January 2012
3 posts
“I wanted surgery during the summer because I didn’t have good air...”
– My research advisor, on her rationale for choosing third year rotation schedules. Did I mention that I love her?
“The state has a right to [ban contraception], I have never questioned that the...”
– Rick Santorum in New Hampshire today (via lenachen)
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO how is this not too much government intrusion into my life?
2012!
This school year has absolutely flown by. 2012 heralds the beginning of hard-core studying for Step 1 of the USMLE (“big scary doctor test”, as one of my classmates put it), planning for third year (responsibility for real patients, no joke), a publication at some point, and lots of confusion about that MPH part of my MD/MPH program (so when do we have class??). Even though I’m...
December 2011
1 post
Childhood obesity is declining in NY?! →
No way. This is amazing! Although considering the numerous policies and campaigns (1, 2, 3) that the health department has enacted in recent years, I guess one could also say, “It’s about time!”
November 2011
2 posts
Perfect study break →
We’re studying Microbiology/Infectious Disease right now and somehow the guys over at Radiolab knew and made this just for me. Right?
During our Hematology/Oncology unit last month (and it was an ugly, grueling month), my study breaks often involved reading a few pages from The Emperor of All Maladies. I like being able to step back and see the big picture narrative. It reminds me that...
"Wal-Mart wants to be your doctor." →
Walmart wants to become the nation’s biggest provider of primary care. Primary care. As in long-term management of chronic conditions, not just flu shots and ear infections. Terrifying? Or brilliant? I’m more of the former opinion. I don’t see how a Walmart super center can ever serve as a proper medical home for patients with chronic diseases and multiple comorbidities, and I...
September 2011
2 posts
1 tag
It's awkward...
When friends and family members ask you for medical advice and they are UNINSURED. Or, you know, just hate doctors. More on this later.
1 tag
Public health student syndrome
So it’s well-known, or at least commonly joked about, that med students will inevitably develop a hypochondria from spending so much time studying rare but horrible diseases. But I feel like the things I learn in public health are so much more terrifying. There should be a public health student syndrome. For example, today we talked about how common lead-based paints are, especially in old...
August 2011
4 posts
Dear Congress,
You suck. Thanks for making the financial aid situation for graduate students even worse. And when even fewer people from my class enter primary care because their debt is that much greater now, we will all know whom to thank.
I would come up with something more mature than “You suck”, but my brain is SO fried right now, and you probably don’t deserve anything more polite...
2 tags
“My inability to promise a life with you, as your wife, does not stem from a lack...”
– From a letter from Ophelia Dahl to Paul Farmer, excerpted from Tracy Kidder’s Mountains Beyond Mountains.
Speaks for itself, really. I don’t know Paul Farmer or his life, but for me, this letter will always exemplify the struggle between pursuing your passion and meeting the needs of...
WatchThe video version of Atul Gawande’s New Yorker article, “The Hot Spotters.”
Doctor x3... whaaaaat? →
Last Friday I picked up a new mentor at Tufts and a recommendation to look into triple board residency programs. Dr. Sargent, the director of Child and Adolescent Psych at Tufts, is himself triple board certified in pediatrics, child psych, and adult psych, although he did it the inefficient way, by doing multiple training programs sequentially. The triple board residency is a five-year...
July 2011
2 posts
The physiology of big hearts
Since last Thursday, I’ve been thinking a lot about kindness and compassion and what makes someone, say, dedicate his whole career to caring for Boston’s homeless populations. Last week I heard Dr. Jim O’Connell speak about his work at Boston Health Care for the Homeless. I was at a community outreach/networking event for National Health Service Corps (NHSC) participants, alumni,...
3 tags
“i definitely agree that you take on too much and i think that you worry too much...”
– An excerpt from an email from my absurdly wise friend Daniel. Good things for me to remember, from time to time.
June 2011
4 posts
Interesting experience of the week →
I’m applying to this scholarship for underrepresented minorities in medicine, and one of the things I have to furnish is verification that my father has indeed died. So now I’m going through the exciting and brand new adventure that is obtaining a death certificate from the State of California.
Part-time physicians are a drain on society, I... →
This article’s been making the rounds the past week or so, so it’s already been discussed to death. Here are my two cents anyway. I generally agree with the idea that medicine is a career of service, one which requires more dedication and sacrifice than your run-of-the-mill job. But I also took great offense at some of the things that Dr. Sibert wrote, and her take on the workforce...
Marketing and carrots →
What I took away from this: baby carrots were invented in the 90s?! Crazy. Actually, it mostly just reminded me of a case we read this year in my budgeting and management class, about Disney going into the vegetable business. The company actually bought farms and started breeding smaller, sweeter fruit that would better appeal to kids’ palates. Not a particularly sustainable solution to...
Summer?
