Specialty Stories | Medical School Headquarters | Premed | Medical Student

What is pathology like? Dr. Uthman debunks some myths and tells us why he needs more than just a tissue sample to arrive at the right diagnosis.

Session 108 Pediatric GI was a natural fit for Dr. Jason Shapiro, who was interested in diverse pathologies, performing procedures, and developing relationships with patients. Also, please check out all our podcasts on Meded Media for more resources to help you along your premed and medical school journey! [01:05] Interest in Pediatric Gastroenterology Jason is a pediatric gastroenterologist at Brown. He initially got interested in GI during the first month of his intern year. He likes the diversity of the field. It has a lot of procedures involved as well as research, immunology, microbiome, medication, and optimizing medication effects. [03:00] Traits That Lead to Being a Great PGI Physician Most of Jason's clinical time is dealing with kids with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, which are impactful conditions. You want to have as minimal effect on the child's daily life as possible. So you need to be empathetic, compassionate, and a hard worker. [04:00] Types of Patients Most kids with IBD (infla

Session 107 Emergency medicine residency training requires lots of interpersonal skills. Dr. David Snow has been out of training for 6 years now. Today, he tells us more about the acuity, variety, and steep learning curve in EM. Meanwhile, be sure to check out all our other resources on https://medicalschoolhq.net/meded-media/ (Meded Media). Listen to this podcast episode with the player above, or keep reading for the highlights and takeaway points. [01:15] Interest in Emergency Medicine Coming to the end of the third year in medical school, David was choosing between surgery, psychiatry, and emergency medicine. Ultimately, there were things about EM that appealed to him. [Related episode: What is Emergency Medicine?] [04:22] Traits that Lead to Become a Good EM Physician When you get to a shift, it can get as busy as any other time during any other shifts in their life. They sometimes work at 5 am and 11 pm and it doesn't matter what comes before that. They just have to be ready as they walk in the doo

Session 106 Pediatric rheumatology is for doctors who are good at teamwork, problem-solving and becoming experts in nebulous problems. Dr. Jay Mehta joins me to explain. Jay is actually the fellowship director at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) for pediatric rheumatology and out of training now for 10 years. Jay actually didn't know about this specialty until he rotated during residency. This is exactly the goal of this podcast is to expose you to specialties out there that you may or may not know about. So listen every week and take some notes. Figure out what you want to be Meanwhile, check out all our resources on Meded Media as you go along this journey towards becoming a physician. Listen to this podcast episode with the player above, or keep reading for the highlights and takeaway points. [02:04] Interest in Pediatric Rheumatology Jay remembers liking every rotation he was on but he just kept coming back to pediatrics. He loves the people he gets to work with both patients and the other r

Session 105 There are no typical days in radiology. Dr. Anjali Malik joins me to talk about breast imaging, guided biopsy, and what it means to develop a diagnostic “eye.” For more resources, check out all our other great podcasts on https://medicalschoolhq.net/meded-media/ (Meded Media). Listen to this podcast episode with the player above, or keep reading for the highlights and takeaway points. [01:25] Interest in Radiology and Breast Imaging Radiology Anjali's interest in Radiology and Breast Imaging Radiology happened at the same time during her internal medicine rotation. After reading the book, Felson's Primer for Chest Radiology, this made her realize that the whole science of imaging was far more interesting than she knew it could be. Immediately after internal medicine rotation, she worked with a breast surgeon in a community setting, particularly in New Orleans (prior to Hurricane Katrina). Post-Hurricane Katrina, he came to Tulane University and tried to recreate the heavy breast surgery practi

Session 104 Dr. Bruce Chamberlain tells me why he sees palliative medicine as more of a calling than a specialty. We discuss empathy, communication, and avoiding burnout. Bruce has been out of his training now for 29 years and has been practicing hospice and palliative care medicine all around the country. In case you may not have come across it yet, please do check out https://medicalschoolhq.net/board-rounds-podcast/ (Board Rounds podcast), which I do with BoardVitals, a USMLE/COMLEX Step 1/Level1 test prep company. They offer QBanks for both Step 1 and Level 1. They also have amazing QBanks for your SHELF exams for your clinical years. Going back to the episode today, palliative and hospice medicine is a specialty that is important. But not a lot of people know about this and not a lot of people actually consult palliative medicine early enough. Listen to this podcast episode with the player above, or keep reading for the highlights and takeaway points. [01:50] Interested in Palliative and Hospice Care

Dr. Cabrera-Muffly is an ENT residency Program Director. She joins me to discuss the pathologies in otolaryngology, life as a resident, and more!

