Dr. Jossie Carreras Tartak is a physician currently completing her residency in Emergency Medicine at … Read more
Emergency medicine draws many students towards it because of the lifestyle-friendly aspect, shift work, and … Read more
Importance of Medical/Healthcare Experience as a Medical School Applicant
Healthcare is a broad field with multiple working parts that all accompany one another. Providers come from all walks of life and contribute a wide range of skills and abilities that each work integrally in order to provide a smooth patient care experience. Everyone that has any patient care responsibility can attest to the hardships—as well as the triumphs—that one faces while working in healthcare.
Adaira Landry, MD, MEd, is the Assistant Residency Director for the Harvard Emergency Medicine Residency. She went to UC Berkley where she earned degrees in Molecular Cell Biology and African American Studies. After a gap year for work and research, she attended UCLA for medical school. Dr. Landry completed her emergency medicine residency at NYU where she served as chief resident her final year. She completed an Ultrasound Fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and earned her MEd with a focus on Technology, Innovation and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is interested in digital innovation, resident wellness, and increasing diversity and inclusion in medicine.
Dr. James Dahle is a practicing emergency physician and founder of White Coat Investor, a website in which he shares what he has learned about personal finance management and wealth building.
Dr. Dahle graduated in 1999 with a BS in molecular biology from Brigham Young University before obtaining his medical degree from the University of Utah School of Medicine in 2003. Following this, he trained at the University of Arizona Emergency Medicine Residency Program and then served four years with the Air Force and the Navy, which took him across military bases on four different continents.
Perhaps no single aspect of medicine is more visible to the public, especially in stories, … Read more
A 31-year-old female presents to the emergency department with a two-day history of pain on urination and discomfort in her left knee and heel. She also complains of right eye pain, which is exacerbated by reading and bright lights. She recently recovered from a gastrointestinal illness two weeks earlier, but is otherwise healthy. Examination reveals a swollen left knee that is warm to the touch, and tenderness at the insertion point of the left Achilles tendon. Her right eye is red, and she has direct and consensual photophobia. Cells and flare are noted in the right anterior chamber on slit lamp examination. Based on this patient’s probable diagnosis, which of the following cutaneous manifestations is most likely?
Over a decade ago, I was seated in the emergency department with a colleague when … Read more
When the 12 members of NASA’s 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class report to Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX for their two years of training, two of them—Dr. Jonny Kim and Dr. Frank Rubio—will leave behind medical careers for the chance to explore the final frontier. SDN recently spoke with Dr. Kim about his nontraditional path to medical school and his transition from emergency medicine resident to astronaut candidate.
Dr. Jonny Kim started his career in the US Navy, where he trained as a Navy SEAL and completed more than 100 combat missions, earning a Silver Star and a Bronze Star with Combat “V”. He earned a degree in mathematics at the University of San Diego and his MD at Harvard Medical School. He is currently finishing the intern year of his residency in emergency medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. At the end of the two years of astronaut training, Dr. Kim and the other astronaut candidates could be assigned to any of a variety of posts furthering NASA’s mission.
Lindsay Stokes, MD, attended medical school and residency at Albany Medical Center in Albany, NY where she still lives with her husband and daughter. She is currently an attending in the Emergency Department at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, MA.
When did you first decide to become a physician? Why?
I got a Fisher-Price stethoscope for my fourth birthday and after spending my whole party listening to the heartbeat of anyone who would let me, I decided that being a doctor was the coolest possible job. I have always been fascinated by the human body and as I got older, the social aspect of being meaningfully involved in other people’s lives became appealing to me as well.
How/why did you choose the medical school you attended?
I am a proud member of the It-Was-The-Only-One-I-Got-Into Club, and while we are not the most vocal group, we are (statistically) the most populous.
What surprised you the most about your medical studies?
I was always shocked at just how much there was to learn. In first and second year I’d spend two weeks memorizing a 4-inch stack of notes on a body-system and thinking I had a pretty good grasp on every cell and protein that made it work. Then I realized that each of those cells and proteins had their own 4-inch stack of notes!
Dr. Leana Wen was on a roll. The Washington University medical student was president of … Read more
Dr. Gary Flashner, MS, MD, ABFP is an emergency physician and Vice President of Medical Content for ExitCare, LLC. He completed his undergraduate work at Muhlenberg College (Allentown, PA), Masters work at Penn State, medical school at Thomas Jefferson University, and residency in Family Medicine at Sacred Heart Hospital (Allentown, PA). His 20 years of clinical practice and teaching endeavors (including 13 years of full-time work in hospital-based emergency medicine) were split between the eastern U.S. (Pennsylvania and Ohio) and California, including working at Yosemite National Park.
Updated December 8, 2021. The article was updated to correct minor grammatical errors. Scenario An … Read more
Are you suffering from roundsitis? Hypercaffeinemia? Overnight call adjustment disorder? Scutworkophobia? My friend, there is … Read more