Med School Uncensored

RICHARD BEDDINGFIELD, MD, is a practicing cardiothoracic anesthesiologist at a busy community hospital in downtown Madison, Wisconsin. After cofounding a technology firm and managing corporate insurance tax accounts, he headed back to medical school at the University of Minnesota Medical School, completed an anesthesiology residency in 2014 at the Medical College of Wisconsin, then spent a year at the University of Minnesota completing a fellowship in cardiothoracic anesthesiology.

CONTENTS

Introduction: Interview with a Pre-Med | 1

PART I. THE PREMEDICAL YEARS
1. Why Go to Med School?: Time for Some Soul Searching | 6
2. Getting Into Med School: Easier Said Than Done | 19
3. Med School Flavors: M.D., D.O., and Caribbean | 38
4. Accepted: “It Costs How Much to Become a Doctor?” | 49

PART II. MEDICAL SCHOOL
5. Starting Med School: First Day of Summer Camp! | 60
6. Relationship Advice: Med School Years | 66
7. Stereotypes and Specialties: Jocks, Nine-to-Fivers, Geniuses, and Do-Gooders | 73
8. Gross Anatomy: Coffee and Formaldehyde | 80
9. Preclinical Years: Drinking from a Fire Hydrant | 84
10. