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Not sure if this has been posted yet. What are your thoughts on step exams no longer being scored? Further, what are your thoughts as to why they would make this decision.
Liberal BS. Further decline of meritocracy.Not sure if this has been posted yet. What are your thoughts on step exams no longer being scored? Further, what are your thoughts as to why they would make this decision.
Couldn’t agree more. We now will have neurosurgeons with 180sLiberal BS. Further decline of meritocracy.
This is due to minorities not achieving the same high scores as white/Asians so they eliminate the test.
Does a neurosurgeon actually need to be smarter than an internist? Or a general surgeon? Do we need the best and brightest to represent plastic surgery and not pediatrics?
I think programs should be allowed to be as selective as they want, I just think there’s something alarming about the idea that
1) medical students who score near the bottom are stupid
2) stupid medical students should go into primary care, which is actually a pretty important area of medicine
That's like saying an F-15 pilot is inherently better pilot/smarter than a C-17, B-2, U-2, etc. pilot because a movie makes the F-15 look cool. Different skillsets, different demands, different lifestyles, but all basically the same bar to cross ... if you have 'it' you will be successful and it depends on the mission you want to do.Uh yes, a neurosurgeon needs to be smarter than an internist…
Why?Uh yes, a neurosurgeon needs to be smarter than an internist….
Why?
The internist needs to be a good diagnostician. A surgeon has the structural problem spelt out for them. They are not doing exploratory work.
DumbThat's like saying an F-15 pilot is inherently better pilot/smarter than a C-17, B-2, U-2, etc. pilot because a movie makes the F-15 look cool. Different skillsets, different demands, different lifestyles, but all basically the same bar to cross ... if you have 'it' you will be successful and it depends on the mission you want to do.
Smartest physician I've ever met was an IM/renal guy. All surgeons in the hospital listened to him. Know plenty of neurosurgeons I wouldn't let remove a skin tag off me.
I guess that settles it then.Dumb
You need to get out and meet more doctors.Every neurosurgeon I know could be an internist. No internist I know could be a neurosurgeon.
There are always exceptionsSmartest dude in my med school class (270something) went into internal medicine.
Liberal BS. Further decline of meritocracy.
This is due to minorities not achieving the same high scores as white/Asians so they eliminate the test.
*eye roll*
There are less than 6% of doctors who are Hispanic and about 5% of doctors who are African American which makes close to 90% of doctors white/Asian.
As a *minority* I don't remember being given the "easy" exams or being given anything for free or taking any exams that were any different than my white/Asian counterparts. To suggest that us *minorities* are somehow stupid or being given things because we are minorities is highly offensive and honestly ignorant. We take the exact same curriculum as everyone else. Many of us have different languages as our first languages, etc. as well. Do me the favor of not generalizing us *minorities.*
You know anecdotally I experienced first hand an african american woman score a 19 on MCAT and get admitted and scholaraship to a medical school that I got rejected from. State school. I tutored her. Regardless whether MCAT score matters or not for furture success in med school - that is completely bullsh*t
You need to get out and meet more doctors.
I think it’s pretty much common knowledge which situation is the exception and which is the rule…Umm and I'm sure every white and Asian student did perfectly on every exam and no one got admitted as a "legacy" or because of some connection right? Give me a break. I got rejected at places where other people who were non-minorities with far inferior qualifications were admitted. Life happens. I'm not sure how your anecdotal experience make any difference.
Umm and I'm sure every white and Asian student did perfectly on every exam and no one got admitted as a "legacy" or because of some connection right? Give me a break. I got rejected at places where other people who were non-minorities with far inferior qualifications were admitted. Life happens. I'm not sure how your anecdotal experience make any difference.
There are very few legacy admissions to medical school. Undergrad is a different matter. However, I'm 100% in favor of banning legacy admissions of any kind at any level. I'm also 100% in favor of banning affirmative action at any educational level.*eye roll*
There are less than 6% of doctors who are Hispanic and about 5% of doctors who are African American which makes close to 90% of doctors white/Asian.
