A Big Problem

Article Title: Medical Students Confront a Residency Black Hole
Info: http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2013/04/01/medical-students-residencies/

So I found this article whilst researching about Internal Medicine. It talks about how this year, hundreds of medical school graduates were unable to get a residency position. This is extremely concerning because medical school prepares you for the real world of medicine and most of your knowledge will be put on the line during your residency.

During residency, you'll be trained in a particular specialty of your choice. This is where doctors become true masters of their craft. Depending on what programme you join, surgeons become surgeons. Internists become internists. Students become doctors. 

When medical school graduates are unable to get a spot in residency, this is a huge problem: they've studied for years only to be cut out when, I believe, is the most important part of their career. According to this article, medical schools are graduating more students than there are residency positions. The answer? Open more spots! In March, several lawmakers passed a legislation that will add 3,000 – 4,000 positions over 5 years. This is a good solution for now.

Another issue this article mentions is the decreasing amount of primary care doctors and residency positions. Many students are rushing forward to specialties such as dermatology or laproscopic surgery. (The pay is nearly twice as much, which is appealing)

While I was at the UCI Medical Centre, I was able to talk to an OBGYN. She said that there is a serious lack of primary care doctors. Her statement makes sense: students train for years of their life. Why not be paid a lot? Personally, I want to be a surgeon. I wouldn't mind training for Internal Medicine either, but residency positions are incredibly important; something that this article helps me to understand.

Blog 4: Interview Preparation

Who do you plan to interview? Why?

Dr. Francisco B. Fuscaldo, MD

He is a physician who specialises in Internal Medicine ergo, an internist. Since I've decided that Internal Medicine is my senior topic, interviewing an internist would greatly help me in my research. I interviewed him over the summer, but this time I'm ready to do a full–fledged interview.

You have to ask 5 questions. What additional questions do you plan to ask?

Set Questions

1. I'm interested in studying Internal Medicine. What can you tell me about it? 
2. From your perspective, what could I study that would be significant to other people? 
3. Who else would you recommend I talk to? 
4. What kinds of places or activities do you recommend I do for the mentorship component? 
5. What books should I read in this field? Who else can I interview? 

Additional Questions

1. Why did you choose Internal Medicine? 
2. What is the most enjoyable part in being a doctor? 
3. What is the least enjoyable part in being a doctor? 
4. How are you able to specialise into another field such as cardiology when you've already specialised in Internal Medicine? 
5. Internists work with adults: what is the age group you mainly see? 
6. What kind of personality do you believe is best for a doctor? 
7. Are you up to date with recent breakthroughs in medicine or particularly internal medicine? If so, what are good places to read up on these?

Blog 3: Topic Choice and Semester 1 ESLR Goals

Topic

Internal Medicine


What do you plan to do this year to show growth in each of the ESLRs?

• iPoly Citizen
• What I do regret is that I wasn't as active as I would have liked to have been these past three years. While I have the great opportunity to work with my fellow peers in the Blood Drive Committee  I will try to be far more active in the community. I've crippled my schedule as I'll be doing many things this year; (AP class, Senior Project, Young Scholars) yet I really do want to have an affect in the community. It may not be a large impact such as creating an entirely new elective, but I'll see what I can do.
• Effective Learner
• During the summer, I visited the UCI Medical Centre and spoke with many undergraduates and medical students. Another high school student who was there  as me asked "How much do you have to study in Medical School?" The medical student thought for a second and simply said "If you devote at least an hour or two a day studying, then you're fine. For your first year at least." Long story short of what happened at UCI, I became inspired from the discussion. If I devote and manage my time wisely and actually sit down and study, I feel I'll do far better and catch better habits. I'm also a kind of person that doesn't like asking questions. I'd just go home and figure it out myself or from online tutorials. No more! If I don't get it, I'll ask. Especially at Cal Poly. I'll go to the professors' offices and ask them for help. I'll get better by learning from the best.
• Effective User of Technology
• I'm proficient with technology. I also understand that the internet is a vast repository for knowledge. Sites like EdX, Khan Academy, and even anecdotes from Reddit have furthered my knowledge. Frankly, the problem is staying there too long and straying towards the computer games. This year I'll cut back on my computer use [games, really] and see how it affects me. In addition to that, when I am on the computer, I' really have to learn how to research correctly. I do not believe searching something on google and clicking only the first link, reading it, and using only that as a source for a paper is acceptable.
• Effective Communicator
• Numerous times when a question is asked in class, I think or know I have the right answer, but I don't raise my hand to answer because of a fear of either being wrong, irrationally ridiculed, or become embarrassed. When I find out I was actually correct, I feel angry with myself. "Why didn't I answer? I knew it!" This fear has held me back more times than I can count. For example, it was the first day in one of my college classes. The professor said "OK, extra credit to the person who knows who the student of Aristotle was." We were talking about philosophy at the time and just ended the section of Aristotle. For a few seconds no one was raising their hand. Me on the other hand had just read about this very topic  a few months back. So many things were going on in my head at the time. "I know this! Alexander the Great, right? But what if I'm wrong? I'm the only high school student here. They'll think me stupid." I thought to myself. After a few more seconds the teacher said the answer. "Alexander the Great" Oh how angry I was. I couldn't get the scene that just happened out of my head for a few hours. I refuse for things like that to happen. They think me stupid? Wrong. The only person that was stupid was me. Even if the answer is wrong, I've got to try!

Summer Mentorship Component

Service Log

[Senior] Summer Community Service Log

The first ten hours at AEON Medical Equipment & Supplies, Inc. and the doctor's office were for this summer mentorship component.

The extra thirty hours at the UC Irvine Medical Centre was an extra thing I did after getting the ten hours required. I don't believe it can be counted for mentorship as it is part of a week-long programme called Camp Cardiac, in which UC Irvine Medical Students taught us all about the medical profession. We were able to ask undergraduates, medical students, and full-fledged doctors questions about the field. I've added it just to log it! It's also influenced me to do my senior project on it.


Contact Information

Susan Esquivel – (909) 223–0179


What questions were raised because of the 10 hours of experience?

1. What kind of things are we going to be doing in the components during the year?
2. What do I really want to do with my life?
3. What is the hardest thing to deal with in the different types of fields of medicine?
4. How people think and feel in the the medical profession

What is the most important thing you gained from this experience?

I really got most of my enjoyment from Camp Cardiac. Although it was not particularly a mentorship, it left me with a feeling of enthusiasm and the desire to really get a good mentor in this school year. I really want to do something in the medical field. Surgeon? Sure.


How did what you did help you choose a topic?

The ten hours at AEON Medical Equipment & Supplies, Inc. helped me realise that what I'm dealing with is very complicated. I have been going to these medical supply companies since I was small (Accompanying my mum), but I never realised how deep it was. After going to Camp Cardiac and interacting with the doctors and medical students as well as learning more about the field, I now absolutely know I want to become a doctor with my senior project being something in this field. I hope this senior year will be a good learning experience for me. If what this summer has shown me so far is a vision of my future, then I'm going to be very happy.