The Short Coat: An Inside Look at Getting Into and Getting Through Medical School

Med Students discuss their “Why Medicine?” answers. Dave welcomes newly minted medical and PA students at the Carver College of Medicine to share their first-week experiences and the challenges of adapting to medical school. M1s Sydney Skuodas, Michael Arrington, Alex Murra, Luke Geis, and PA1 Harrison Parker discuss what they’ve learned about time management, personal growth during “gap years,” overcoming imposter syndrome, and balancing personal life with rigorous medical training. The co-hosts also discuss the personal motivations behind their decisions to pursue medicine, revealing stories of past careers, family influences, and the aspiration to impact lives directly. Don’t worry about the shock device we’re using, I’m sure they’re fine, plus it was Luke’s idea.

M2s Leticia Franciso and Gizzy Keeler, who served as orientation leaders for this year's new crop of medical and PA students, were in a good position to talk about the experience of transitioning from Orientation Week to the first year of medical school, highlighting the changes in attitudes and relationships they saw. They, along with PA2 Julie Vuong and M4 Katie Higham-Kessler compare the pre-med and medical school environments and offer advice to incoming students. And our admissions expert Rachel Schulista returns to help answer questions from listener JustAGirl who's trying to stay sane during the application process while the other applicants around her are not being especially helpful, and listener Chris's worry that he's looking to the future at the expense of the present. Plus, the importance of having diverse experiences, the real value of personal statements in applications, and why the pursuit of genuine personal interests will help you get into med school and beyond. Join us!

Med School is a non-trivial endeavor, but against the backdrop of a new class of MD and PA students arriving at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Dave and the co-hosts–including M3 Hend Al-Kaylani, PA2 Julie Vuong, M2 Gizzy Keeler, and M3 Trent Gilbert–share their humorous and sometimes ‘smelly’ experiences from their first semester, play a trivia game Dave made up called ‘Blechardy with Alex Trebot 2.0,’ and eat jelly beans. This is high-yield stuff, folks.

It’s another trip through Reddit, arbiter of A-holishness We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS! We welcome your feedback, listener questions, and shower thoughts. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Can we answer a question for you? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? Let us know at https://theshortcoat.com/tellus and we’ll put your message in a future episode. Or email theshortcoats@gmail.com. We want to know more about you: We do more things on… https://www.instagram.com/theshortcoathttps://www.youtube.com/theshortcoat You deserve to be happy and healthy. If you’re struggling with racism, harassment, hate, your mental health, or some other crisis, visit http://theshortcoat.com/help, and send additions to the resources there to theshortcoats@gmail.com. We love you. Music provided by Argofox. License: bit.ly/CCAttribution DOCTOR VOX – Heatstroke: youtu.be/j1n1zlxzyRE Catmosphere – Candy-Coloured ...

Why perfect isn’t always the goal Listener Noah wrote to us from the UK asking–among other things–how he could flourish when he starts medical school. One statement caught our eye, however: that he was determined to do everything right the first time. M4s Matt Engelken, Chirayu Shukla, Happy Kumar, and Jacob Lam discuss their perspective on how that’s not necessarily the right goal to aim for. Then listener Tiffany, a med student herself, asked the boys how they prepared for the Step 1 licensing exam. That word “licensing,” it turns out, is important–as a pass/fail exam, this isn’t like most exams, where the goal is to get as close to perfection as is possible. Instead, the idea is to demonstrate your general knowledge and pass without losing your mind. We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS! We welcome your feedback, listener questions, and shower thoughts. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Can we answer a question for you? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? Let us know at https://theshortcoat.com/tellus and we’ll put your message in a future episode. Or email theshortcoats@gmail.com. We want to know more about you: We do more things on… https://www.instagram.com/theshortcoathttps://www.youtube.com/theshortcoat You deserve to be happy and healthy. If you’re struggling with racism, harassment, hate, your mental health, or some other crisis, visit http://theshortcoat.com/help, and send additions to the resources there to theshortcoats@gmail.com. We love you. Music provided by Argofox. License: bit.ly/CCAttribution DOCTOR VOX – Heatstroke:

This week, M3 Jeff Goddard, M2 Taryn O'Brien, and MD/PhD student Riley Behan Bush are on hand to discuss July's news. First, it's hard to ignore Johns Hopkins joining the tuition free bandwagon thanks to Michael Bloomberg...but this gift goes further...maybe it could actually have a desired effect! Meanwhile, the New York Times offered an expose on a practice that might prey on the emotions of anxious new parents--cord blood stem cell storage. And the public health world marks the passing of the man who exposed the infamous Tuskegee Study...a scandal that's still reverberating today.

