Allison and I change things up and do a live Google Hangout and answer questions that were emailed in, and questions that were asked by other people that joined us on the hangout.   We covered questions about the best way to fit in extracurriculars as a freshman in college. There is a burning desire to show admission committees that you are motivated and committed to helping others, but at what cost? You need to make sure that you can pace yourself properly with your new workload as a college student. Once you have your courses figured out, then start adding in the extracurriculars!   We talk about a lot more too!

If you can imagine your career after you are done with ALL of your training - at least 7 years down the road if you are a premed, and could guess that 1/3 of your colleagues would be burnt out - would you still take the same journey? What if it was you that was burnout? Overstressed? Overworked? It's crazy to think that as students of medicine, we learn to take care of others, yet we don't do a good job of learning to take care of ourselves.

For the episode, Allison and I talk about how relationships change as you enter the world of medical education. As you step foot on campus at medical school, you no longer have all the time in the world for your friends and family. That can lead to a lot of frustration and tension between friends. Friends and family also have a hard time trying to keep track of where you are in the process. My family still asks if I'm a doctor. I GRADUATED IN 2009!

Allison and I join forces to talk about an important topic - why you should or shouldn't go into medical school, and become a physician. You might be the smartest kid in your class, so you think you should be a doctor. Sometimes you think you want a stable, high paying job, so you think you should become a physician. Allison and I cover 5 reasons to go into medicine and 5 reasons to not go into medicine.

Tony Sozzo is back! If you didn't catch the first episode with Tony, go listen to it HERE.

The first question I ask Tony is why medical school, and undergraduate schools are so darn expensive. He gives some good reasons and mentions that about 2/3 of the cost to medical school is actually spent on the student, which is great to hear.

The second question I ask Tony is whether or not students should be choosing medical schools based on tuition. The overall answer is a definite NO. When you compare the difference paying back loans, the school that is $10,000 cheaper a year is only saving you a couple hundred dollars a month. If one school was more expensive, but I knew it was a better fit for ME, I wouldn't think twice, and neither should you! Some other things you should think about, how comfortable are you, what is the philosophy of the school, what is the environment?

The MCAT is changing. MCAT 2015 will be a whole new beast when it hits your nearest Prometric testing center in 2015. Students are already taking a modified trial version here in 2013 and 2014. Find out everything you need to know about the MCAT 2015 in this great interview with Kaplan.

As a premed walking through the halls of the hospital, trying to find where you are supposed to be volunteering - you see all the attendings and residents in their long white coats gracefully walking through the halls.   You assume they have all risen to their current position through lots of hard work and no mistakes.   What if I told you, you can make mistakes, and still make it. Still be the physician of your dreams.

Dr. Faye Reiff-Pasarew is a 3rd year resident and host of the Art of Medicine podcast. Listen as she talks about her non-traditional path to medical school and why she is podcasting as a resident.