Insights on Residency Training

May 17th, 2021

“Feel the Musicality”: How Do Surgeons Learn?

Vivek Sant, MD

My friends and I spent Thanksgiving 2018 attending surf school in Jacó, Costa Rica. We spent that week fully immersed in twice-daily surf sessions interspersed with conditioning, balance exercises, and of course, downtime to explore the town and rainforests of Jacó. Having been on a surfboard only a handful of times previously, this was a […]

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April 30th, 2021

Riding the Second Wave

Stephanie Braunthal, DO

I just finished attending one of our inpatient teaching services, and it felt like the panel was one of the most varied and medically complex I have ever taken care of. This was my first week as an inpatient attending — as an ambulatory chief, most of my clinical time is with the residents in […]

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April 14th, 2021

Top 21 Thoughts for ’21

Sneha Shah, MD

What I Wish I’d Known Here is my advice for medical students, interns, and senior residents. These are things I wish someone had told me. I write from the perspective of an outgoing Internal Medicine Chief. Many thanks to my co-chiefs for their input and their support throughout this year. Medical Students Be honest about your […]

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March 19th, 2021

A Leap of Faith — Residency Matching

Vivek Sant, MD

Rank lists are finally in, and Match Day is here! As I think back to my own Match Day and major decision points in my life, I remember feeling the gravity of making what I felt were life-changing decisions. Looking back, I smile when I reflect on how little of what I thought was so […]

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March 5th, 2021

The Season of the Second Year

Stephanie Braunthal, DO

Chief year has taught me that, although residents progress through training linearly, the educational year itself is cyclical, with predictable “seasons” that are marked by specific events and focus on different populations within the residency body. With the completion of intern orientation, the fellowship match, and residency recruitment, there is a palpable shift to the […]

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February 26th, 2021

Toward a Pedagogical Shift

Sneha Shah, MD

“If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.” — One summation of philosopher John Dewey  The Why can’t I just Google it? Problem Imagine seeing a patient with symptoms you suspect mighty be the result of a medication side effect. But you’ve forgotten the mechanism of action of this medication. You […]

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February 18th, 2021

The Human Side of Medicine — Grieving the Loss of Our Patients

Masood Pasha Syed, MBBS

“The life of the dead is placed in the memories of the living” — Marcus Tullius Cicero Growing up in a family of physicians, I was exposed early to healthcare from the provider side. Some days, my father would come home late after a long surgery with an unanticipated complication or an unexpected outcome and would […]

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February 4th, 2021

Engaging with History: Why Do the Actions of Nazi Physicians Matter in Medicine Today?

Holland Kaplan, MD

The reflections and photos in this post are a result of the immersive experience I had via the Fellowship at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics in 2016. Many assume that Nazi physicians were antisocial, sadistic psychopaths. But viewing the perpetrators of the Holocaust as morally deficient is simply inaccurate; in fact, the Nazis physicians […]

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January 22nd, 2021

Gratitude – Reflections on 2020

Vivek Sant, MD

2020 was a tough year. With natural disasters around the world, a global pandemic, and significant social and economic upheaval both in the U.S. and abroad, no one has emerged unaffected. Especially in medicine, we have acutely experienced our share of grief and loss and have witnessed humanity in its most broken state. In the […]

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January 12th, 2021

Vaccine [Rollout] Reactions — In Support of Residents

Stephanie Braunthal, DO

During the first week of the U.S. national vaccine rollout, news outlets reported a protest after a major medical center’s initial COVID-19 vaccine distribution list did not include almost the entirety of their house staff. Less publicly, I have heard about additional instances across the country where trainees as a whole have been or felt […]

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