Ask a Jedi Anything

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Since we are on the subject of MuCOM, how are rotation sites in the area?
 
Coming from a degree in kinesiology , I almost went to PT school. I'm about to start med school. Sounds like PMR is a fantastic fit for you! And you can specialize after that. The residency has almost no call, so it's great when you have family. I don't think salary is very high but it's definitely not had at all.
What made you go to med school vs PT school? What fields are you interested in?
 
What made you go to med school vs PT school? What fields are you interested in?
I was not ONLY interested in msk. There are just more opportunities in medicine... I cannot wait to find out what I want to do. I'm interested in IM, PMR, EM, ortho. Lots of things really. Just not psych, OB, or peds.
 
Since we are on the subject of MuCOM, how are rotation sites in the area?
MU-COM has partnered with some of the largest hospital networks in Indianapolis (Community, St. Vincents, Franciscan, etc). Many of these hospitals have current residency programs and are also current rotation locations for IU medical students, so they have experience with educating students and are used to having students rotate through them. Keep in mind that I haven't rotated yet and am part of the first class... I really don't know much beyond what the school has provided us.
 
I was not ONLY interested in msk. There are just more opportunities in medicine... I cannot wait to find out what I want to do. I'm interested in IM, PMR, EM, ortho. Lots of things really. Just not psych, OB, or peds.

Not only interested in MSK eh...what's ortho doing on your list? 😉 Think ortho is the most popular potential specialty among pre med students? haha. I've been in the OR during ortho procedures many many times and worked closely with many orthopods in my previous career so I have a relatively extensive understanding of what they do on a day to day basis. I wonder what it is that draws many pre meds who may not have had any of these experiences towards ortho in droves...the money?
 
Not only interested in MSK eh...what's ortho doing on your list? 😉 Think ortho is the most popular potential specialty among pre med students? haha. I've been in the OR during ortho procedures many many times and worked closely with many orthopods in my previous career so I have a relatively extensive understanding of what they do on a day to day basis. I wonder what it is that draws many pre meds who may not have had any of these experiences towards ortho in droves...the money?
As another member who is between 29-39, what lifestyle difficulties does surgery pose? The time demands of residency training?
 
As another member who is between 29-39, what lifestyle difficulties does surgery pose? The time demands of residency training?
As a first year I am obviously no authority on this topic...but from what I have been told and observed, surgery is extremely time consuming and obviously the training is among the longest of all medical specialties. I remember reading somewhere that to be a successful surgical resident, training surgeons need to live, breathe and eat surgery. The call, the med mal, the pressure, the hours, the time away from family...I dunno, seems like there are a lot of lifestyle difficulties. Make "good" money tho :shrug:
 
Not only interested in MSK eh...what's ortho doing on your list? 😉 Think ortho is the most popular potential specialty among pre med students? haha. I've been in the OR during ortho procedures many many times and worked closely with many orthopods in my previous career so I have a relatively extensive understanding of what they do on a day to day basis. I wonder what it is that draws many pre meds who may not have had any of these experiences towards ortho in droves...the money?
lol..right. Ortho is not my "only" interest. I have innate interests in msk because I have a kinesiology background, am a personal trainer, and was accepted to but did not attend PT school.. so msk is definitely high up on my list, which brings in interests such as ortho and PMR. However, I have other interests, like human physiology..yes, i have my favorite system lol. It will be interesting to see which one calls me. And to answer your question, of course, money attracts pre meds to ortho haha. NO question. It could also be that they think all orthos are badass alpha brahs. Who knows.😀
 
It could also be that they think all orthos are badass alpha brahs. Who knows.😀
Do-you-even-lift-bro.jpg
 
Yep.

Something I've realized throughout the process thus far (and I am sure you will too) is that schools say lots of things--this doesn't just apply to Marian. It will be interesting to see what our next class looks like tho. I've heard admissions say that the incoming class has a completely different personality than our class. Since they seem to be pretty focused on stats this year, it will be interesting to see what that means.
I'm nice 😉

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I'm not planning on it...but thats just me. Who knows what will happen though...Mrs. Kenobi finds me irresistible-- 😉

I know people who have done it, are doing it and are planning on it. I have always been told from other physicians to try and avoid having kids while in med school. From what I've observed, it looks like a lot of work and it definitely makes life harder. If you are a woman, then it will probably be a bit more difficult than if you are a man just due to all the physical/emotional stuff you have to go through. On that note, it is definitely possible...folks do it all the time!