As a *minority* I don't remember being given the "easy" exams or being given anything for free or taking any exams that were any different than my white/Asian counterparts. To suggest that us *minorities* are somehow stupid or being given things because we are minorities is highly offensive and honestly ignorant. We take the exact same curriculum as everyone else. Many of us have different languages as our first languages, etc. as well. Do me the favor of not generalizing us *minorities.*
I
There are very few legacy admissions to medical school. Undergrad is a different matter. However, I'm 100% in favor of banning legacy admissions of any kind at any level. I'm also 100% in favor of banning affirmative action at any educational level.
Undergrad/grad school admissions and job offers should be based solely on merit not on race or sex.
The simple fact is that the overwhelming majority of white applicants are not legacy applicants, and and the overwhelming majority of white applicants suffer an enormous competitive disadvantage compared to minority applicants for the past 40 years.
Another indisputable fact that a significant proportion of admissions to graduate schools are given to applicants who otherwise don't deserve to be admitted, over the applicants who couldn't check the one of the preferred demographic boxes on their forms. If you truly don't see this, then yes you are not that intelligent, and no you didn't deserve to get into medical school.
You turned up your nose at the story from swamp rat regarding the black woman with a 19 MCAT who got admitted and a scholarship for the same medical school, that rejected him. Sorry buddy, but there are thousands of these "anecdotal" stories,at which point they become indisputable evidence. However, these thousand of stories across the last 40 years are suppressed by the far left media who have propaganda to push, not news to objectively report.
I'll add my own anecdote. It was twice as hard for a straight white male to be accepted there than a minority at my US med school. During my time there, 4 students failed out of my medical school. All 4 failures were minorities. None of the caucasians were remotely close to failing out of medical school because they had to be so much stronger academically, than those minority applicants for whom the standards had been lowered.
Of course this doesn't mean that Caucasians are more intelligent than minorities. Many minority physicians are as smart and as skilled as their causaian classmates...or smarter. The second smartest person in my med school was an hispanic female. Academically, she definitely bested me and most of the other Caucasians. However, the standards were clearly lowered for the other minorities who failed out of my med school and ..............no they didn't deserve to be admitted in the first place over more qualified white applicants, who were the victims of institutional racism.
The Supreme Court will finally put an end to affirmative action later this year and I'm thrilled.
I believe in equal opportunity for all based on their intelligence and effort, not extra privileges for whomever whines the most.
I disagree. Neurosurgery takes no brain power. It takes a lot of training that requires a very specific skill set.Bc a NS has to perform/treat ultra complex surgeries/pathologies. The best of the best are neurosurgeons for a reason.
I’ve worked in ICUs/wards and their work is pretty basic. That’s why basically ANYONE can match into IM.
Can we agree the situation is complex?By your own statements then, there should be much more than ~10% of "minority" physicians in the US if all it takes if for a minority applicant to just apply to med school and they are in. I know plenty of "minority" applicants who got rejected and never made it in. You think minority physicians are not targeted in both med school and residency and beyond? I'm at a majority white prestigious institution now - I'm the only minority in my department. None of my colleagues - male or female have the qualifications or record that I do. Every leadership position in the echelons at the institution is held by a white or Asian male. I guess by your thinking, I should become president of the institution in no time then if all it takes is applying!
This is such a dangerous and unhealthy perspective. The minute amount of minority physicians in med school should show you how difficult it is for minorities to make - not that every minority applicant is just welcomed in with open arms. You truly sound like an angry white guy. Truly sad. My ex-husband when he wouldn't get a job he applied for or didn't get a grade he wanted would complain about "racism" - when the facts would come out, it was clear why he didn't get the desired results. The only person you are hurting by this hateful rhetoric is you. Thinking that all minorities somehow just "get in" is the typical sad hateful racism that we all deal with. Have a good day.
