medicine

Q&A with Dr. Sanjay Sharma, Ophthalmologist and Founder of MEDSKL

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Tell us about yourself. Why did you first decide to become a physician
I am a clinician-scientist who specializes in retinal disease. I grew up in Nova Scotia and went to medical school at Dalhousie University. I performed residency at Queen’s University, and obtained fellowships in retina from Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia and Mass Eye and Ear in Boston. I also obtained master’s degrees in epidemiology and business after becoming an ophthalmologist.
On a personal note, I married my wife, Susan (also a physician) during residency and we have 2 wonderful kids.
A few fun facts: I survived a near death experience fishing in the Gulf of Mexico – which taught me a lesson about how quickly the weather can change; came to skiing late in life but now routinely ski glaciers in the summer, and recently became an unexpected art agent (as our 14-year-old son’s work is being acquired by collectors in a number of countries).
As to why I became a physician? When I was 15 years old, my mother was hit in the eye with a tennis ball and suffered from a retinal detachment, which required surgery. Because of this experience, I became very interested in the eye, the retina, and ocular surgery. I actually went to medical school with the intent of becoming a retinal specialist.

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Q&A with Dr. Emma Stanton, Psychiatry, Population Mental Health

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Dr. Emma Stanton is a psychiatrist and Regional Chief Partnerships Officer at Beacon Health Options, a company which is uses a data-driven approach to work with mental health service providers across the US. She is also CEO of its international subsidiary Beacon UK, co-founder and director of the mentorship network Diagnosis, and a General Advisory Council Member at The Kings Fund.
Dr. Stanton obtained her medical degree from Southampton University (2000), completed her MRCPsych from the Royal College of Psychiatrists (2005), and obtained her MBA at Imperial College London (2009).
Prior to working at Beacon Health Options, Dr. Stanton completed her clinical training at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. She has also served as Clinical Advisor to the Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Health in London, which included placements to BUPA and the World Health Organization.

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Q&A with Physician-Author Femi Oyebode

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Dr Femi Oyebode is a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Birmingham and a published poet. He obtained his medical degree from the University of Ibadan (1977), followed by his MD at University of Newcastle, and his PhD in Wales (1998). In November 2016, he received a lifetime achievement award from the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
He is the author of the textbooks Sims’ Symptoms in the Mind: An Introduction to Descriptive Psychopathology, 4th Edition, Madness at the Theatre and Mindreadings: Literature and Psychiatry. He has also published 6 volumes of poetry, including Adagio for Oblong Mirrors; Master of the Leopard Hunt; and Indigo, Camwood and Mahogany Red.

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Q&A with Maxine Mackintosh, Health Data Scientist

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Maxine Mackintosh (BSc MSc) is a PhD student in data science at University College London, exploring data science as a new approach to dementia research. She is also cofounder of One HealthTech (previously HealthTech Women), a network of 11,000 that supports and promotes women and other underrepresented groups in health tech and innovation in the UK.

She is involved in a number of side projects across Big Pharma, public sector, third sector and other communities and initiatives, such as the Roche, the British Computer Society, Alzheimer’s Society and the World Economic Forum.

Ms. Mackintosh obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Sciences with a focus on neuroscience and pharmacology at University College London (2011-2014), before receiving a Master of Science (MSc) from the London School of Economics and Political Science (2014-2015) in health economics and financing, where she carried out research for her thesis on the role of Academic Health Science Networks in health innovation.

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ShirlyWhirl, MD: The Life of a Med Student in Comic Form

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Shirlene Obuobi draws the life of a medical student in her comic ShirlyWhirl, MD. See more comics on the ShirlyWhirl, MD  Facebook and Instagram.

Tell us about yourself
My name is Shirlene; I’m 24 and go to Pritzker School of Medicine. I was born in Ghana and have lived in Chicago, small town Arkansas, The Woodlands, TX, and went to Washington University in St. Louis for undergrad. I enjoy writing, drawing, and long walks along the lakefront. I recently adopted a cat. His name is Kahlo. 
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
I was one of those six-year-old children who said they wanted to be a doctor from the get-go. It’s a pretty boring origin story.

What drew you towards medicine?
My mom is a neonatologist, so I’ve had lifelong exposure. Like everyone else, I like that medicine is one of those careers that is both spiritually fulfilling (you get to directly change people’s lives! How cool is that! How arrogant are we that we’re okay with that level of responsibility!) and intellectually stimulating.
Tell us about ShirlyWhirlMD in a nutshell.
ShirlyWhirlMD is meant to convey typical experiences of healthcare professionals, and especially medical students, in fun comic form.

How did you come up with the idea for ShirlyWhirlMD?
I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember! In high school I made little comics for our school newspaper; in college, I started a comic club (shoutout to KaPOW!) for the same purpose. I started drawing med school-related comics mostly as a way to de-stress and shared them with my class. My roommate suggested that I actually share them with a larger audience! So here we are.
What is your ultimate goal for your comics?
First, I want to help connect different healthcare professionals over common experiences in medicine, and also to spark dialogue about some of the things that go on in medicine that we don’t discuss amongst ourselves frequently. For example, I care a lot about advocacy, and think that as healthcare professionals we carry an unusual amount of clout in society. But we rarely discuss what we see, and what we can do about it. I also think it’s important to not take ourselves too seriously, and to let the rest of the world know not to take us too seriously either. I recently had an attending who is near retirement tell me that he was looking forward to regaining his pre-professional identity again after years of being Dr.___. I want my patients to be able to look me up and say, “this girl is goofy, but she’s honest and I like that.” I’m going to definitely start introducing more serious topics to my comics, and I really would love to see people interact with them!

How can comics like ShirlyWhirlMD help students and health professionals? 
 
I think a lot of us suffer from a healthy dose of impostor syndrome—we worked hard to get into college, then into medical school, then residency. At every stage everyone around us becomes more and more impressive. So we tend not to talk to each other about our little insecurities, mistakes and frustrations. I think, on the student end at least, having this little comic reassure them that other people have similar experiences to theirs might make them realize that it’s ok to not have everything figured out.
What do you like to do for fun?
I also love to write. I draw (clearly), though the style I use in ShirlyWhirl, M.D. is actually very different from my usual work. I read a lot. I also like backpacking (the traveling kind) and have been all over Eastern Europe at this point.
Has your work on ShirlyWhirlMD changed the way you approach your future as a physician?
I am, at baseline, a pretty introspective person, but searching for material for my comic has forced me to be even more introspective. I have to be aware of my own biases and mental state when I’m taking care of patients. As the work gets more tiring and the amount of responsibility I have increases, I have to remember not to cut corners and to put myself in my patient’s shoes. For example, can I really be mad at the patient who is habitually non-compliant with his medications when I can barely remember to take my daily Zyrtec? Probably not.
What was the most challenging part of medical school for you?
What hasn’t been challenging? I think I’ll start with what hasn’t—for me, working with patients, learning the material itself, developing plans, all the aspects of medicine that drew me in—have kept their charm. The hardest parts have more to do with the culture of medicine, which basically expects people in training to be impervious to stress, illness, and to constant work. Third year you get evaluated clinically for the first time, and there’s a lot of internal pressure to already know everything at a time when you’re supposed to be learning. You’ve got to go to the hospital for 10-14 hours, come back and prepare for a shelf exam that you only have four to nine weeks to study for, which is graded on the most unforgiving curve because other medical students are wicked smart and very good at studying. If you don’t have a very secure support group, it can be isolating. If you already struggle with mental illness, it’s especially tough. Residency will just be more intense.

Are you interested in combining a career as a physician with creating comics or graphic novels? Here are some other interviews with physician-authors:

Has anything surprised you about your work on ShirlyWhirlMD? 
Just how universal a lot of my experiences are. Not just to other medical students, but to people who are well into their careers!
Where do you see yourself in the next 10 years?
I just figured out what I’m doing for the next three. Don’t make me think further than that. I’ll be a doctor and still be drawing, I guess?

What do you think the next big thing in medicine/healthcare will be?
I think the healthcare system in America is in need of major revamping. It’s currently incredibly inequitable, unsustainable, and unethical. On the patient’s side, the costs are out of control–an uninsured patient can get charged $50k for an appendectomy, and what is he supposed to do about that? Shop around for the best price until his appendix ruptures and he ends up with acute abdomen? On the physician’s side, there’s no incentive to spend real time with your patients, no incentive to take on
patients that need you the most, like those on Medicaid and Medicare, and very little incentive to go into primary care. I’m really hoping we start moving toward a single-payer form of healthcare.
What’s your favorite premed or med school memory?
I have so many of these! As far as in-hospital shenanigans, probably dancing to “Lose Yourself” in the OR with my 70+ year old attending. For out-of-hospital shenanigans, maybe a road trip to Toronto with my classmates.
What impact do you hope ShirlyWhirlMD has on medicine over the next decade?
I hope it spawns more creatives in medicine to start sharing their work, and to become a stomping ground for physician-generated discussion!
We’re on the lookout for other Med Innovators! Do you know a student or resident doing something cool to advance healthcare? Let us know! Email us at editor@studentdoctor.net.

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Jump Starting Your Job Search While In Medical School: Part 3

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Read  about steps 1 and 2 in Part 1 of this series  here.
Read  about steps 3 and 4 in Part 2 of this series  here.
You likely won’t start applying for jobs in earnest until you are a resident. But if you begin preparing for your job search while you are in medical school, you will have a competitive advantage when it’s time to start applying.

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Financial Literacy for the Newly Minted Physician Part II: Introduction to Do-It-Yourself Investing

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In our last installment, we recognized the value of money as a means of allotting your time in accordance with your values; identified financial independence for physicians as a goal worth pursuing from the earliest stages of your medical training; and discussed poor decisions that physicians commonly make, with the hope that we might tame the impulse to buy a new car or an irrationally expensive home fresh out of med school or residency.

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Jump Starting Your Job Search While In Medical School: Part 1

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When you are in medical school, your job search may feel like a project that’s light years away. While it’s true that your number one priority is succeeding in medical school, it’s a good investment of your time to get educated about what your job search will look like. If you’re knowledgeable about what the job search process is, you can take small, but meaningful steps now, like cultivating great relationships with potential references, attending conferences, and gaining clarity around what kind of work environment is a match for your preferences and goals. Consider these steps to jump start your job search while in medical school, and integrate these steps into your process as you learn and prepare for your career.

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Q&A with Dr. Abeyna Jones, Occupational Medicine

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Dr. Abeyna Jones is an occupational medicine registrar at King’s College Hospital and the Medical Director of Medic Footprints, a social enterprise for doctors and medical students promoting alternative careers and wellbeing. She is also a Fellow with the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Fellowship, devised to support UK doctors develop their enterprises whilst in clinical training and practice.

Dr. Jones received her medical degree from the University of Nottingham (2006) and a Postgraduate Certificate in Medical Education from the University of Edinburgh (2011).

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20 Questions: Tyler Edwards, MD, Family Medicine

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Dr. Tyler Edwards is an attending physician who specializes in family medicine, practicing for almost 15 years. In addition to his duties as a family physician, Dr. Edwards also works as a hospitalist at Frisbie Memorial Hospital, the same hospital in which his outpatient practice is affiliated. After graduating from Pennsylvania State University in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry, he matriculated at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, subsequently earning his M.D. degree in 1999. He thereupon moved to Ogden, Utah, to complete his McKay-Dee Family Medicine Residency program, which lasted three years. Dr. Edwards has been married for 18 years and has four children. As a keen advocate for exercise, he enjoys physical, outdoor activities, such as cross-country skiing, running, swimming, and hiking.