Honestly it is strange seeing how the people in my class who already have kids cope. Some seem like they don't even have kids (at least to an outside observer)...looks like school is their #1 priority and everything else comes second. These are usually the people who are highly competitive and overly concerned with class rank/want to be surgeons and nothing else etc. I sure wouldn't be able to do that knowing my kids are at home. Others seem to be able to prioritize well and are able to balance passing classes with spending time with their families. These people are less concerned with being the greatest med student of all time and are more concentrated getting through school while not missing 4+ years of their kid's life...

So really it just depends on your personality and your priorities. It is definitely possible, but it may take some extra effort!

Thanks for your response - it really helps give me perspectives on how others are approaching medical school while having a family at the same time. Most importantly, it tells me that it's possible to do both, albeit, it'd be more challenging than going through medical school alone. Thanks again, your post was very helpful!
 
I have kids so perhaps I'll chime in for Kenobi. Having kids is always going to be tough. There is no "convenient" time for it, but there are definitely inconvenient times. I'm told internship year--first year out of med school-- is one of those times. Is it worth it? Definitely. Does it require a lot of sacrifices and time management? You bet your sweet bippie it does.

My wife just had our 2nd child 2.5 weeks ago (right before a block exam-the school let me take it late). It put me a couple days behind but I'm almost entirely caught up now and trying to prepare for our block coming up on Friday. Luckily my mother-in-law came out for a week so my wife had help at the most crucial time and I was able to study, all day every day, to get caught up. I don't follow a very set schedule. I study when I can and I'm home helping when needed. Because most of our lectures aren't required, I'll usually wake up a little before my 18 month old daughter and get myself ready. She then wakes up and I usually feed her breakfast and play with her for a bit before waking up my wife and leaving for school. I come home at lunch most days and I always come home for dinner (usually about 2 hours unless we've got a test coming up soon. It's enough time to help with dinner, eat, bathe my daughter, and do bedtime (books, songs, prayers, milk)). Used to spend more time at home but our course load has picked up immensely. All my friends who have kids (which is most of my friends) find their own way to balance it all. Some get up really early, others stay up late - me. I know a third year (female) at my school that had her first baby two weeks into her first rotation this third year. Her docs she works with have been understanding with her needing to pump and her husband takes care of the baby.

In any case, you'll work it out. I love the time I get to be home, and I wish I got more time at home. There are just times that I know my wife has it under control, so I'm able to kick it into gear and spend more hours studying at the school. Don't let med school keep you from expanding your family if that's what you want. MANY of my classmates have kids, and many have had kids while in school... we're all making it through just fine. Good luck!

Congratulations on your 2nd child!! 🙂 Thanks for your very helpful response and for sharing your personal experience as well as those of your classmates. It's reassuring to know that many have done it before. Thanks again!
 
I'll be a senior next year, and I still need to take a humanities course. I wanted to take Medical Ethics, but it's being taught by a terrible professor. Would you recommend that I still take this class? Would it look "good," per se, to have taken something like this? (I know it obviously won't make or break my chances...)
 
I'll be a senior next year, and I still need to take a humanities course. I wanted to take Medical Ethics, but it's being taught by a terrible professor. Would you recommend that I still take this class? Would it look "good," per se, to have taken something like this? (I know it obviously won't make or break my chances...)

Now if it were me--quite simply, if the professor is really that bad and you are concerned that could impact your grade in the course, I'd take something else. Obviously if you are super interested in the course and have it in you to push yourself during your final semester to ensure you get a good grade in the class then by all means go for it. Again, I'd probably take something else. In my experience teachers make classes--they can make a hard/boring/awful subject enjoyable or they can make the coolest of topics turn into utter crap. Why take the gamble that it could put a blemish on your record right at the end of your transcript? An A in medical ethics won't look as good as a C (or worse) in medical ethics will look bad.
 
