medical school

20 Questions: Diana Marie Padgett, MD, Pathology

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Diana Marie Padgett, MD, an anatomic and clinical pathologist, is president and treasurer at Pathology Associates of Harrisonburg (Virginia), as well as medical advisor to Blood Bank and Point of Care Testing. She received her bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in biochemistry from University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where she graduated summa cum laude (1998). She received her MD from University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center in Memphis, where she graduated summa cum laude (2003). She also has a one-year degree in Dutch studies from Leiden University (1997), and has successfully completed USMLE Step 1 (2001), Step 2 (2003) and Step 3 (2005). Dr. Padgett completed a residency in combined anatomic and clinical pathology at University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville (2003-2007), and a fellowship in pediatric and development pathology at University of Tennessee Health Science Center/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital/LeBonheur Children’s Medical Center in Memphis (2007-2008).
Dr. Padgett is board certified in combined anatomic and clinical pathology and pediatric pathology. She previously worked at St. Jude’s Research Hospital Department of Structural Biology in the Professional Oncology Education Program (1999), as well as University of Tennessee, Memphis, Department of Ophthalmology as a senior research assistant (1998-1999). Dr. Padgett has been published in the American Journal of Surgical Pathology, Infection and Immunity, Surgical Neurology, Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, American Journal of Neuroradiology, and Ophthalmic Research.

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The One Thing They Never Tell You About Medical School

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They tell you about the studying. They tell you about the long nights. They even start telling you about the lives you’re going to potentially save. In the months leading up to medical school, everyone has something to tell you. The neighbor next door, the relative you’ve never talked to before, even the guy who’s waiting next to you at Starbucks — everyone has some advice, some wisdom, some little token of knowledge to impart upon you as you begin this journey towards becoming a doctor.
Eventually those months turn into weeks and those weeks into days, and Orientation Week somehow finally manages to arrive. Freshly white-coated, you’re ready to take on the world and tackle this beast called medical school only to be swept away by the crashing wave of new advice emanating from nearly every direction — from academic advisers, from trialed and tested second year students, from school administrators, even from your fellow first years who’ve already started studying for board exams that won’t be taken for another four years. So by the end of the first week of school, you’ve accumulated 17 different versions of “the best way to study,” nine different lists of “the books you really need to get,” and five different takes on whether or not going to class is important.

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Attending Medical School on Foreign Ground

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Getting into medical school can be quite a challenge. Prospective students work hard to build a well-rounded background that will appeal to to the college of their choice, knowing that their chance of acceptance is 8.3% overall, and an abysmal 4% or less at top-tier schools. Harvard, ranked number one, accepted 3.9% of applicants, 226 of 5,804 hopefuls. State schools are far cheaper to attend and offer a better chance of acceptance, 44% of applicants.
Some students who are turned away remained determined to achieve their goals, and one way to do that is by applying to a school in another country. How does a foreign medical education compare to a U.S. education? The answers might surprise you.

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