The Privilege of Being a Third Year Medical Student

Great blog posting from a 3rd year student (even if he is from Georgetown ;) ). This gets at the value of "really knowing your patients."  However, if you do choose to blog or post on Facebook about meaningful patient encounters, please make sure to get their permission.  There are a few too many details here that make me nervous about confidentiality.

Hope you enjoyed today's session. The POM 3 Post-Session Survey is now up and available. It's due in one week. CLICK HERE to take the (required) survey. 

4 things every medical student should know about health policy

KevinMD (a great medical blog, and one I recommend every student follow) posted this article by med student Elisabeth Askin.  It is brief, but contains great insight into our healthcare system ( or lack thereof).
Elisabeth is a medical student and co-author of The Health Care Handbook: A Clear and Concise Guide to the U.S. Health Care System, which is now available as an ebook and will soon be available in paperback.

Top 10 keys to success in 3rd year medical school and beyond

From Dr. Terry Kind, posted on her blog

1.Recognize every learning opportunity... and that every experience is a learning opportunity


2.Identify your learning gaps... and fill them

3.Care about and for your patients.

4.Ask some questions; answer some questions. Read; study; participate.

5.Be enthusiastic, be teachable. Learn from residents, nurses, fellows, attendings, patients, parents, peers.

6.Go beyond reporting information. Interpret, manage, educate...

7.Be on the team.

8.Reflect and improve.

9.Let your own family know if/that you are okay. Seek help when necessary.

10.Be professional at all times.

Health task force challenges conventions, faces condemnation

Here is an interesting perspective piece on the USPSTF from USA Today. It discusses why so many patients, doctors and disease advocates are upset with this group.

First Pill to Prevent HIV

As reported by ABC News and others, the FDA approved Truvada to prevent HIV infection.  Truvada is not a new drug.  What is new is that there is now a primary prevention (healthy people take this) for HIV infection. One controversy is the potential of creating resistance, but the FDA felt that risk was outweighed by the benefit of preventing HIV in serodiscordant partners.

The Health Care Handbook

Have you been confused about our health care system? It's large and complex, and even though you may in it, you may still not understand how it works.  This is a common experience for medical students.  Fortunately, two medical students have written an book called "The Health Care Handbook."  They were featured in Pauline Chen's NY Times Article. The book will be in paper back soon, but is currently available on Amazon as an e-book.  I would highly recommend this to medical students.