Session 42

In today’s episode, I talk with Dr. Brandi Sinkfield, an attending general anesthesiologist who had her fair share of struggles along the path to medical school.

After taking the MCAT twice and then restarting her first year in medical school, Brandi is concrete proof that you are allowed to struggle as a premed and still continue to become a physician. It’s not a matter of how many times you’ve fallen down. It’s about learning to get back up after each fall.

Learn about Brandi’s transition from undergrad to medical school, her challenges and mistakes, and what she did to correct her course and become the physician that she is now.

Listen to this podcast episode with the player above, or keep reading for the highlights and takeaway points.

Brandi’s Premed Path to Medical School

• Initially, she got accepted to medical school as a traditional premed.
• She took a year off and deferred admission to medical school.
• She got shadowing experience at a burn unit in the children’s hospital.
• Took her MCAT while doing research at a neuroscience lab and working at a summer program as a teaching assistant.

What She Did During Her Year Off

• Planning to teach in Japan until 9/11 took place
• Ending up working as a waitress for 6 months, which helped develop her people skills

Her Struggles at the Beginning of Medical School

• Her studying style changing for the worse, as she tried to adapt to others’ study techniques
• Doing her research and restarting her first year of medical school
• Physical exercise as an important aspect of her overall well-being
• Realizing she was not alone in starting again
• Collaborating with a study buddy

[Related episode: Is an MCAT Study Group Helpful to Prepare for the MCAT?]

What She Did to Correct Course in Medical School

• Letting go of studying techniques that didn’t work
• Teaching herself out loud using a whiteboard

[Related episode: How to Easily Improve Your Test Scores and Learning Skills.]

Some Pieces of Advice for Premed Students

Keep your head up. Stay positive. There are more positive things going on than negative. It can be competitive, but that doesn’t mean it cannot be done. There are many roads to success, so you can do it!

Links and Other Resources

• Check out my Premed Playbook series of books (available on Amazon), with installments on the personal statement, the medical school interview, and the MCAT.
• Related episode: Rejected from the Carribean! Now with a U.S. Acceptance.
• Related episode: How to Fix a Medical School Application After Starting Premed Poorly
• Need MCAT Prep? Save on tutoring, classes, and full-length practice tests by using promo code “MSHQ” at Blueprint MCAT (formerly Next Step Test Prep)!