Session 102 Dr. Ryan Matika Residency Program Director in Anesthesiology talks about what he's looking for in his applicants. He also shares what his residents look for when students are doing rotations. Specialty Stories is part of the Meded Media. If you haven’t yet, please check out all the other resources we provide to help premeds, medical students, and residents on their medical journey! [01:07] Interest in Anesthesiology Ryan got interested in anesthesiology when he was in his second year in medical school. They had a program where they were assigned a mentor who happened to be an anesthesiologist.  He went into medical school not thinking about anesthesiology. In fact, he was leaning into internal medicine. But from his rotations, he eventually got drawn towards anesthesiology. He thought about this halfway through his third year because of his mentor. Ryan thinks there is a major element in picking your specialty based on the personality and that element of finding your people. There's a certain

Session 101 Dr. Patrick Myers joins us to talk about what he looks for as a fellowship program director, what makes a good neonatologist, and his own unique journey to this specialty. Out of training for about eight years now, Patrick also shares what they’re looking for in candidates if this is something you’re interested in. Meanwhile, be sure to check out all our other episodes on https://medicalschoolhq.net/meded-media/ (Meded Media). [01:30] Interest in Neonatology and Real-Life Experience Patrick realized he wanted to be in Neonatology until after his entire residency class matched into Neonatology. He spent a year being a peds hospitalist as he experienced a ton of deliveries. He thinks the fellowship match is helpful in terms of streamlining and getting everybody a chance to get their application out to several people.  A big downside is if you decide you want to do something else when you're already two years in.  For residents taking an extra year to figure things out to become a better applica

Session 100 Dr. Kara Connelly, a transgender medicine specialist. A pediatric endocrinologist by training in an academic setting, she has been out of training now for six years. Today, we talk about Transgender Medicine, why we have it, and why it's important for transgender patients. [04:13] Interest in Transgender Medicine Kara drew inspiration from patients and their families going through hoops they had to go through to access care. Knowing how challenging and difficult it was, she felt passionate about trying to make healthcare easier and more accessible. Additionally, this was in the realm of pediatric endocrinology that it naturally felt like they could build what they did to help more patients access the care they needed. [05:00] Traits That Lead to Being a Great Transgender Medicine Specialist Communication is the most important piece of being a great transgender medicine specialist. This goes for pediatric endocrinology as well. This being said, you also have to be a good listener and open to hea

Session 99 Today, Dr. Aaron Shmookler joins us who has an interestingly different type of specialty. He is a pathologist trained Blood Banking & Transfusion Medicine specialist. A year and a half out of training now, he serves in an academic setting in West Virginia. Thank you for listening to us! Please check out all our other available resources on Meded Media. [01:48] Interest in Blood Banking and Transfusion Medicine Aaron took a transitional year and started his residency in Neurology. But he realized something was missing – the lab. He went into pathology really enjoying the field. Then he finished his Pathology residency and quickly realized he also missed taking care of patients on the bedside. So he subspecialized in Transfusion Medicine and Blood Banking that has the bedside aspect of care. Then he also gets to do the laboratory side where he works behind the scenes. [04:14] Traits that Lead to Being a Good Blood Banking & Transfusion Medicine Specialist In this specialty, you have to be detail-

Session 98 Dr. Stephanie Graff is a breast oncologist who has been out of training for 8 years. Today, she talks about her journey – what got her into the specialty, the training path, and the most and least liked things about her specialty. Meanwhile, please be sure to check out our whole host of podcasts on Meded Media as we seek to help premed students and medical students along their path towards becoming a physician. [01:38] Interest in Oncology Stephanie decided on oncology in the early rotations of medical school. One of her high school teachers used to tell them that whatever they decide to do in life, they have to read about. She now finds this as true advice, especially in medicine. And she just couldn't put down the book about oncology. When she moved to clinical rotations, everything just seemed to fit for her. With oncology, it allows physicians to connect with patients in a longitudinal way. You're going through something intense and emotional. Then you also get to see them into long-term sur

Session 97 Dr. Brandee Waite is a physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) specialist who practices in an academic setting for almost 15 years now. She talks about her specialty, types of patients, and the things she likes the most and least about her practice. Meanwhile, check out all our other resources in store for you on https://medicalschoolhq.net/meded-media/ (Meded Media). [01:30] Interest in PM&R Brandee actually didn't even know PM&R existed until the summer after her second year in medical school. It was a relatively small specialty on the west coast. She and her friends were reading about the different specialties they could possibly take. One of them told her that PM&R actually fit her personality. It actually talked about how the specialty involves patients and their functions in their day-to-day life.  With a background in fitness and dance, she figured out it was a great fit for her. They basically described PM&R as an intersection of neurology, orthopedics, neurosurgery, and psychiatry.

Session 96 Today, Dr. Brian Smith, a general surgery program director at UC Irvine, talks about his journey to becoming a surgeon and what he expects from applicants to be competitive in his program. Find out what you can do to be more competitive as an applicant and as a medical student. Please take a listen to all our other podcasts and get the resources you need. For medical students, we have the Board Rounds (with BoardVitals). For the premed students, come check out The Premed Years, OldPreMeds Podcast, and The MCAT Podcast. [01:30] Interest in General Surgery Brian's interest in general surgery started in his first year of medical school. When he started medical school, he wanted to be a family practitioner. He liked the idea of continuity and being able to take care of the whole patient. Very quickly after starting his rotations in the anatomy lab, he realized he had a tremendous love and passion for human anatomy. It was the first time he ever considered surgery. He knew that if he wanted to spend

Dr. Jonesco is an academic Sports Medicine physician at Ohio State. Today we discuss what drew him to the specialty, the patient base he sees, and why he loves it!

Session 94 Today's guest is Dr. Carly Snyder, a reproductive psychiatrist, a specialty which is probably something a lot of people don't know about. In fact, she didn't know it existed until she was in her psychiatry residency. She talks about her journey, what she likes about it, and what she doesn't. Get a glimpse of what her world looks like. Maybe this is something you're interested in too. Also, please be sure to check out Meded Media for more podcasts as you're looking for resources to help you along this journey towards medical school and residency. [01:30] Interest in Reproductive Psychiatry Carly didn't know reproductive psychiatry existed when she started residency. As a psychiatry resident, she did 4-6 months of medicine and pediatrics. Throughout that period, she kept on questioning psychiatry as she didn't like inpatient psychiatry. She found it depressing and it wasn't how she imagined her career would be. While on the pediatrics floor, she met a 3-month-old boy who suffered from seizures s

Session 93 Dr. Potisek is an academic Pediatric Hospitalist. Today, he discusses the reasons he chose pediatrics, the different facets of his job, and the types of patients he sees. Also, please check out all our other episodes on MedEd Media Network. [01:10] Interest in Pediatric Hospitalist Medicine Dr. Potisek has always enjoyed being around kids. But it was during the third year of medical school that he realized there were so many things about pediatrics that he really loved. So by the end of that year, he was choosing between internal medicine and pediatrics. Ultimately, what drew him to pediatrics is the resiliency of kids. He also likes the incorporation of families as you also take care of, not just the child, but the family members as well. Before Dr. Potisek decided to go to medical school, his dad got very sick. He saw that the kind of communication a physician has with the loved ones, not only makes a difference for that individual but for the entire family as well. Additionally, Dr. Potisek d

Session 92 http://neetaogdenmd.com/ (Dr. Neeta Ogden) is an allergist and immunologist. She has been out of training for about 13 years and she talks about her career as an allergist in a community setting. She shares some tips and tricks for you as you're going through the process to hopefully become an allergist if this is something you're interested in. [01:16] An Interest in Allergy There are two paths to Allergy fellowship – internal medicine residency and peds residency. Neeta took the internal medicine route. She remembers being in one rotation and the patient was very sick. He needed penicillin desensitization. And she found this very interesting that it was so specific. She describes the field as being precise, systematic, and specialized, which simply drew her to it. Then she did some HIV research at the hospital she was training at. Although she comes from a family of doctors, she never really came across Allergy until her residency. She also liked Dermatology at that time because there was an ov

Dr. Reid is a community Dermatologist who joins me today to discuss why Dermatology, her clinic days, and the number of patients she sees daily!

Session 90 Dr. Philip Chan is an academic Infectious Diseases physician at Brown University in Rhode Island. He has been out of training now for about 8 years. He talks about his typical day, why he chose this specialty, the training path, and an inside look into this field. Meanwhile, be sure to check out all our other podcasts on https://medicalschoolhq.net/meded-media/ (MedEd Media Network). [01:22] Interest in Infectious Disease Philip recalls being interested in Infectious Diseases (ID) back during undergrad. With a Major in Microbiology, he was basically interested in bacteria, viruses, infections, and how to solve such problems. Although Philip's dad is a cardiologist, he was already interested in fixing things at an early age. So he went to college majoring in Engineering. Then he realized he wanted to go to medical school so he shifted to Biology. However, he thought it was too generic so he then changed to Microbiology, specifically focusing on genetic engineering. [02:40] Traits that Lead to Be