The situation is complex, agreed. Bedrock does sound like an angry white man. That's my opinion. I agree entirely that academic standards should be the same across the board. Even objectively since there is such a tiny amount of minorities in med school, clearly the changes in Step 1 wasn't made for minorities was it? If 90% of US physicians are non-minorities and about 10% are Hispanic/African American, clearly it would far benefit non-minorities to make changes to the steps far more than minorities. If 9 or so out of 10 people in med school are non-minorities, who would care to make such a drastic change to help the 1 out of 10? Nonsensical. I didn't fail step 1. I don't know any of my minority classmates/Hispanic residents who did either. Did we get the "dumb" version of step 1? The change in the steps was made because of the toxicity that it brought and the stress levels that it brought to med students in general. Not to mention, if minorities were not qualified, they would get flushed out of the system - there are so many ways someone can fail in their path to completion of med school/residency/practice, that it's not even funny. I think standards have been lowered in general for everyone because we are becoming a soft society. Even residency in general has become so much softer. I know residency programs that barely have residents take call these days, or attending are expected to write notes, residents can't round post call, residents don't work weekends, etc. It's not just for hispanic residents or African American residents - it's for all residents.Can we agree the situation is complex?
I don’t think Bedrock is a white angry dude in the sense you are referring to.
I don’t know why there is such a low misrepresentation of certain minorities in the medical field. That is a problem. I think EVERYONE can agree to that.
But bedrock’s point - which is an excellent point - is that to answer this problem, lowering standards for entrance is a HORRIBLE SOLUTION and will actually make (and has made) the problem worse.
Now you may make the point that standards have not been lowered to help minorities. That may be true but I doubt it. It seems clear that in some cases (but not all as you point out), it seems to happen.
You sound like you are a competent physician, but also like a delusional minority woman living only in your little echo chamber.The situation is complex, agreed. Bedrock does sound like an angry white man. That's my opinion. I agree entirely that academic standards should be the same across the board. Even objectively since there is such a tiny amount of minorities in med school, clearly the changes in Step 1 wasn't made for minorities was it? If 90% of US physicians are non-minorities and about 10% are Hispanic/African American, clearly it would far benefit non-minorities to make changes to the steps far more than minorities. If 9 or so out of 10 people in med school are non-minorities, who would care to make such a drastic change to help the 1 out of 10? Nonsensical. I didn't fail step 1. I don't know any of my minority classmates/Hispanic residents who did either. Did we get the "dumb" version of step 1? The change in the steps was made because of the toxicity that it brought and the stress levels that it brought to med students in general. Not to mention, if minorities were not qualified, they would get flushed out of the system - there are so many ways someone can fail in their path to completion of med school/residency/practice, that it's not even funny. I think standards have been lowered in general for everyone because we are becoming a soft society. Even residency in general has become so much softer. I know residency programs that barely have residents take call these days, or attending are expected to write notes, residents can't round post call, residents don't work weekends, etc. It's not just for hispanic residents or African American residents - it's for all residents.
The CS component was also dropped - I passed CS on my first try. I don't know a single of my hispanic colleagues who failed it. I know plenty of non-minority people who failed it, even multiple times.
So to be hateful to colleagues in the field simply flames toxic rhetoric and does a tremendous disservice to others.
With that I'm done with this conversation.
Excellent post and great points.The situation is complex, agreed. Bedrock does sound like an angry white man. That's my opinion. I agree entirely that academic standards should be the same across the board. Even objectively since there is such a tiny amount of minorities in med school, clearly the changes in Step 1 wasn't made for minorities was it? If 90% of US physicians are non-minorities and about 10% are Hispanic/African American, clearly it would far benefit non-minorities to make changes to the steps far more than minorities. If 9 or so out of 10 people in med school are non-minorities, who would care to make such a drastic change to help the 1 out of 10? Nonsensical. I didn't fail step 1. I don't know any of my minority classmates/Hispanic residents who did either. Did we get the "dumb" version of step 1? The change in the steps was made because of the toxicity that it brought and the stress levels that it brought to med students in general. Not to mention, if minorities were not qualified, they would get flushed out of the system - there are so many ways someone can fail in their path to completion of med school/residency/practice, that it's not even funny. I think standards have been lowered in general for everyone because we are becoming a soft society. Even residency in general has become so much softer. I know residency programs that barely have residents take call these days, or attending are expected to write notes, residents can't round post call, residents don't work weekends, etc. It's not just for hispanic residents or African American residents - it's for all residents.
The CS component was also dropped - I passed CS on my first try. I don't know a single of my hispanic colleagues who failed it. I know plenty of non-minority people who failed it, even multiple times.
So to be hateful to colleagues in the field simply flames toxic rhetoric and does a tremendous disservice to others.
