How do you match into one of the most competitive specialties in medicine without losing the person behind the scalpel? Join host Deana Golini as she sits down with Dr. Lindsey Brinkley, a University of Florida College of Medicine graduate and incoming integrated cardiothoracic surgery resident at the University of Utah School of Medicine. Lindsey breaks down what it actually took to land in a field with only 56 positions and 40 programs nationwide, including four straight months of away rotations, a dual application to both cardiac and general surgery, and 22 peer-reviewed publications built alongside her medical training. She traces the origin back to age 12, googling her grandfather’s bypass surgery on the family computer, and explains how sitting with dying patients through the No One Dies Alone program shaped the kind of surgeon she wants to be. She gets honest about the parts nobody photographs: tearing her Achilles in her first month of med school, hitting every red light on her drive out of Gainesville after eight years, and finding CrossFit while studying for Step 1 because she needed to feel like an athlete again. She also pulls back the curtain on holistic admissions from the inside after serving on UF’s committee, where 5,000 applications get narrowed to a class of 135, and explains why mission fit beats stats every time. If Lindsey’s story reframes what a competitive applicant actually looks like, hit the like button, share your reflections in the comments, and subscribe for weekly conversations tracing the realities of the medical journey.
Full show notes coming soon!
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I just received my admission to XXXXX! This is unreal and almost feels like I am dreaming. I want to thank you for all of your help with my application. I cannot overstate how influential your guidance and insight have been with this result and I am eternally grateful for your support!
IM SO HAPPY!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR HELP, IM INDEBTED TO YOU! Truly, thank you so much for all your help. Thank you doesnt do enough.
I want to take a few moments and thank you for all of your very instructive, kind and consistent feedback and support through my applications and it is your wishes, feedback, and most importantly your blessings that have landed me the acceptance!
I got into XXXXX this morning!!!! It still has not hit me that I will be a doctor now!! Thank you for all your help, your words and motivation have brought me to this point.
I wanted to once again express my heartfelt gratitude for your help in providing feedback during my secondary applications. Your guidance has been instrumental in my journey.
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