There is a public health crisis in America right now among the migrant population.  Chicago is dealing with a measles outbreak. Many parts of America are similarly affected, according to the CDC Measles Dashboard. Health care for migrant children and adolescents in Chicago and other sanctuary cities needs greater focus with increased federal funding. Texas … Read Read more… Supporting migrant adolescents originally appeared in KevinMD.com ..read more

Last summer, I had the incredible opportunity to present a case report as a poster at the Women in Ophthalmology Summer Symposium. As a premed student, this was exciting but also quite intimidating. This meeting is a large national medical conference with about 1,500 attendees, including ophthalmologists of all career stages, many ophthalmology residents, and Read more… Tips and tricks for presenting research at a medical conference as a premed originally appeared in KevinMD.com ..read more

Over the last few weeks, I’ve spoken to applicants who did not match in the 2024 NRMP match. They are just a few of the thousands of highly qualified students and physicians who did not match this cycle. This is a wrenching experience, and it can be hard to pick yourself up and move on Read more… Navigating post-match disappointment: What to do if you did not match originally appeared in KevinMD.com ..read more

Patience is a notoriously hard skill to master. When working in health care, your patience is constantly tested, a lesson I have repeatedly learned in my time as a medical assistant in a large orthopedic surgery practice. Whether it is taking the time to reexplain instructions to a patient when I know am running behind Read more… Practicing patience with patients originally appeared in KevinMD.com ..read more

Do you remember times when your dreams, hopes, and aspirations were crushed by teachers and other authority figures? We’ve all encountered such times. These experiences shape our character in negative ways and can lead to devastating psychological effects. This kind of negative influence can greatly impact our self-esteem and self-worth, instilling a deep-seated fear of Read more… Dealing with discouragement: strategies for aspiring medical students originally appeared in KevinMD.com ..read more

In February 2024, the resident physicians in South Korea resigned in waves. This was not a strike; striking seemed meaningless, and the residents went right on quitting. This occurred after the Korean government promulgated health care reform plans to tackle major problems brewing under the nation’s universal health insurance system. One of the plans–to increase the medical Read more… Why South Korean resident physicians are quitting originally appeared in KevinMD.com ..read more

Taking gap year(s) before medical school does not mean that you have failed or that you are “lesser than” as a student. These are the words I needed to hear as a resolute pre-med student who used to proudly proclaim that I was “going straight through” to med school. It was like a badge of Read more… Ode to the gap year(s) before medical school originally appeared in KevinMD.com ..read more

I’m not sad – I’m numb. My friend, a seasoned internal medicine resident, revealed a chilling truth after grappling with eight patient codes – three lives eluded salvation. The gravity of his words froze me. When did the mourning for human existence transform into a necessity to numb our very core? I found myself pondering Read more… From numbness to empathy: a reflection on medical practice originally appeared in KevinMD.com ..read more

What drew me to spending my gap year as a medical assistant was the advertised “direct patient care experience.” While patient care is my favorite part of the job, it comes with its own unique challenges for a first-time health care worker. An unexpected challenge that I had to overcome with patient care was learning Read more… The unspoken skill of touch in health care originally appeared in KevinMD.com ..read more

The words “gap year” are enough to panic any high-achieving premedical student with their heart set on matriculating straight into medical school. Many students feel like a gap year will set them back in their journey to become a doctor, adding more years to the ever-long path to an MD behind their name. What these Read more… Medical school gap year: Why working as a medical assistant is perfect originally appeared in KevinMD.com ..read more