Sometimes everyone’s a jerk. The hosts discuss the importance of self-evaluation in medicine, but sometimes you just gotta ask–was I a jerk? Dave Etler, MD/PhD student Miranda Schene, M4 Happy Kumar, and M2 Holly Hemann use Reddit’s ‘Am I the Asshole?’ submissions to exploring feelings of impostor syndrome, the ethics of classroom behavior, fair recognition of achievements, and cases of medical malpractice. Along the way, they provide practical advice for medical school admissions, dissect the delicate balance of maintaining professionalism in the medical field, and what to think when even mom craps on your dreams. Shut up, mom!

LIstener Neurotic Premed dropped us a message at https://theshortcoat.com/tellus to ask what medical students in long-distance relationships, both platonic and romantic, do to keep them alive and healthy. MD/PhD student Madi Wahlen, M2 Fallon Jung, M3 Jeff Goddard, an PA2 Julie Vuong have a lot of experience in that area. From long-distance parenting to making sure friends still feel connected, it takes planning and intentionality along with a slight tweak to what it means to be "together." They share how they do it successfully! Plus, Chinese researchers appear to have cured a man of his diabetes, Ozempic is powerful enough to affect the food and beverage industry's bottom lines, and Florida allows c-sections outside of hospitals in a bid to improve access.

M1 Fallon Jung, PA1 Olivia Quinby, MD/PhD student Faith Prochaska, M2 Jeff Goddard, and special guest Dr. Peter Kaboli dive deep into the heart of rural medicine. We kick off with a candid discussion about growing up in small towns and how these experiences shape our understanding of community and healthcare. Dr. Kaboli, an expert in rural health with the Veterans' Administration, shares his insights into the nuances of rural medicine. We explore the multifaceted challenges and rewards of practicing medicine in rural settings, from the importance of forming deep connections with patients to navigating the scarcity of healthcare resources. Telemedicine, workforce issues, geographic barriers, and the digital divide are central to the art of medicine in small towns and on county roads, sometimes requiring innovative approaches to healthcare delivery.

The Sheriff of Sodium investigates the state and future of medical training. If you’ve wondered how well the system that trains future doctors works, or about what factors really determine which medical students get into the most competitive residency programs, this episode is for you. M1 Fallon Jung, M2 Jeff Goddard, and M4 AJ Chowdhury get deep into these issues with a very special guest – Dr. Brian Carmody, known on his blog and YouTube channel as “The Sheriff of Sodium.” Dr. Carmody, a pediatric nephrologist by training, closely analyzes and shares data-driven perspectives on medical education, pulling on threads to understand whether the current medical training system is truly functional, fair, and efficient, examining factors like student debt burdens, physician shortages projections, and why people cheat on licensing exams. Like any good sheriff, Dr. Carmody is skeptical, especially about ideas like future physician shortages, and how schools report residency match outcomes.

Listener Eden is looking ahead to how she'll finance medical school as someone who is in the disadvantaged category of applicants. One option she asked us to talk about is the Health Professions Scholarship Program offered by the US military, and she wanted to hear from someone who is in that program. M4 Wilson Fitzgerald gave us the details, some ideas about what it's like to be a physician in the military, the sacrifices he's decided to make to take advantage of the program, and how it's working out for him so far. PA faculty member Jeremy Nelson, M2 Fallon Jung, and M3 Happy Kumar helped discuss why it might not be a great idea to wait to start medical school so that you have time to save up tuition. And Dave pulls out a bunch of reels he's been saving in his drafts because he doesn't think they're any good. Spoiler alert: they should have stayed in his drafts--but you can see them on our Instagram anyway!

Life’s grey areas, offered up for internet discussion Sometimes, you need someone to tell you if you’ve crossed the line. That’s why Reddit’s Am I The A**hole subreddit exists. M2 Holly Hemann brought some med-school themed samples for MD/PhD students Miranda Schene, Faith Prochaska, and PA2 Julie Vuong to react to. How compatible is MMA fighting and med school? Is it okay to get a secret horse? And isn’t an Eagle Scout the same as a doctor when you get right down to it? Let’s talk about all that! From the discussion: https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/10sjyd2/aita_for_almost_ruining_a_friends_med_school/https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/emu7yf/aita_i_said_my_husband_shouldnt_try_to_help_sick/https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/gf82i0/aita_for_letting_medical_students_observe_when_im/

Project 2025 is the name of a project that hopes to serve as a blueprint for a future conservative administration that would promote natural family planning methods and reduce insurance coverage for certain contraceptives. M1s* Fallon Jung, Taryn O'Brien, and Gizzy Keeler (who are--boop boop boop!--leveling up to M2s), with help from Curriculum Manager Billie Ruden, discuss what that might mean for training MDs, where they'll be willing to go, and why it's not just OB/Gyn aspirants paying attention. Meanwhile, congress will consider a bill to make permanent several telehealth changes that were enacted to ease the healthcare crisis during the COVID crisis. KFF.org releases a helpful primer about the US healthcare system everyone should know about, and a scandal at the NIH further jeopardizes trust in science.