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20 Questions with Dr. Cosima Gretton, Health Technologist

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Dr. Cosima Gretton is a medical doctor and product manager at Karius, Inc., a biotech startup specializing in infectious disease genomics. She is also a Technology Entrepreneurship Teaching Fellow at UCL, where she is currently designing and delivering a new health care pathway which would guide entrepreneurs through the UK healthcare system, and a fellow at the Digital Health Forum, which brings together industry, academic and clinical experts in digital health. Furthermore, she is a mentor for Startupbootcamp’s healthcare accelerator.
In 2011, she co-founded the AXNS Collective, a science communication company which is looking to advance public engagement in neurology and psychology with the help of scientists and artists.
Dr. Gretton obtained a degree in Experimental Psychology from Oriel College, Oxford University (2009), followed by her medical degree from King’s College London (2015). While at medical school, she studied at the University College London (UCL) Mobile Academy, which supports individuals with new business ideas. She also studied at the Silicon Valley think tank Singularity University, where her team founded an at-home salivary diagnostic start-up called Mitera.
She most recently worked as Product Manager at Outcomes Based Healthcare, designing and building a research app to gather smartphone sensor data for diabetic patients; as a technical lead for RADAR-CNS at the NIHR Biomedical Research Center, a project seeking to find predictors of relapses in a number of neurological conditions; and as a digital health innovation consultant.
Dr. Gretton has written a number of featured articles for The King’s Fund, WIRED Magazine, and KQED Science, and has been published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

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Chronicles of a Med Student: Flexibility in Practice

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Chronicles of a Med Student

For a typical medical student shadowing in a clinic for a day, it looks a little something like this: we enter the familiar setting of an outpatient clinic and help as the attending physician sees patient after patient in quick fifteen minute intervals. We also get to see things that patients are not privy to—the virtual stacks of paperwork that wait at the end of each visit, the phone calls for consults, the appropriate orders for the workup of a certain condition in a certain patient. It all seems like a blur. Then we think about the clinical world before we even get to practice as a physician: the years of clinical rotations and especially residency are much more daunting, with their own strict rules, long work hours, and meager pay. Do I have to end up in an office or hospital setting? This is a thought that crept into my mind after hours of clinic observation. What I saw as a pre-medical student is somewhat different than what I experience as a medical student which makes this question far more relevant.

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Not a Single-Species Affair: How Non-Human Life Impacts Human Medicine

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non-human life

As a first-year medical student, I lived near a veterinary program. The comparison often made—by both med and vet students, as well as community members—was that med students studied humans, whereas vet students studied everything else. Of course, in its practical aim, medicine is exclusively about people. We undergo a serious study of human biology so as to meet the responsibility of caring for other human beings, and the central challenge of medicine is matching that knowledge to the unique experiences of our patients. We should be careful, however, not to underestimate the importance of non-human life for that purpose. As a scientific endeavor, human medicine is predicated on knowledge of many different types of living things, whether we consider the ecology of our bodies or the pharmacology of our cures. Moreover, the humility of its practitioners stems from recognizing the mutual dependence of human life and the rest of the biosphere. In short, medicine is a multi-species affair.

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Preparing to Apply to Medical School

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Wondering if a career as a doctor would be a good fit for you? Already decided you want to apply to medical school, but not sure where to start? In order to help premedical students understand what is involved in applying to medical school, Student Doctor Network has partnered with Open Osmosis to create a video on “Preparing to Apply to Medical School.” Learn what to consider when deciding whether medical school is the right path for you, find out what you will need for your application, and hear what steps you’ll need to take before starting the application process. The video also takes a look at joint degree options, different curricula, and school environments to help you find the best fit. 

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4 New Year’s Resolutions for Pre-Medical Students

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Being a pre-medical student means committing to a years-long process aimed at ultimately gaining admission to medical school. No matter how many years away you may currently be from applying, starting the new year with a resolution or two that is geared toward helping you achieve your goal of becoming a physician is a great way of ensure that you are on track. Whether you vow to finally enroll in that EMT class, or to broaden your academic horizons by taking an elective outside your major, find time to build yourself as an applicant while also maintaining a life outside of your pre-medical activities. Consider taking on one or more of the below resolutions, or craft your own to fit your academic and personal needs.

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