Who did you enjoy defeating most, Darth Maul, General Grievous, or Anakin when he failjumped?
 
Who did you enjoy defeating most, Darth Maul, General Grievous, or Anakin when he failjumped?
Kinda feel like I got lucky against Maul, he was basically handing QGJ and myself our @sses...I dug deep tho and finished the job--thats how Obi-Wan rollz. Grievous had it coming, but I had to get uncivilized and use a blaster to get the job done. Anakin...oh Ani...I had the freckin high ground...smh. And as previously stated, Anakin had been acting like a little B, but was also my padawan, so it was sort of bitter sweet. Good question.
 
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How does the force factor into your bedroom performance?
Due to the fact that I am an expert "lightsaber" wielder, use of the Force is rendered unnecessary in most instances. The Force however has come in to play when attempting to seduce weak minded woman that would otherwise deny Kenobi the opportunity to show off said skills.
 
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Due to the fact that I am an expert "lightsaber" wielder, use of the Force is rendered unnecessary in most instances. The Force however has come in to play when attempting to seduce weak minded woman that would otherwise deny Kenobi the opportunity to show off said skills.
Mrs. Kenobi would like to have a word with you. :smuggrin:
 
@ChineseKid ...did I read that you wanted to learn Muay Thai somewhere in the forum before? Looks like you chose the right school 😉
 
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Hey Kenobi! I was wondering about the clinical experience at your school. How do clinical labs work? How are they preparing you for rotations? Have you gotten to use the sim labs? How do they test you over clinical material?
 
Hey Kenobi! I was wondering about the clinical experience at your school. How do clinical labs work? How are they preparing you for rotations? Have you gotten to use the sim labs? How do they test you over clinical material?

We have a class called "introduction to clinical medicine" every Tuesday. This course is where we learn the bulk of our clinical skills. Last semester it started with lectures and small group discussions...these discussions ranged from clinical cases, ethical decision making/topics, discussions about evidence based medicine and role playing effective communication in different situations. The course eventually progressed to us learning how to properly document soap notes and perform a thorough history along with basic physical examination skills.

Our curriculum is "integrated" meaning they try to tie everything we are learning together in one way or another. For example, when we were in our neuroscience block in the systems courses, we were learning how to perform a clinical neurological exam in the clinical medicine course. Now we are in cardiovascular system, so everything in the clinical course is related to that--heart sounds, blood pressure, ECG etc etc.

I believe next year we will have a whole other course that covers in great detail all of the other miscellaneous skills we should have some experience with come rotations--sterile technique, suturing, injections, blood draws--and other pertinent issues regarding rotations. Medical imaging interpretation has been relatively heavy at our school compared to others-- from what we've been told. We have had quite a few lectures from our radiology faculty as well--much of it was incorporated into our anatomy course.

There are a few different ways they test our clinical skills.

1) written exams-self explanatory

2) OSCE-objective structured clinical examination--this is where you play doctor. It takes place in a mock doctors office and you interact with a "standardized patient"--an actor. The encounter is also recorded. There is a prompt on the door before you enter telling you the chief complaint and then you get a set amount of time to complete the encounter. When you are finished with the patient you then type out your soap note using the same computer program you would use in a hospital/clinic. You are able to go back and rewatch your video. For example: when you walk up to the door of the room, there will be a sign that says the patients name and "headache" or "sore throat" or something like that. You then enter the room talk to the patient, go through your examination, discuss your diagnosis and plan for treating etc.

3) Sim labs (with automated simulation "dummies")-We have only used these once so far. They have a few different sim rooms set up with different dummies (pregnant/delivery, pediatric ICU, adult ICU/ER etc)...they are pretty cool. We have our second sim coming up shortly. In our first use of these labs we worked as a team with 4 other students and performed an ICU neuro assessment on a patient who turned out to be brain dead. After coming to the conclusion that the patient was deceased, they brought in live actors who played the family of the patient and it was our job to talk to them about the situation. Was actually a cool learning experience.