Since school ended on the cusp of Memorial Day weekend, I have been halfway across the world and back, witnessed a holy union, navigated the large and astounding bureaucracy of an elite teaching hospital, and gotten very friendly with a lot of data and a new statistical software package. Phew. Oh, and lost two really good friends to new stages in their lives. For some reason, this guy wants to...
May 2011
2 posts
On social mobility
First, some replies on Facebook to a previous post:
From my friend Hans:
The natural tendency of humans to self-segregate is why this classism occurs - the university gives one a sense of fraternity, which stands in opposition to the fraternity of being poor. In other words, to join one is to leave the other. Even in the case of the poor intellectual, there is a separation between her and the...
Last summer of my life
People in medicine are often both brutally cynical and obscenely optimistic at the same time. (I think it’s a survival mechanism.) Anyway, they keep telling me that this is going to be the last summer of my life, so I’m trying to make it a good one. I recently finally found a project for my primary care research fellowship, and I’m really excited about it. I’ll be...
March 2011
1 post
“The current model of “class-mobility” reinforces separatism and a...”
– Megan Lee: “Maybe I’m Not Class-Mobile; Maybe I’m Class-Queer”, from the anthology Feminism For Real: Deconstructing The Academic Industrial Complex of Feminism. Quoted at Racialicious, March 8, 2011.
...
January 2011
4 posts
Random thought
I’m writing a paper for a public health class, and my topic is mental health in children of immigrant parents. Sometimes I worry that I’m secretly a narcissist because my interests in public health have deep roots in personal experience. Then again, who better to solve a social problem than those who know it best? Anyway, that’s not the random thought. My random thought is that...
The Sharewood Project →
How I keep myself sane and motivated to push through medical school.
If you need to buy something on Amazon, please use the referral link on the Sharewood website! We get a donation worth 6% of your purchase, and you don’t have to do anything other than click on the link. Pretty amazing.
2 tags
What makes someone a real doctor?
A recent Ethics and Professionalism small group discussion has got me wondering, “What makes a real doctor, anyway?” Part of our discussion centered around placebos and whether it is ethical for physicians to knowingly provide treatments that probably don’t have a direct biochemical effect. (Note the many qualifiers in that sentence.) Someone made the assertion that doing so...
2 tags
1/8 MD!
First semester of first year. Over! I can’t believe how quickly it went by. I feel like I always get asked, “How’s school?” Always. And I honestly never really know what to say, because actually, I’m often not really sure how well it’s all going. I reflexively say something generic (“Good!”) and change the subject (or, more awkwardly, say nothing...
December 2010
3 posts
in-differences asked: Do you have any advice for those who are aspiring to attend medical school tobecome physicians?
Any regrets during your undergraduate career?
What would you have done differently if you had the chance?
Your tumblr is very unique and I enjoy browsing through your posts every now and then.
Any regrets during your undergraduate career?
What would you have done differently if you had the chance?
Your tumblr is very unique and I enjoy browsing through your posts every now and then.
1 tag
Futility in medicine
As a first-year medical student, most of my thoughts these days naturally revolve around various issues in medicine. I’m discovering that I have an unusual distrust of the health care system. Ironic, right? Compared to my classmates, I’m probably a lot more skeptical about a physician’s ability to really make a difference in a patient’s life. Now don’t get me wrong:...
4 tags
Some thoughts on our two-tiered health care...
It’s 8 AM, and though the health fair doesn’t begin for another hour, there is already a long line of people standing outside the pavilion. The air is filled with chatter, mostly in Spanish and Vietnamese. Everyone is waiting for the chance to get a flu shot and check their heart health. Many haven’t been to a doctor in years; some have never gone before in their lives. And even...
October 2010
2 posts
Indignant thought of the day
I haven’t had much time or opportunity for original thought these days (I know, it’s sad), but here’s one I had today: When did we decide that surgery is more complex or difficult than primary care? We talked about this today in my public health class, and much of the discussion was sort of lighthearted devil’s advocate playing for the sake of being controversial, but...
3 tags
September 2010
1 post
5 tags
On becoming a physician... all over the world
It’s three weeks into my first year of medical school (and one weekend away from my first exam!), and amidst meeting new people, readjusting to life back in Boston, and remembering how to be a full-time student again, I’ve been thinking a lot about this whole experience. You know, that whole med school thing. Medicine is a demanding career to pursue in any country—to become a...
August 2010
1 post
Medical school without the dreaded 3 →
I haven’t yet had time to organize my thoughts about this (and actually lots of other things, too) since I’ve been busy packing and socializing with California friends one last time before I move (back) to Boston next week. Expect a lull in posts as I settle in. Medical school, here I come!
July 2010
5 posts
Communication
I went to visit a relative in the hospital yesterday, and the experience reminded me of how challenging my future job is going to be. My aunt had had her gallbladder removed, and it was really interesting to listen to my uncle explain to my mom and cousin what had happened in the past couple of weeks. When we came home, it was even more interesting to listen to my mother explain to my stepfather...
