TMJ Show - TheMDJourney Podcast

How do you wake up early for school and still feel amazing? It’s not easy to wake up as early as 5 AM in the morning and not feel tired somewhere in the day. It can seem like a big chore that never gets to your list of morning routines, especially if you’re not a morning person. But getting out of bed early can be a morning life hack that helps jumpstart your productivity. It would be big not only...

How do you stop multi-tasking and become 10X productive in med school? You don’t have to be doctor, med student, pre-med or be involved in medicine to learn about multi-tasking and its supposed “benefits.” You might even know someone who is a multitasking machine and finds it effective.  But, what if multi-tasking is a myth and actually kills your productivity, ruins your time management, and actu...

How Do Med Students Use First Aid For USMLE Step 1? In med school, First Aid may be considered as both helpful and useless. That’s why it’s understandable some students become unsure on how to incorporate the resource in their study process and planning.  One key study tip I can give you is using it to make your own flashcards. It will help build retention and give you another piece of personal re...

How do you stop wasting time on your phone? There are so many distractions while studying in med school- movies, tv, social media, hobbies, you name it! These can all can suck up a lot of your time and motivation to study, and can lead to even more procrastination.  These days, a lot of that is brought about by our phones. There’s so much time wasted on the internet, social media, Netflix and othe...

How do you know what’s high-yield and get higher grades in medical school? During your pre-med days, it’s okay to not have the barometer to know what’s high-yield and what’s not. But, having the skill surely helps address the concern on how to survive medical school. For med students, there are a lot of materials and information out there that can help in acing med school and getting high grades....

Want to know how to become a top student in medical school? After your premed days of researching and strategizing ways to get into med school and get through admissions, you finally got to where you want to be. But the journey to becoming a doctor does not end here. Sometimes, what got you to become a medical student does not take you all the way to becoming a physician let alone be at the top of...

There’s so much to talk about being a cardiologist as it is one of the most in-demand physician careers in our time. How do you become a cardiologist? How long does it take to do cardiology? What is a cardiology career and lifestyle like? How much do they get paid? Personally, as an internal medicine resident, I have taken a lot of interest in the field and even consider becoming one. But like any...

How do you become more productive in medical school and which ways are backed by science? When someone imagines a day in the life of a med student, it is very fair to think about a lot of studying, flashcard making, review groups, and just a lot of work! Whether those sessions are productive and students have been motivated to study are the real questions. If not, you’re just putting in a lot of h...

How much money do doctors make in the US? Pre-meds and medical school students have a lot of reasons why they pursue a career in medicine and want to become doctors. Helping people and making a difference in the world are some of the more common reasons. Another huge motivating factor is the salary! It’s no secret that physicians and surgeons are high up there in terms of compensation. But what ot...

It’s no secret how critical Step 1 is for medical students. So it does beg the question, how many weeks should you spend studying for it? Step 1 of the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) is undoubtedly one of the much-feared exams of any med student who is at the onset of his/her medical journey.  There’s a lot of resources and guidelines out there on how you can build a good Step 1 stud...

What are the best pre-med study strategies to help you get high marks in college? Getting good grades, and possibly straight A’s, is a great incentive in itself, but to find out how to study in college better, strategy-wise, is even more exceptional.  But it’s not just about grades because the effective study habits you pick up during your pre-med days may still benefit you going into medical scho...

Is getting into medical school synonymous with choosing biology in college? Is bio really the best pre-med major to improve my chances of becoming a med student in a top institution? If you want to become a doctor, we’ve told that it can sometimes start with the degree you choose in college. Future med students or anyone wanting to pursue medicine strategize what pre-med degree to take to get to t...

There are 5 healthy habits that really changed my life as a doctor. In this video, we’ll talk about some life changing habits that tap into your health, morning routine, learning efficiency, and even dealing with the sleepy afternoons But beyond just sharing these healthy habits, I want to make sure you can get started thinking about yours. I don’t want you to have regrets thinking that you picked...

There’s a lot of memorization in med school so students often asked me which ones are the best memorization techniques. Medical school may give you a realization that some study habits no longer work after your pre-med days. Unfortunately, there are cases where you have to unlearn and relearn learning and studying on the fly by the time you get here. Memorization is one of those skills that will t...

What are the tablets worth having for medical school? The gadget and smart device toolbox of medical students can range from iPhones, MacBooks, Smart notebooks, and so on. One thing that may not get as much attention is tablets. There are tons of tablets out there such Samsung, Microsoft Surface, and of course, Ipads. They are super convenient for taking notes, viewing lectures, listening to podca...

How many medical schools should I apply to? When premed students start thinking about medical school admissions and forming a medical school application timeline, one perplexing decision to make is how many med schools to consider applying to. There are A LOT of things to take into account and nobody has the same preferences and criteria in choosing. There are personal and professional considerati...

Can you have a life in medical school? Med school can seem like a place where you can kiss your hobbies and social life goodbye! At least that’s what new med students and pre-meds think as they wonder how to navigate the medical school maze. We are so used to hearing medical students talk about sleep deprivation, late-night group study sessions, and their never-ending reading list. But this is not...

What is the ideal study schedule of a medical student? How should my weekend and weekday study schedule look like? Should I study for medical exams and boards the same way as lectures? Do I continue my weekday study routine on weekends? There are so many questions about building a schedule and a timetable in medical school. Likewise, there are so many ways to frame them.  But, in this new episode...

When should you start using UWORLD for Step 1? First year or second year of medical school? Early during pre-med? After dedicated prep? I get asked a lot about UWORLD and while I do recommend using this very helpful resource for your USMLE Step 1 prep, choosing the best time when to start using it may be troubling.  So, in this episode, I talk about when to best use this popular question bank for...

Med students need to learn tons of skills to help them adapt quickly and thrive in medical school. It’s great if a pre-med has developed some of these skills early on, but I’ve seen med students from first to fourth year (and even up to residency) still needing to work on these areas. In my years of experience as a resident doctor now, I learned that there are 5 indispensable skills medical studen...

Wondering what the life of a Caribbean Medical student is like and how he avoids burnout? In this episode of the TMJ show, we are joined by Dr. Tommy Martin, an internal medicine-pediatric medical resident (med-peds). We talk about how not studying for the MCAT turned out, being a Caribbean medical student in St. George’s, how much helping medical students means to him, how he avoids burnout, bein...

Some small things can really make a difference in med school. If you are a med student or a pre-med, you are about to appreciate how impactful the little things can be in your journey to become a doctor. But these small things are not just purely medical-related or just reading and memorizing textbooks 24/7.  Sometimes, what can make the difference are the things you do outside of the student doct...

How do you review medical materials quickly? There are a lot of “how to study” and “how to learn” tips, guides, and techniques for med students out there. But when there’s not enough time to review, things get a little bit harder. Because of that, I thought of giving you not only actual suggestions but an inside look into my quick review process minute by minute. I also introduce some of the tools...

I found many interesting med school-related questions online. So, I decided to play medical school consultant and go over some of them. Med students do have a lot on their plate from dealing with finances, figuring out the best study methods, and working their hardest to not only meet but exceed the med school standards.  I dealt with the same things so I know it can be tough and confusing. This i...

COVID-19 has affected the medical world in many ways and one recent development involves the new doctors to joining the workforce. Several US states have decided to allow senior med students to graduate early in order to join the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.  Yet, this makes not only the new graduates but also residents as well as many others involved in training them learn the ropes fa...