The school also paired each one of us up with a physician mentor...they said they did it according to what we said our interests were before starting school. So people are paired with all sorts of different MDs and DOs around town at all of the different hospitals--including IU. We are supposed to spend time with them in the hospitals and clinics etc ...this is a cool experience as well. At least from my experience with it, "shadowing" a physician as a medical student has been much different from doing it as a pre-med. I have been able to assist with some things, interact with patients etc. I am sure this experience is different for everyone depending on the mentor the student is with but it keeps you in a "live" medical environment and allows you to see how the things you are learning in class are applicable to real world medicine.
 
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We have a class called "introduction to clinical medicine" every Tuesday. This course is where we learn the bulk of our clinical skills. Last semester it started with lectures and small group discussions...these discussions ranged from clinical cases, ethical decision making/topics, discussions about evidence based medicine and role playing effective communication in different situations. The course eventually progressed to us learning how to properly document soap notes and perform a thorough history along with basic physical examination skills.

Our curriculum is "integrated" meaning they try to tie everything we are learning together in one way or another. For example, when we were in our neuroscience block in the systems courses, we were learning how to perform a clinical neurological exam in the clinical medicine course. Now we are in cardiovascular system, so everything in the clinical course is related to that--heart sounds, blood pressure, ECG etc etc.

I believe next year we will have a whole other course that covers in great detail all of the other miscellaneous skills we should have some experience with come rotations--sterile technique, suturing, injections, blood draws--and other pertinent issues regarding rotations. Medical imaging interpretation has been relatively heavy at our school compared to others-- from what we've been told. We have had quite a few lectures from our radiology faculty as well--much of it was incorporated into our anatomy course.

There are a few different ways they test our clinical skills.

1) written exams-self explanatory

2) OSCE-objective structured clinical examination--this is where you play doctor. It takes place in a mock doctors office and you interact with a "standardized patient"--an actor. The encounter is also recorded. There is a prompt on the door before you enter telling you the chief complaint and then you get a set amount of time to complete the encounter. When you are finished with the patient you then type out your soap note using the same computer program you would use in a hospital/clinic. You are able to go back and rewatch your video. For example: when you walk up to the door of the room, there will be a sign that says the patients name and "headache" or "sore throat" or something like that. You then enter the room talk to the patient, go through your examination, discuss your diagnosis and plan for treating etc.

3) Sim labs (with automated simulation "dummies")-We have only used these once so far. They have a few different sim rooms set up with different dummies (pregnant/delivery, pediatric ICU, adult ICU/ER etc)...they are pretty cool. We have our second sim coming up shortly. In our first use of these labs we worked as a team with 4 other students and performed an ICU neuro assessment on a patient who turned out to be brain dead. After coming to the conclusion that the patient was deceased, they brought in live actors who played the family of the patient and it was our job to talk to them about the situation. Was actually a cool learning experience.

The school also paired each one of us up with a physician mentor...they said they did it according to what we said our interests were before starting school. So people are paired with all sorts of different MDs and DOs around town at all of the different hospitals--including IU. We are supposed to spend time with them in the hospitals and clinics etc ...this is a cool experience as well. At least from my experience with it, "shadowing" a physician as a medical student has been much different from doing it as a pre-med. I have been able to assist with some things, interact with patients etc. I am sure this experience is different for everyone depending on the mentor the student is with but it keeps you in a "live" medical environment and allows you to see how the things you are learning in class are applicable to real world medicine.
When did they ask what interested you to determine which doctors you get?
Hopefully it wasn't at the open house, as I was unable to make it...

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When did they ask what interested you to determine which doctors you get?
Hopefully it wasn't at the open house, as I was unable to make it...

Sent from my SGH-T889V using Tapatalk
They didn't ask us per se...there were however questions about practicing primary care etc in the secondary from what I remember? That is just what they told us during orientation--that they took our stated interests into account. On that note, there are people I know tho that said they were interested in fields like neurology and got paired up with a FM/NMM doc...so it obviously didn't quite match up for everyone.

