PODCAST EPISODE GUIDE
ACADEMIC SKILLS
-
Developing Good Study Habits
Developing good study habits is essential for getting the kinds of grades and test scores that will get you into medical school. Listen to us share some of the wisdom we’ve learned about time management, passive vs. active learning, procrastination, cramming, distractions, finding meaning in learning, and asking for help. This is a great overview to give you ideas for ways to improve your personal study habits during your next quarter/semester.
-
Test-Taking Skills
Do you want to get better at taking tests? In this episode we review some of the keys to improving test-taking skills, including: deciphering key concepts, combating test anxiety, finishing tests on time, and some specific tips and tricks to help you on multiple-choice exams. As usual, we share some of our own experiences and wisdom to help you get better at acing your tests!
-
Finding A Mentor
Nobody who becomes a doctor does it all alone. We all need mentors — people to give us advice, constructive feedback, and encouragement along the way. In this episode, we discuss how to go about finding a mentor, or multiple mentors, to help you along your path to becoming a doctor (or whatever else you choose to become). We offer advice on how to identify possible mentors, how to overcome the fear of approaching a potential mentor, and what to do if you encounter someone who discourages rather than encourages you.
-
Improving Your Memory
Do you want to learn how to improve your memory so you can do better in your classes? Then, this episode is for you! We cover the stages of learning (encoding, consolidation, and recall), tips for how you can study in ways that will make information "stick" better, and how you can take care of your health in order to keep your brain in top shape. If you struggle with memorizing lots of information for tests, don't miss this one!
-
Asking for Help
Is it hard for you to muster up the courage to ask a question in class, ask your teacher or professor for help, or admit you don’t understand something? Asking for help can be hard for anyone, but many minorities face additional challenges — including being brought up not to question authority, stereotype threat, a strong tendency toward self-reliance, or mental health struggles. In this episode, we explore why it can be hard to ask for help and how you can get better at doing it anyway. Remember, nobody becomes a doctor without help! The earlier you learn how to ask for help, the better off you’ll be.
LIFE SKILLS
-
Growth Mindset
What is growth mindset and what does it have to do with becoming a doctor? Listen as we dive into this concept from psychology and learn how it can transform the way you view yourself and others. We share lots of examples from our lives and the lives of others to illustrate how it can make a difference on your path to greater success.
-
Stereotype Threat
Have you ever felt frustrated that your test scores don’t adequately reflect your knowledge and abilities? Have you ever looked around an exam room and felt nervous because nobody else looks like you? If so, you probably experienced something called “stereotype threat”. This term was developed by psychology researchers who were trying to understand why black and Latinx students get lower grades on average in college compared to their white classmates, and why women tend to do worse in subjects like math and engineering than males. They found that students can face a lot of internal pressure to disprove negative stereotypes about their group (such as the stereotype that women are bad at math), and this internal pressure can affect how their brains function during a test, leading to lower test scores. In this episode, we review many examples of stereotype threat at work, discuss our own experiences facing it, and explore some strategies that can help you combat it.
-
Depression & Anxiety
Have you or a loved one ever struggled with feelings of sadness, depression, worry, anxiety, or panic? Or, do you simply want to better understand these unique (but common) challenges? Join us and guest psychiatrist Dr. Renee Garcia for an in-depth discussion of depression & anxiety.
(Trigger Warning: Discussions of suicide)
(Disclaimer: This episode is intended for general advice only. If you have questions about your particular situation, diagnosis, or treatment, please consult your healthcare or mental health provider.)
-
Managing Family & Cultural Expectations
Making the decision to become a doctor is hard by itself, but it can be even more difficult when faced with conflicting family, cultural, social, economic, religious, and gender expectations. In this episode, we dive into some of these topics, sharing a lot of the personal and family challenges we faced — like Zulma getting the cold shoulder from her dad when she decided to go away to college, and Marina grappling with religious ideas about gender roles when deciding whether to go to medical school.
-
Self-Confidence
Do you struggle with your self-confidence? Listen in as we explore: what self-confidence is, why we sometimes lack it, what the “confidence gap” is, how you can develop greater self-confidence, and the dangers of over-confidence for doctors.
-
The (Poor) Student's Guide to Self-Care
Have you ever gotten totally useless advice about self-care? Does your idea of self-care involve drinking green smoothies, doing yoga, and getting expensive massages? If so, this episode is for you! We offer you three simple ideas to help you learn to take better care of yourself — including getting better sleep, practicing self-compassion, and occasionally making time for things that feed your spirit. They’re simple concepts but not always so simple to implement in real life, so we break them down and offer plenty of examples from our own lives. The best part, though? Anyone can try them and they don’t have to cost a dime!
APPLYING TO MEDICAL SCHOOL
-
The Big Picture
In this episode, we explore the big picture of what it takes to become a doctor in the U.S. We discuss the difference between allopathic (MD) and osteopathic (DO) doctors, what it means to be a primary care doctor vs. a specialist, how to make the most of college while fulfilling premedical requirements, the competitiveness of applying to medical school, how long it takes to become a doctor, how much it all costs, how much you can expect to make as a doctor, and non-traditional paths to becoming a doctor. We share some of our own experiences to help you make sense of it all. If you are in college and on the road to to applying to medical school, this episode is for you!
-
Acing the MCAT
The Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) is required to apply to medical school. A score of 500 or above is generally considered competitive. Check out our resource guide that includes multiple episodes with study tips and current medical students sharing their MCAT success stories. If they can do it, so can you!
-
Writing a Great Personal Statement
An important part of your application to medical school will involve writing a one-page essay explaining to the admissions committee WHY you want to become a doctor. Writing a mediocre personal statement can really hurt your chances of getting in, so it’s important to give yourself enough time (at least 3 months) to write and edit your essay. In this episode, we review some general principles and more specific do’s and dont’s of writing a great essay. If you’re planning to apply to medical school during the next cycle (which opens around May/June of each year), or if you’re an early premed student wanting to know more about how to best prepare to apply, this episode is for you!
MINORITY MEDICAL STUDENT STORIES
-
Developing Good Study Habits
Developing good study habits is essential for getting the kinds of grades and test scores that will get you into medical school. Listen to us share some of the wisdom we’ve learned about time management, passive vs. active learning, procrastination, cramming, distractions, finding meaning in learning, and asking for help. This is a great overview to give you ideas for ways to improve your personal study habits during your next quarter/semester.
-
Test-Taking Skills
Do you want to get better at taking tests? In this episode we review some of the keys to improving test-taking skills, including: deciphering key concepts, combating test anxiety, finishing tests on time, and some specific tips and tricks to help you on multiple-choice exams. As usual, we share some of our own experiences and wisdom to help you get better at acing your tests!
-
Finding A Mentor
Nobody who becomes a doctor does it all alone. We all need mentors — people to give us advice, constructive feedback, and encouragement along the way. In this episode, we discuss how to go about finding a mentor, or multiple mentors, to help you along your path to becoming a doctor (or whatever else you choose to become). We offer advice on how to identify possible mentors, how to overcome the fear of approaching a potential mentor, and what to do if you encounter someone who discourages rather than encourages you.
-
Improving Your Memory
Do you want to learn how to improve your memory so you can do better in your classes? Then, this episode is for you! We cover the stages of learning (encoding, consolidation, and recall), tips for how you can study in ways that will make information "stick" better, and how you can take care of your health in order to keep your brain in top shape. If you struggle with memorizing lots of information for tests, don't miss this one!
MINORITY DOCTOR STORIES
-
Developing Good Study Habits
Developing good study habits is essential for getting the kinds of grades and test scores that will get you into medical school. Listen to us share some of the wisdom we’ve learned about time management, passive vs. active learning, procrastination, cramming, distractions, finding meaning in learning, and asking for help. This is a great overview to give you ideas for ways to improve your personal study habits during your next quarter/semester.
-
Test-Taking Skills
Do you want to get better at taking tests? In this episode we review some of the keys to improving test-taking skills, including: deciphering key concepts, combating test anxiety, finishing tests on time, and some specific tips and tricks to help you on multiple-choice exams. As usual, we share some of our own experiences and wisdom to help you get better at acing your tests!
-
Finding A Mentor
Nobody who becomes a doctor does it all alone. We all need mentors — people to give us advice, constructive feedback, and encouragement along the way. In this episode, we discuss how to go about finding a mentor, or multiple mentors, to help you along your path to becoming a doctor (or whatever else you choose to become). We offer advice on how to identify possible mentors, how to overcome the fear of approaching a potential mentor, and what to do if you encounter someone who discourages rather than encourages you.
-
Improving Your Memory
Do you want to learn how to improve your memory so you can do better in your classes? Then, this episode is for you! We cover the stages of learning (encoding, consolidation, and recall), tips for how you can study in ways that will make information "stick" better, and how you can take care of your health in order to keep your brain in top shape. If you struggle with memorizing lots of information for tests, don't miss this one!