Not Quite What I Was Planning

Years ago, I read a beautiful book called Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure edited by Larry Smith and Rachel Fershleiser. The premise is that individuals were asked to sum up their lives in six words. Famous contributors include Margaret Atwood and Stephen Colbert, among others.

I thought about the book recently when I was at my medical school reunion: A dozen of us sat around a round table and talked about what we had been up to for the last 30 years. After we finished, we concluded that the overriding theme was that all of us were doing something different than what we thought we would be doing. I found that concept refreshing, and I suspect it might be reassuring to current students who feel burdened with big decisions.

I just checked out the e-book from the library so I can read it again. 

Federal Cuts are Forcing Academic Medicine into an Existential Mess

I was in Boston last week for my 30th Harvard Medical School reunion. I thought it would be fun, but it was even better than I expected.

Unfortunately, the festivities were marred by a black cloud of current and threatened federal cuts to academic medicine. Harvard, in particular, is getting hit hard, but my classmates were recounting the difficulties they are facing at their current, respective institutions - Harvard and others. 

The AAMC has done a good job offering specific examples of the damage in their recent piece "The Impact of Federal Actions on Academic Medicine and the US Health Care System." Read it and weep. 

The Disadvantages of a BS/MD Program

I've always had major qualms about BS/MD programs, especially the six and seven-year ones, perhaps because I appreciated my college experience so much. There are many other disadvantages (and a few advantages) of these programs, which are extremely well covered in podcast episode 542 of Your College Bound Kid. 

There, college counselor extraordinaire Mark Stucker does a very deep dive into the BS/MD option. Start at 10 minutes into the podcast for his extensive discussion of the (few) pros and (multiple) cons.

White Coat Investor Scholarship 2025 Applications are Now Open

Each year the White Coat Investor (WCI) offers a scholarship opportunity to students enrolled in full-time US professional schools. This year's application opened June 1, and the deadline is August 31. Students must be in good academic standing in eligible professional schools, including medical, dental, law, podiatry, pharmacy, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, and veterinarian, among others. The stated goal of the scholarship is to reduce winning students' indebtedness and to promote financial literacy in professional schools.

The lion's share of the application is an 800 to 1200 word essay. There are 10 grand prize winners.

For more information please check out this web page.

Great Podcast Episodes for College Applicants on Pre-med Paths

For those high school students already considering a career in medicine, I recommend a recent, two-part Your College Bound Kid (YCBK) podcast series. YCBK is run by Mark Stucker, a genial college counselor who covers a panoply of topics on the college admissions process. 

He and his colleague Susan Tree recently spoke about what pre-med students should be looking for and avoiding when considering colleges. They get down to the nitty-gritty, including inflated medical school acceptance statistics, specific institutions that offer mentored research programs, and the corporatization of modern medicine. The episodes are number 537 and 539.