With that I'm done with this conversation.
Apparently there is a big scam by med schools now to help those of us who are minorities because 1- none of us apparently deserve to get into med school (I guess all standards were dumbed down for us) and we have committed the horrible action of taking a non-minority's spot! Oh no!What does P/F Steps have to do with medical school admissions? Do pre-med students take Steps now?
Or are we just using this as a launching pad for complaining about things we don't like?
You sound like you are a competent physician, but also like a delusional minority woman living only in your little echo chamber.
I notice you didn't even comment on my statement regarding the black individual who was able to "fail into" a Harvard residency after flunking out of an orthopedic residency. Because you choose not to see what might harm your self esteem, and so continue on in your echo chamber.
The problem is that by lowering standards for all minorities, and particularly minority women, it makes their competence suspect. That is very unfair for the minority physicians who truly earned their way and deserve to respected the same as other physicians. Hopefully that is you.
The way to solve all of this is clear. Eliminate all legacy admissions and all affirmative action. Fortunately, that should be coming later this year.
Excellent post and great points.
I would only make a suggestion that when you say things like “toxic rhetoric” or “to be hateful to colleagues” - it actually does the thing you feel like you are railing against.
Nothing bedrock said seemed toxic or hateful to me because I feel like I understood his point. I feel like I understood your point as well.
All I’m saying is we could all try to understand that often what seems to be hateful from someone (and this is especially true for physicians) is probably a misunderstanding of how WE read or heard what was said. We can disagree on points, but it is best to assume there wasn’t mal-intent.
I totally agree. When someone states another physician is not competent based SOLELY on skin color - that is hateful.When someone is stating that another physician is not competent because of their ethnicity or skin color - that is the definition of toxic and hateful.
If a colleague of mine does something stupid, negligent, out of line, etc. - I will think of them as less competent due to their incompetent/inept actions, not because of the color of their skin.
It's ironic and hypocritical to state that he questions the competency of female/minority physicians not because of their clinical actions but rather because of their ethnicity - talk about horrifying hateful statement.
Ancedotal experience isn't useless. Far less valuable than level one study but not useless. Many nobel prize winning ideas started out as an ancedotes.Anyone who is competent knows that anecdotal experiences are useless. For one, I don't know the specifics of your statement so it is meaningless. I had a white as snow classmate in medical school who couldn't get through the curriculum int he allotted time - he finally completed med school in I think 7.5 or 8 years I forget - no additional degrees. Despite the fact that anyone normally not completing med school in I believe 7 years would get kicked out. Should I know make inferences about every white physician? Of course not. There are stupid and incompetent people in every possible field out there. And FYI- Orthopedics is notoriously racist and sexist. I've seen plenty of atrocious things done by Orthopedic physicians and departments. It is a white all boy's club. So any non-white non male person in Ortho will have a hell of a time.
Oh and for the record - I again will state that agree that all people should get in by their own merits. There are farrrrrr more legacy/connection/daddy donated a bunch of money to get into x undergrad/medschool, whatever than what you claim. I even read a recent article briefly about a lawsuit by a resident whose daddy paid 400k to get into residency, and he I guess flunked out of residency (and I guess they didn't want to give the money back) but that's another story.
Bc a NS has to perform/treat ultra complex surgeries/pathologies. The best of the best are neurosurgeons for a reason.
I’ve worked in ICUs/wards and their work is pretty basic. That’s why basically ANYONE can match into IM.
toxic and hateful are just code words that liberals love to use because liberals don't believe in free speech and turn to these code words whenever they can't win an argument on the strength/merit of their ideas.When someone is stating that another physician is not competent because of their ethnicity or skin color - that is the definition of toxic and hateful.
If a colleague of mine does something stupid, negligent, out of line, etc. - I will think of them as less competent due to their incompetent/inept actions, not because of the color of their skin.
It's ironic and hypocritical to state that he questions the competency of female/minority physicians not because of their clinical actions but rather because of their ethnicity - talk about horrifying hateful statement.
I have two things for you to watch. I’d be curious what you think.When someone is stating that another physician is not competent because of their ethnicity or skin color - that is the definition of toxic and hateful.
