Medicus

Every medical student knows of that one hurdle that can make or break their aspirations of getting into the specialty or program of their choice. It’s the bane of existence for every medical student in their first two years of medical school. That hurdle is the USMLE Step 1. The United States Medical Licensure Exam - Step 1, is a standardized exam that is administered by the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) and the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB). It was created to assess the ability of medical students to apply basic science fundamental concepts to the practice of medicine. The entire exam is divided into three steps, but in this episode we will be primarily be focusing on Step 1, which is typically taken after the second year of medical school.  On this episode of Medicus, Dr. Josh Hopps joins Nate and Neal to talk about the history and philosophy behind the exam, the controversies surrounding it, its place in medical education, and the changes that it might be undergoing in the years to come. Sound effect is "DunDunDunnn.wav" by copyc4t - available at https://freesound.org/people/copyc4t/sounds/146434/ www.medicuspodcast.com | medicuspodcast@gmail.com | Donate: http://bit.ly/MedicusDonate --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/medicus/message

Part of being a physician is establishing a balance between personal life and work life. On this episode of Medicus, Dr. Bernadette Aulivola joins us to discuss how she is able to manage her roles as a mother and wife, while also being a physician in the demanding field of vascular surgery. Dr. Aulivola also dives into a variety of other topics such as her clinical area of interest, which is to save legs from requiring amputation with techniques to improve blood flow, as well as the progression of women representation in surgical specialties. Did we also mention that Dr. Aulivola practices transcendental meditation? Tune in to Medicus to learn more about how this amazing multitasker does it all! Follow Dr. Aulivola on twitter @baulivola Follow Loyola Vascular Surgery @loyolavascular www.medicuspodcast.com | medicuspodcast@gmail.com | Donate: http://bit.ly/MedicusDonate --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/medicus/message

There are many different types of hospitals in the United States, most of which fall under the broad categories of for-profit, not-for-profit, and government-owned (Department of Veterans Affairs "VA"). Although only a select demographic can utilize government-owned hospitals, our VA hospitals are a major component of the US healthcare system. From the US Department of Veteran Affairs website, “The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, providing care at 1,243 health care facilities, including 172 VA Medical Centers and 1,062 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics) to over 9 million Veterans enrolled in the VA health care program.”  We brought in Dr. Haralampopoulos, an internist at the Edward Hines Jr. VA hospital in Illinois for over a decade, to shed light on the VA system. She shares how medicine is practiced at the VA, discusses working with the VA’s patient population, and reasons why one should pursue a career at the VA. www.medicuspodcast.com | medicuspodcast@gmail.com | Donate: http://bit.ly/MedicusDonate --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/medicus/message

Welcome to Part 2 of our Valentine’s Day Special!  Here we explore what it’s like to be a parent while attending medical school and residency. For insight into this topic, we have brought in two “physicians in training” who have a three year old daughter and another baby on the way. We sure learned a lot from our incredibly talented and dedicated guests, and know you will too! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/medicus/message

In the Part 1 of our Valentine’s Day Special, we learn about managing relationships and getting married while in medical school. We discuss the obstacles, thought processes, and joys of planning a wedding from the perspective of two amazing (and hilarious) guests. From doing long-distance, transitioning to new jobs and cities, and having their perfect wedding, they've done it all. www.medicuspodcast.com | medicuspodcast@gmail.com | Donate: http://bit.ly/MedicusDonate --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/medicus/message

In this 4th year medical student (MS4) specialty episode, we investigate the field of Emergency Medicine. Our guests in this episode, Shea Boles and Chase Thorson, are completing their medical education at the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. Shea is a native of Sonoma, California, and completed her undergraduate degree at Santa Clara University. Before coming to medical school, she worked as a scribe in an Emergency Department. Shea is part of the Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) with commitments to work as a physician in the Air Force upon completion of her residency at UC Davis. Chase is from Seattle, Washington, and completed his undergraduate degree at Gonzaga University. Following graduation, Chase went on to teach English in France for a year, and scribed in an Emergency Department upon his return to the States. Both Shea and Chase are passionate about the ideas of advocacy and community integration that comes with being an Emergency Medicine physician. For advice, tips, and a glimpse into the lives of medical students pursuing a career in Emergency Medicine, follow along! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/medicus/message

Medical training is a stressful process. Sometimes we get lost in the grind and rely on taking each task one at a time, only focusing on what is directly in front of us. When we let our own stressors consume us it is easier to forget about the challenges that others around us are facing. It can be a shock to find out that our classmates are also dealing with difficult circumstances outside of school. In this episode, we interview Aaima and Cesar about the challenges of being an undocumented immigrant and physician in training. Read more about this topic and our guests: https://medicuspodcast.com/ep5/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/medicus/message

One of the most difficult questions that patients can ask a healthcare provider is “why me?”. To complicate things further, this question is often posed with spiritual or religions undertones, i.e. “why is X, Y, Z god doing this to me?” While healthcare providers seek to treat the physical, at one point in their career they will be challenged to respond to questions of spiritual and religious doubt. This is no easy task, as studies have shown that spiritual care is an enigmatic area for healthcare providers with multiple barriers (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28249545?log$=activity;https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24480531). John Hardt, Ph.D. is the Vice President for Mission Integration for Trinity Health Illinois and Associate Provost for Mission and Identity at Loyola University Chicago Health Sciences Division.  In his capacity as Vice President, he is responsible for the implementation, growth, and assessment of Trinity Health’s mission and ethics portfolio across the region. His grant research has focused on Ignatian spirituality and the formation of physicians and launched The Physicians’ Vocation Program, a four-year program for medical students at Loyola’s Stritch School of Medicine interested in exploring the concept of vocation in their own lives as future doctors. For more info on Dr. Hardt and this episode topic, visit medicuspodcast.com. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/medicus/message

For students hoping to go through the rigorous process of becoming a physician, the challenge begins before they even set foot in a school. Navigating the application process is a daunting task. In 2018, medical schools in the US admitted, on average, just 4.1% of the applicants to their school (https://www.aamc.org/data/facts/applicantmatriculant/). That translates to 41% of the total 52,777 applicants claiming a spot in the first year class at a medical school this year. With thousands of qualified applicants vying for less than 200 spots, how does an admissions department approach the process of selecting the young men and women who will become future doctors representing their institution? To find out, we sat down with Sunny Nakae, former Assistant Dean for Admissions at Loyola’s Stritch School of Medicine. Sunny Nakae is Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Associate Clinical Professor of Health Sciences at the University of CA Riverside School of Medicine. Prior to her role at UCR, Dr. Nakae served as Assistant Dean for Admissions, Recruitment and Student Life at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. She has been in medical education since 2001 and loves sharing in the journeys of students. Dr. Nakae is a passionate ally and advocate for social justice and diversity, equity, and inclusion in medicine. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/medicus/message

In this 4th year medical student (MS4) specialty episode, we investigate the field of General Surgery with two students who are pursuing this as a career. Our guests for this episode, Steven Marincel and Allison Zarnke, are completing their medical education at the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. For advice, tips, and a glimpse into the lives of medical students pursuing a career in General Surgery, follow along! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/medicus/message

On this episode of Medicus, Dr. Nate Derhammer joins us to talk about medical education and how it has changed since when he was a student. He also discusses his role as the residency program director of Med-Peds at Loyola and offers his perspective on how students can do well in their clinical years of medical school, as well as match into Med-Peds for residency. You won't want to miss this! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/medicus/message