Med School Uncensored

Table Of Contents

CONTENTS

Introduction: Interview with a Pre-Med | 1

PART I. THE PREMEDICAL YEARS
1. Why Go to Med School?: Time for Some Soul Searching | 6
2. Getting Into Med School: Easier Said Than Done | 19
3. Med School Flavors: M.D., D.O., and Caribbean | 38
4. Accepted: “It Costs How Much to Become a Doctor?” | 49

PART II. MEDICAL SCHOOL
5. Starting Med School: First Day of Summer Camp! | 60
6. Relationship Advice: Med School Years | 66
7. Stereotypes and Specialties: Jocks, Nine-to-Fivers, Geniuses, and Do-Gooders | 73
8. Gross Anatomy: Coffee and Formaldehyde | 80
9. Preclinical Years: Drinking from a Fire Hydrant | 84
10. Last Summer of Your Life: Research, Missions, Travel, or Booze? | 91
11. USMLE Step 1: Choose Your Career! | 98
12. Short White Coat: Now You’re a Real Doctor (Almost) | 110
13. Dual-Degree Programs: Outlets for Overachievers | 118
14. Medicine Wards: Rounding, Admissions, and Discharge Summaries | 122
15. Surgery and the OR: Life as a Sleepless Human Retractor | 131
16. USMLE Step 2 CK: “But I Really Want to Be a Dermatologist!” | 138
17. USMLE Step 2 CS: “It Costs How Much to Prove I Speak English?” | 142
18. Applying to Residency: Black Friday for the Airline Industry | 146
19. Match Day: Beginning of the End | 155
20. Graduation: Now You’re Really a Doctor (Almost) | 158

PART III. RESIDENCY AND FELLOWSHIP
21. Tricky Terminology: The Confusing Language of Residency | 162
22. Starting Intern Year: Shit Just Got Real | 168
23. USMLE Step 3: Nobody Cares—Really | 174
24. Starting Residency: “Now This Is Really What I Want to Do! Sort of . . .” | 176
25. Relationship Advice: Residency and Beyond | 186
26. Sleep and Hobbies: Apparently Not Required for Life | 191
27. Jolly Good Fellows: “Yes, Ma’am; May I Have Another?” | 198

PART IV. MEDICAL PRACTICE
28. Get a Job: Light at the End of the Tunnel | 206
29. Doctor Beware: Scams, Shams, and Shady Groups | 226
30. Specialty Boards: “It Costs How Much to Prove I Know Stuff?” | 233
31. Starting Your First Real Job: “Where’s My Attending?” | 237
32. Your First Attending Paycheck: “What Do I Do with This?” | 242
33. Continuing Medical Education: “It Costs How Much to Prove I Still Know Stuff?” | 250
34. When Things Go Wrong: Guilt, Sleepless Nights, and Malpractice Attorneys | 254
35. Occupational Hazard: Dealing with Death on a Daily Basis | 262

Epilogue: Many Grains of Salt | 269