If a colleague of mine does something stupid, negligent, out of line, etc. - I will think of them as less competent due to their incompetent/inept actions, not because of the color of their skin.
It's ironic and hypocritical to state that he questions the competency of female/minority physicians not because of their clinical actions but rather because of their ethnicity - talk about horrifying hateful statement.
I know you’re coming from a place of love, but it’s extremely patronizing to assign someone homework like that.I have two things for you to watch. I’d be curious what you think.
The first is the recent opening on SNL by Dave Chapelle. I thought it was brilliant. I’d love to hear your take.
The next is an interview of Jon Stewart right after on Stephen Colbert. Jon Steward talks about his take on Chapelle’s opening. I think - he watched something different than what I watched. But he is coming from a different spot.
To me, it highlighted some important talking points.
I’d love a report after you watch those two short bits.
well Snap -I don’t want to be condescending.I know you’re coming from a place of love, but it’s extremely patronizing to assign someone homework like that.
I agree that epidural man is coming from a place of love. Chapelle is very intelligent, insightful, and funny man. It could be very useful for her to hear his take on things compared to a patronizing white liberal such as Jon Stewart. Jon Stewart is patronizing , not epidural man.I know you’re coming from a place of love, but it’s extremely patronizing to assign someone homework like that.
I agree that epidural man is coming from a place of love. Chapelle is very intelligent, insightful, and funny man. It could be very useful for her to hear his take on things compared to a patronizing white liberal such as Jon Stewart. Jon Stewart is patronizing here, not epidural man.
Clearly iamnew2 isn't hearing a single thing I am saying because she is blinded by her echo chamber. I could say the sky is blue right now and she would disagree.
Watching chapelle's SNL opening is something she might actually hear. And watching 10 minutes of comedy isn't exactly homework.
I'm sure everyone has read House of God at some point. Maybe they were all onto something...When our grandparents were in medical school, it was widely known that the most brilliant medical students went into...psychiatry...
Could you let that sink in?
![]()
The Psychoanalytic Tradition in American Psychiatry: The Basics
The long-lasting impact of psychoanalysis on American psychiatry should continue to be taught and celebrated, if only as a testament to the human ability to seek understanding and find meaning in man’s suffering.www.psychiatrictimes.com
"Psychiatry at this time was attracting the best and brightest medical students, due in large part to the prestige afforded to it by Freudian psychoanalysis coupled with recent groundbreaking discoveries in the field of psychopharmacology by Nathan S. Kline and others. It was an exceptionally exciting time to be a psychiatrist-the possibilities of psychoanalytic understanding and drug treatment seemed endless. In the 1960s, 66% of American psychiatrists were in private practice, up from a mere 8% in 1917."
You sound a lot more angry than bed rock…The situation is complex, agreed. Bedrock does sound like an angry white man. That's my opinion. I agree entirely that academic standards should be the same across the board. Even objectively since there is such a tiny amount of minorities in med school, clearly the changes in Step 1 wasn't made for minorities was it? If 90% of US physicians are non-minorities and about 10% are Hispanic/African American, clearly it would far benefit non-minorities to make changes to the steps far more than minorities. If 9 or so out of 10 people in med school are non-minorities, who would care to make such a drastic change to help the 1 out of 10? Nonsensical. I didn't fail step 1. I don't know any of my minority classmates/Hispanic residents who did either. Did we get the "dumb" version of step 1? The change in the steps was made because of the toxicity that it brought and the stress levels that it brought to med students in general. Not to mention, if minorities were not qualified, they would get flushed out of the system - there are so many ways someone can fail in their path to completion of med school/residency/practice, that it's not even funny. I think standards have been lowered in general for everyone because we are becoming a soft society. Even residency in general has become so much softer. I know residency programs that barely have residents take call these days, or attending are expected to write notes, residents can't round post call, residents don't work weekends, etc. It's not just for hispanic residents or African American residents - it's for all residents.
The CS component was also dropped - I passed CS on my first try. I don't know a single of my hispanic colleagues who failed it. I know plenty of non-minority people who failed it, even multiple times.
So to be hateful to colleagues in the field simply flames toxic rhetoric and does a tremendous disservice to others.
With that I'm done with this conversation.