More on the soul of medicine
This NYT magazine article came out a few weeks ago, but I only had a chance to read it this past week since I’ve been gallivanting around in Spain and Morocco. The author writes about her father’s long struggle with disability and declining health at the end of his life and the impact of this struggle on her mother’s life. The story briefly goes like this: he has a stroke and...
2 tags
High yield health policy
It should be illegal for providers to charge different people different amounts of money for the same procedure. My labs should cost the same amount if I pay out of pocket directly to the diagnostic company or if I pay out of pocket but provide my insurance card so that the cost gets applied to my deductible. RIDICULOUS.
Also see: Don’t you have health insurance?
1 tag
Dr. Donald Berwick appointed to head CMS! →
Dr. Berwick is the former president and CEO of the non-profit Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Broadly speaking, IHI is about changing health care systems to improve delivery, patient outcome, and patient safety. Read more about their work here. I’m really excited about this—IHI is one of the few organizations out there looking for (and applying) systematic solutions to improve...
June 2010
3 posts
2 tags
“Doctors and scientists, we are all in the survival business, but we are also in...”
– From Atul Gawande’s 2010 commencement address at Stanford School of Medicine. Yes, that’s right. This is what I get to do! And I can’t wait.
Hot off the presses →
Yesterday and today, I attended the California Wellness Foundation’s annual conference on increasing the diversity of California’s health care workforce. This year’s keynote speaker, Dr. Fitzhugh Mullan, spoke about his recently published rankings of the nation’s allopathic and osteopathic medical schools.
Check out the top and bottom twenty schools. What do you think was...
1 tag
Don't you have health insurance?
Before I can begin medical school, I have to prove that I am immune against and/or do not currently have: measles, mumps, rubella, chicken pox (AKA varicella), tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, hepatitis B, tuberculosis, and polio. I think that’s it. Unfortunately this isn’t as simple as submitting a copy of my immunization records. I’m required to submit lab results showing that I...
May 2010
4 posts
2 tags
Watch
I fully believe that everyone who wants an education should have the opportunity to get one, but the for-profit model is not the answer. We can’t just give a degree to anyone who decides to sign up for one. I am the first to say that we are failing as a society to provide adequate opportunities to non-traditional, disadvantaged students, but it is ridiculous to saddle educational debt on...
4 tags
WatchI found this talk really interesting, and his argument has special relevance to determining compensation for teachers and doctors. Mr. Pink discusses studies of financial incentives and problem-solving abilities and argues that simply offering large salaries to people is actually harmful to job performance. It’s not that getting paid well is not important, but rather after a certain point,...
5 tags
$82,000 and some change.
That is the total cost (tuition + living expenses) of a year of study at the nation’s most expensive medical school. If I end up there, I will graduate with about $300,000 of debt. Yikes.
Last month, I spent a week or so literally in a panic over these numbers. Most people in this country don’t make that much money in a year. Everyone that I talked to told me not to worry because I...
6 tags
Santa Clara County bans Happy Meals
Or so the headlines said. Too bad they’re not exactly accurate. Last week the Board of Supervisors voted to ban restaurants from giving out toys with kids’ meals that don’t meet certain nutritional standards. This decision has received a fair amount of media attention and riled up the “personal responsibility” activists. Ironically, the ban’s reach is very...
March 2010
4 posts
7 tags
Getting paid to go to medical school
On most days, I am really excited about the fact that I’m going to medical school next year. On other days, I fixate on the fact that medical school is going to put me at least $200,000 in debt. That number freaks me out. In fact, that number was probably the greatest deterrent to medical school for me. I almost went down the nurse practitioner route to avoid accruing that much debt....
5 tags
You all know anyway
The health care bill passed! Though we are still a long way from real changes to the system that will lead to 1. better access 2. higher quality care and 3. lower spending. The latter two will take even more time and will probably take place under less scrutiny and bitter political wrangling. I hope to be a part of that process. Soon!
3 tags
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More medical schools, more doctors... a good... →
As a current applicant to medical school in the US, it’s heartening to hear that there will be more spots for the qualified candidates who are increasingly being turned away from medicine each year. As someone who plans to go into primary care and is keenly aware of the, err, uneven distribution of human, financial, and technological resources throughout our medical system, I’m...
February 2010
2 posts
3 tags
More to chew on re: disparities in education. →
Another NYT article, this one about college drop out rates.
The kinds of facts that keep me up at night:
“About half of low-income students with a high school grade-point average of at least 3.5 and an SAT score of at least 1,200 do not attend the best college they could have. Many don’t even apply. Some apply but don’t enroll.
…
In effect, well-off students — many of whom will...
7 tags
Latino and African-American families do not value... →
I don’t know why I read people’s comments on articles; they invariably make me want to vomit. This linked article is about the elite public high schools in NYC and how the exam-based admissions system (predictably) yields incredibly un-diverse student populations. I am ranting about the myriad comments that suggest that Latino and black students do not do well, cannot compete, do not...