Besides, your interests will change a bunch. I almost wish I wasn't paired up with a doc in the field I said I was interested in. I'd rather have exposure to a field I have zero experience with...guess I'll get that in rotations. Either way it isn't really a big deal. It mainly provides you with a way to get yourself into the hospital/clinic so that you don't lose touch with real world medicine while studying and in the classroom all day.

The experience is vastly different for each person as some students are with surgeons so they are in the OR all day when they go in to shadow--others are with pathologists so they never even see a live patient. Either way...from what I've gathered you are encouraged to set up your own outside clinical experiences as well (if you'd like)... And we have tons of clinicians come in to lecture all the time, so it shouldn't be hard for you to arrange other experiences if you want. Also there isn't tons of time for this either. It's not like you are in with these physicians every day. I guess you potentially could be, but it is more like a monthly or when you have the time kinda deal. The docs understand we are slammed so most are really flexible.
 
They didn't ask us per se...there were however questions about practicing primary care etc in the secondary from what I remember? That is just what they told us during orientation--that they took our stated interests into account. On that note, there are people I know tho that said they were interested in fields like neurology and got paired up with a FM/NMM doc...so it obviously didn't quite match up for everyone.

Besides, your interests will change a bunch. I almost wish I wasn't paired up with a doc in the field I said I was interested in. I'd rather have exposure to a field I have zero experience with...guess I'll get that in rotations. Either way it isn't really a big deal. It mainly provides you with a way to get yourself into the hospital/clinic so that you don't lose touch with real world medicine while studying and in the classroom all day.

The experience is vastly different for each person as some students are with surgeons so they are in the OR all day when they go in to shadow--others are with pathologists so they never even see a live patient. Either way...from what I've gathered you are encouraged to set up your own outside clinical experiences as well (if you'd like)... And we have tons of clinicians come in to lecture all the time, so it shouldn't be hard for you to arrange other experiences if you want. Also there isn't tons of time for this either. It's not like you are in with these physicians every day. I guess you potentially could be, but it is more like a monthly or when you have the time kinda deal. The docs understand we are slammed so most are really flexible.
Was looking for shadowing the same process from when you were an undergrad? (calling up a bunch and cross your fingers)
 
Was looking for shadowing the same process from when you were an undergrad? (calling up a bunch and cross your fingers)
I think it's been a ton easier. Although personally, I never had to go through the cold call process to shadow since I worked with and had access to many physicians in my previous field.

Of course this depends on your willingness to network as well. There is a ton more access to physicians now. There are docs from all sorts of different specialties constantly coming in to lecture for us on campus. A simple conversation with one of them can usually arrange something with them specifically or they will even refer you to another doc in another field if that's what you are looking for. Most of the physicians have been pretty good responding to email inquiries as well. If approaching a visiting clinician makes you uncomfortable for some reason, we have a bunch of full time physician faculty as well that concurrently are working in local hospitals/clinics...they seem willing to refer to other physicians for students to get experiences as well.

As stated previously, Marian is just the second med school in the state so there has been an overwhelmingly positive reception by physicians/health networks in Indy. My experiences this far have lead me to believe that everyone wants to see us succeed and are more than happy to have MU-COM students shadow them.
 
I think it's been a ton easier. Although personally, I never had to go through the cold call process to shadow since I worked with and had access to many physicians in my previous field.

Of course this depends on your willingness to network as well. There is a ton more access to physicians now. There are docs from all sorts of different specialties constantly coming in to lecture for us on campus. A simple conversation with one of them can usually arrange something with them specifically or they will even refer you to another doc in another field if that's what you are looking for. Most of the physicians have been pretty good responding to email inquiries as well. If approaching a visiting clinician makes you uncomfortable for some reason, we have a bunch of full time physician faculty as well that concurrently are working in local hospitals/clinics...they seem willing to refer to other physicians for students to get experiences as well.

As stated previously, Marian is just the second med school in the state so there has been an overwhelmingly positive reception by physicians/health networks in Indy. My experiences this far have lead me to believe that everyone wants to see us succeed and are more than happy to have MU-COM students shadow them.
That makes alot of sense with the locals being enthusiastic about the new school. I previously had some concern about MUCOM as a new institution (and how new schools tend to have lower board scores), but hearing feedback from your end leads me to be confident that I'll be in good hands.
 
