, finding a mentor, choosing an undergrad school, and more Links and Other Resources: Full Episode Blog Post MSHQ 019: Interview with a Medical Scho...

In today’s episode, Ryan and Allison tackle the article on  KevinMD.com  called  “Why Premedical Students Need Liberal Arts”   written by Armaan Rowther. Rowther wrote this article based on a commencement speech given by Fareed Zakaria at Sarah Lawrence College. Links & Other Resources: Full Episode Blog Post KevinMD.com article, “ Why premedical students need the liberal arts “ Related Episode: ...

In today’s episode, Ryan and Allison talk about an article recently released in  The St. Louis Post-Dispatch  about some legislation being passed in Missouri where graduating medical students may be allowed to skip internship or residency and straightly go into practicing medicine. Links and Other Resources: Full Episode Blog Post Article about Assistant Physicians Malcolm Gladwell ‘s  Outliers: T...

In today’s episode, I talk with Alex Breslin, a premed student at the University of Florida studying biology. He started the UF  Dream Team , a nonprofit organization run by students where they volunteer with pediatric patients in the cardiac care unit at UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville. Links and Other Resources: Full Episode Blog Post Dream Team UF Facebook page . Related episode:  Entr...

With so much information on the Internet, it can be challenging to sort out the best and most trusted sources of information you need in your journey to medical school. Today we cover the top 10 premed resources students need to be going to for information. Links and Other Resources Full Episode Blog Post Related episode:  What I Wish Every Premed Student Would Know. Related episode:  Which MCAT M...

In today’s episode, Ryan and Allison review the  2014 Physician Compensation Report  from  Medscape . Every year,  Medscape.com  puts out a survey laying out various information including compensation based on different specialties, physician satisfaction, etc. with 24,000 physicians in 25 different specialties as respondents. Links and Other Resources: Full Episode Blog Post 2014 Medscape Physici...

In today’s episode, I talk with Danielle Ward as she shares about her own share of successes and failures on the path to medical school. Danielle was rejected from medical school twice. She also took the MCAT 4 times over 5 years to finally get an acceptance at the  Georgia Campus of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine . Links and Other Resources: Full Episode Blog Post Follow Danielle’s...

In today’s episode, Ryan talks with Tasheema Prince, founder of  Premed Life Magazine , as she shares about her decision to take a detour from medicine, how she went about with medical writing, the beginnings of PremedLife Magazine, and its partnership with the Premed Years Podcast. Links and Other Resources: Full Episode Blog Post Check out our partner magazine,  www.premedlife.com  to learn more...

Ryan and Allison talk about the dark side of medical education which starts in the premed world with “goners” as most people know them. Additionally, the Academic Medicine Journal published by the AAMC also released several articles talking about medical student mistreatment based on the responses to the medical school graduation questionnaire. Links and Other Resources: Full Episode Blog Post Aca...

In today’s episode, I talk with Ben Abney, a true nontraditional medical student. Ben sent in a 4,000-word email titled “How a 38-Year Old Active Duty Applicant with a Family and Average Scores Got into Medical School.” His hope is to help other people who may find themselves in a similar situation. Links and Other Resources Full Episode Blog Post Check out my  Premed Playbook  series of books (av...

In today’s episode, Ryan and Allison share some lessons they’ve learned which they hope to pass on to you as you go through your premedical or medical education so you can hold on to them once you’re practicing. Links and Other Resources: Full Episode Blog Post Session 062: Allison’s Story – When the Doctor Becomes the Patient Session 056: Taking Care of Patients in Today’s Electronic World Sessio...

In today’s episode, I have a heart-to-heart talk with you to hopefully put your mind at ease. “What are my chances of getting into medical school?” This is the question every premed student has. But this stressful question is ultimately a waste of your energy and time. Links and Other Resources Full Episode Blog Post AAMC Data on MCAT and GPA Related episode:  Why Do You Want to Be a Doctor? You N...

In today’s episode, I talk with Carrie, who is 36 years old as she is finishing her 1st year in medical school. Carrie shares with us her very nontraditional path into medicine, coming from a corporate world and being married with three daughters. She also talks about the power of surrounding herself with like-minded individuals through  OldPreMeds . Links and Other Resources Full Episode Blog Pos...

In today’s episode, Ryan talks with Jordan, a member of the  Academy  and a  nontraditional student  starting medical school this Fall. In his undergrad years, he was a student athlete and started as a premed. He tried looking into other career fields yet he kept coming back to medicine. Today, Jordan shares his experiences, why he ultimately decided to pursue medicine, and getting sidetracked aft...

In today’s episode, Ryan talks with Dr. Al Sandra, Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President of Development Sciences at  Biogen Idec  where he oversees clinical development in neurological and immunological diseases, global regulatory affairs, global safety and benefit risk management, global clinical development operations and biometrics. Links and Other Resources: Full Episode Blog Post If...

Ryan and Allison bust some myths and point out several inaccuracies in many TV doctor shows. They also paint some pictures of what real life is really like for a physician during residency and as an attending physician. Links and Other Resources: Full Episode Blog Post If you need any help with the medical school interview, go to  medschoolinterviewbook.com . Sign up and you will receive parts of...

In today’s episode, Ryan and Allison talk about family meetings, in line with last week’s podcast about end-of-life care, and specifically how you’re going to communicate that during a family meeting and how to best set up family meetings. Links and Other Resources: Full Episode Blog Post Session 69: Palliative Care – There is Always Something You Can Provide If you need any help with the medical...

In today’s episode, Ryan and Allison talk about end-of-life care, which can affect everybody in medicine, whichever point of the medical career path you’re in, especially as a resident and a practicing physician wherein you will be encountering patients who are moving forward or at their end-of-life that involves a lot of medical care that really needs to be addressed. Links and Other Resources: F...

Dr. Benjamin Chan is the Assistant Dean of Admissions at the University of Utah School of Medicine and currently works as an inpatient attending physician at the University of Utah Neuropsychiatric Institute (UNI). He is also the host of the podcast  Talking Admissions and Med Student Life . Links and Other Resources: Full Episode Blog Post Dr. Chan’s Bio University of Utah School of Medicine Chec...

In today’s episode, I talk with  Dr. Jose Cavazos , the Assistant Dean of the  MD/PhD Program at The University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio . He is also the Program Director for clinical neurophysiology (a fellowship in neurology). Links and Other Resources Full Episode Blog Post Check out my  Premed Playbook  series of books (available on  Amazon) , with installments on  the perso...

In this episode, Ryan talks with Cheri, an athlete in undergrad who went to Stanford Medical School and is currently in fellowship training at Harvard. Cheri is also an accomplished Paralympic wheelchair racer who has bagged a number of medals for our country. Links and Other Resources: Full Episode Blog Post Check out this YouTube video about Cheri:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZrqIGxhFt8 Ses...

In this episode, I talk with Alec Lee, a former premed and co-founder of M Prep. We discuss the most common MCAT questions they receive, including how many months and hours to study for the MCAT. Links and Other Resources Full Episode Blog Post Check out my  Premed Playbook  series of books (available on  Amazon) , with installments on  the personal statement ,  the medical school interview , and ...