Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts
Session 54
In today’s episode, Ryan talks with Dr. Sujay Kansagra, an attending pediatric neurologist at Duke Medical Center. He is the author of the top reviewed Everything I Learned in Medical School: Besides All the Book Stuff, a memoir about his medical school experiences at Duke as well as the author of Why Medicine?: And 500 Other Questions for the Medical School and Residency Interviews. His third book is in the works which will be a comprehensive medical school advice manual for anyone in high school, college, or even in medical school. Sujay has mastered the use of Twitter under his Twitter handle @medschooladvice.
Today, they talk about his medical school experience, the power of collaboration, the importance of journalism, and his insights into the hierarchy in medicine.
Here are the highlights of the conversation with Sujay:
The keys to success in medical school and life in general:
- Moving one step at a time
- Persistence
- Motivation
Sujay’s undergrad experience:
- Getting interested in the Biology and Psychology track to major in
- Choose a premed you’re going to enjoy and do well
Resources he tapped into during his premed years:
- Premed advising set up his academic pathway to place the core in place
- Relying on peers and his sister’s experience being two years ahead of her
- Premed advisors being distant from the process and even through the process but they’re knowledgeable in terms of the specifics of their school’s core classes
The benefits of peer advising:
- Knowing who you are and your personality
- Knowing where you might be a good fit
- Being your avenue to explore medicine such as the extracurricalars you’re going to do
Major challenges Sujay faced:
- The first semester as a shocker
- Starting off with a not so strong GPA
Choosing which medical schools to apply to:
- Getting the feel of the institution and the students in the medical school you’re visiting to
- Choosing a place that you can thrive and not just survive
- Getting the feel that it’s “right”
Going through the medical school interview process:
- Being a rigorous process
- The interview is the time that you need to shine
- Going through the academic-type and and ethical-type of interview
- They’re getting a better sense of who you are
Sujay’s experience at Duke Medical School:
- Based on honors/pass/fail system – he found it less stressful than the undergrad setup
- More intense workload
- More hours
The biggest thing that surprised him during his early years in medical school:
Everybody was smart! (You may not stand out too much)
The importance of having a “teamwork” attitude over a competitive attitude:
- You have to work as a team
- Don’t focus on the other racers, focus on yourself.
The surprising things about his clinical years:
- Time demands and being in a completely new language
- Consuming clinical work especially in surgery rotation
- Essentially breathing and living medicine
- How everyone knows everything can be intimidating (Don’t worry, you’ll soon learn them too!)
Being okay with not knowing anything:
- Being comfortable with saying you don’t know while also being able to answer some of the questions
- Your attending physicians don’t expect you to know everything but just trying to figure out some holes in your knowledge so they can teach you.
About Sujay’s book, Everything I Learned in Medical School: Besides All the Book Stuff:
- Initially writing it as his journal
- Realizing that people could learn from his interesting stories about medicine and life in general
- Initially intended for the general audience but now has a big following among premeds
The power of journaling:
Journal everything you’re seeing because this can help you when it comes to writing your personal statements and your extracurriculars in your applications
The hierarchy in medicine and Sujay’s insights:
- Hierarchy keeps things n order but it should not be use to abuse those who are in the low level of the hierarchy.
- Keep things as even as possible.
- Make sure everybody’s voice is heard and that everybody is a part of the team.
- Remember how it felt to be a medical student.
- Be respectful and mindful of those below your level as well as the ancillary staff (nurses, etc.)
Some pieces of advice for premed students:
Enjoy every step of the road to becoming a physician. Make sure to take time to enjoy life because it’s never going to get easier. There is no end to this road. As a physician, you’re a lifelong learner.
It’s okay if medicine is not for you. Don’t consider it as a failure but simply a change of course. That is completely okay.
Links and Other Resources:
Dr. Sujay Kansagra’s Books:
Everything I Learned in Medical School: Besides All the Book Stuff
Why Medicine?: And 500 Other Questions for the Medical School and Residency Interviews
Save $225 on the Princeton Review’s MCAT Ultimate or MCAT Self-Paced Prep Course through March 30th 2016 by going to www.princetonreview.com/podcast
If you need any help with the medical school interview, go to medschoolinterviewbook.com. Sign up and you will receive parts of the book so you can help shape the future of the book. This book will include over 500 questions that may be asked during interview day as well as real-life questions, answers, and feedback from all of the mock interviews Ryan has been doing with students.
Are you a nontraditional student? Go check out oldpremeds.org.
For more great content, check out www.mededmedia.com for more of the shows produced by the Medical School Headquarters including the OldPremeds Podcast and watch out for more shows in the future!
Free MCAT Gift: Free 30+ page guide with tips to help you maximize your MCAT score and which includes discount codes for MCAT prep as well.
Hang out with us over at medicalschoolhq.net/group. Click join and we’ll add you up to our private Facebook group. Share your successes and miseries with the rest of us.
Check out our partner magazine, www.premedlife.com to learn more about awesome premed information.
Blueprint MCAT (formerly Next Step Test Prep): Get one-on-one tutoring for the MCAT and maximize your score. Get $50 off their tutoring program when you mention that you heard about this on the podcast or through the MSHQ website.
Listen to our podcast for free at iTunes: medicalschoolhq.net/itunes and leave us a review there!
Email Ryan at ryan@medicalschoolhq.net or connect with him on Twitter @medicalschoolhq