I know you're married, but what's your opinion on dating classmates?
 
I know you're married, but what's your opinion on dating classmates?
I've always heard you shouldn't...If I were single, I don't know if I'd necessarily "date" any of the chicks in my class, but I'd surely "have relations" with some of em. This stuff gets around tho because people definitely talk. If you don't mind your whole class knowing your business then go for it.

Where are the droids I am looking for?
droids-630x386.jpg
 
Hello Mr Kenobi,

I've never liked c3po but after your recent revelations, I may reconsider my position.

We've heard a lot about how it is like high school, etc etc etc. Personally I'm someone who enjoyed high school a lot but I know that when people are saying it's like high school, they are referring to the negative aspects, like clicks, gossip, etc.

I am wondering, how tough of a time would it be to get through med school, in your experience, if you are a private person and not interested in having everyone in your personal business?
 
Hello Mr Kenobi,

I've never liked c3po but after your recent revelations, I may reconsider my position.

We've heard a lot about how it is like high school, etc etc etc. Personally I'm someone who enjoyed high school a lot but I know that when people are saying it's like high school, they are referring to the negative aspects, like clicks, gossip, etc.

I am wondering, how tough of a time would it be to get through med school, in your experience, if you are a private person and not interested in having everyone in your personal business?
Probably really easy. If you keep to yourself, people will think you are boring and not be interested in what you're up to. Boom, nobody in your biz.
 
Hello Mr Kenobi,

I've never liked c3po but after your recent revelations, I may reconsider my position.

We've heard a lot about how it is like high school, etc etc etc. Personally I'm someone who enjoyed high school a lot but I know that when people are saying it's like high school, they are referring to the negative aspects, like clicks, gossip, etc.

I am wondering, how tough of a time would it be to get through med school, in your experience, if you are a private person and not interested in having everyone in your personal business?
I would hope that although you have a relatively small group of people together (like high school), everyone is far more mature once they get to med school.
 
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Nice thread Mr, or should I say student doctor Kenobi!

...I guess if I had to choose something I didn't think about until school started it would be the amount of work that it really takes to keep your head above water in medical school...its one of those "you'll never understand until you do it yourself" types of things...

This 1000x. I have a ton of physician & med student friends and relatives. I could hear that "drinking from a fire hose/hydrant" phrase a million times, until you experience it, its meaningless.


Why does it seem like everybody going to a DO school is married?

DO schools take a LOT more non-trads than most MD schools. Grade forgiveness is also helpful for the people who are career changers and weren't necessarily 4.0 students in undergrad. Still tons of not married kids, but there definitely are a good amount of married students.

Thanks man. It has been a CRAZY couple weeks trying to catch up and adjust to having a newborn again, but things are calming down and spring break is next week for us. Can't even wait.

CONGRATS!

Also, I'm jealous of all of you. My school has NO spring break. Its terrible. I didn't even realize this until Jan. I had all these plans with my wife.

I'll be a senior next year, and I still need to take a humanities course. I wanted to take Medical Ethics, but it's being taught by a terrible professor. Would you recommend that I still take this class? Would it look "good," per se, to have taken something like this? (I know it obviously won't make or break my chances...)

Its meaningless what humanities course you take, just make sure you do well. That said, I particularly enjoyed my medical ethics, medical history, and US healthcare courses in undergrad/post-bac, and I honestly learned a lot from them that I think gives me a better understanding of what I'm going into than some of my peers.

That said, you're grade is more important, so whatever you take, make sure you do well.


Seriously.....
 
I am on spring break and bored. As the cycle is coming to a close I have yet to see the old ask me anything threads start popping up. It was recommended to me that old Kenobi may have some valuable insight on matters such as things to expect during your first year, Marian, being a Jedi or the Force in general? Wanna know something? Well then, go ahead. Ask.
Mr. Kenobi, do you even lift, sir? If you do, do you use the force?
 
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