On this episode we welcome guest Dr. Joshua Trebach, an emergency medicine physician here at Iowa. This past spring he posted on X that medicine must "lose the mentality of thinking its okay to be miserable for years (or decades) to justify it being 'finally worth it' in the end." We couldn't agree more--live now, not later! Which is why PA2 Julie Vuong, M2 Fallon Jung, and MD/PhD student Madi Wahlen are each finding ways to reject that mentality. Indeed, medical education is changing, perhaps slowly, to reinforce the idea that just because medicine can be a difficult life doesn't mean that you should obsessively look forward to the day it gets better. That day is a long way away, so do what you can (what you must) to be who you want to be even as you're drinking from the firehose. Also, we answer one of listener Mohamed's questions on how he can jump right into his first year this fall with his eyes on patient advocacy.

It's easy to forget from our ivory tower that many Americans don’t get beyond high school, making it less likely their kids will. Those kids who do are at a disadvantage compared to peers with college-educated parents. First-generation medical students are even rarer and face more challenges. These students, like PA1 Julie Vuong, M1 Amanda Litka, MD/PhD student Faith Prochaska, and M1 Holly Hemann, bring valuable perspectives to medicine, understanding a wider range of patient experiences and health determinants. This week we discuss their challenges, the impact on their future practice, and how learning medicine highlights (somewhat uncomfortably) their own families' health struggles. And while some medical schools are going tuition-free, this hasn’t increased low-income student enrollment or primary care graduates...and seems to have done some harm.

Its Our monthly roundup of news from the margins of medicine! M1s Fallon Jung and Taryn O’Brien, M2 Jeff Goddard, and MD/PhD studnet Riley Behan Bush are on hand for our monthly news roundup. Including news that presidential candidate and anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy’s brain was ‘eaten’ by a worm and his love of tuna sandwiches. Virtually all healthcare providers globally suffer from a clinical psychiatric disorder. Beethoven really liked lead-sweetened wine, which is probably why he was so sick and deaf. And a Tesla Cybertruck owner smashed his own finger with his vehicle’s frunk to prove that his vehicle’s frunk couldn’t smash his own finger. And can we guess what the shitty life pro tip from Reddit is? Plus lots more observations and revelations from the margins of medicine!

“I honestly have had the most relaxing time I’ve had in forever, and for anybody who’s like, that’s ridiculous, just wait.” The most charitable definition of a hot take is a position taken in order to generate conversation. The more usual definition is a position taken to create controversy (and clicks). Dave asked his co-hosts to come with some hot takes, and it’s up to you to decide which definition they’re using, but PA1 Conner Lieser and M1s Radha Velamuri, Amanda Litka, and Sri Nandakumar offer their hot takes on how hard med school is, the admissions process, shadowing, advice from more advanced students, and more. [Dave's co-hosts were all doing medical student things on our usual recording day, so enjoy this previously released episode!]

M1s Fallon Jung and Alex Nigg, M2 Jeff Goddard, and MD/PhD student Riley Behan Bush hear listener Megan's request for more news on critical healthcare changes from our overlords in the courts and the government. Riley shares insights from her lab work as she works toward finishing her PhD. This episode unpacks the FTC's move to ban non-compete clauses for doctors, a pivotal Supreme Court case on Idaho's abortion policies, and new consent requirements for performing invasive procedures that I guarantee you didn't know were being done on anesthetized people.

Medicine isn’t always kind to its disabled practitioners, but let’s change that. In 2023, a group of Iowa med students founded our chapter of the Medical Students With Disabilities and Chronic Illness, a group “working to remove barriers for students and professionals with disabilities, increasing representation of diverse perspectives in medicine.” M1 Holly Hemann, MD/PhD student Faith Prochaska and PA1s Olivia Quinby and Julie Vuong discuss their lived experiences as students navigating disability and chronic illness. They illuminate the essential support systems, the process of securing necessary accommodations, and the powerful sense of community among students facing similar challenges. And they look critically at how these personal experiences enrich the medical profession and underscore the urgent need for inclusivity in medical training. Their personal stories of coping with PTSD, ADHD, daily vestibular migraines, and celiac disease show how these experiences are shaping their medical journey. They also discuss what colleagues present and future can do (or must do better) to understand and support those who face barriers due to their physical and mental conditions.

It’s a freestyle episode…can’t we just have a rambling conversation? Sometimes it’s nice to just sit down and have a rambling conversation. That’s this episode, with MD/PhD students Madi Wahlen and Sahaana Arumugam and M3s Jacob Hansen and Jacob Lam. We discuss the non-weighty topics of why people don’t know they shouldn’t stare at a ball of fusion in the sky, niche online community drama, a Texas transplant surgeon accused of manipulating transplant lists, everyday things that might not be things someday, why Dave doesn’t yet want an electric vehicle, the co-hosts plans for their futures beyond seeing patients, and so much more that is barely relevant to medical school. If you don’t like this kind of episode, do we have a solution for you--https://theshortcoat.com/tellus!