Korean-American medical student
med school
A reflection on life, death, and the role of the medical student
Feb 12th
I never quite imagined that I would have my first one-on-one end-of-life talk with a patient’s family during my very first month on the wards.
Hey Jae: Do medical students have jobs outside of school?
Dec 31st
Do medical students have paid jobs when school is in session? I would think that some would work to help pay off their tuition costs. Yes and no. Many people do some form of work-study financial aid in school where they find jobs as librarians, TAs, research assistants, manual laborers, etc. Others arrange their own…
10 things I wish I'd known before starting med school
Jul 8th
It’s still a bit weird for me to know that I’m now officially a second-year medical student, but here’s my best shot at some pearls of wisdom! You really have to love medicine. If I offered you $100 million to quit medicine forever, you should be able to say no without looking back. I realize…
Hey Jae: have you ever seen a med student with a disability?
May 19th
Have you ever seen a med student with a disability (a mild physical impairment in which the student doesn’t use a wheelchair)? If so, what were others’ reactions/how were they treated? Short answer: no, to the best of my recollection I have never seen a medical student with a physical impairment worth noting. Long answer:…
How to ace the med school personal statement
May 15th
OK, so a lot of my friends are applying to medical school this year, and I’m getting requests for tips on how to write a killer medical school personal statement. I’ve read and given feedback on all of my friends…and honestly, I still don’t think I quite know how to distill the essence of a…
5 tenets of medical ethics
May 2nd
I’ve recently decided to pursue the medical ethics track here at Baylor, and I’m thrilled to have discovered that there is an official department that oversees this field and certifies physicians-in-training in this discipline. I just finished up the required first-year course last week (hoping I passed that ridiculous exam! my hand still aches when…
The 3 rules of doctoring
Apr 2nd
I had dinner last night with an amazing mentor, and I wanted to share her thoughts with the world–they really made me step back for a moment and re-evaluate why we endure the unholy mental/physical war that is med school. I think everyone can relate to immersing themselves in the isolated world of studying, and…
Donor dedication ceremony 2010 speech
Mar 8th
Last Friday (3/5), a week after completion of our anatomy course, the first-year class at BCM had our donor dedication ceremony, where we honored the sacrifice of those who donated their bodies for us to learn from. It was touching to hear my classmates speak about their experiences, and it was heartening to see the…
99% of the people you meet in med school
Jan 25th
A guide to the typical stereotypes you’ll find around in a med school class. This is (mostly) meant to be tongue-in-cheek. 1. gunner: the most notorious of the stereotypes, the gunner is out to get perfect scores on everything, whether it’s final exams, clinics, or random questions in lecture. The gunner is somehow capable of…
MHIMS: perfectionism
Jan 7th
While commonly touted as a good thing, the notion of perfectionism is, when analyzed, little more than a source of stress, delusions, and a detrimental sense of failure. But wait, cry all the self-help coaches, overachievers, and med students. Perfectionism is good! It drives us to achieve, to surpass our limitations, to be all we…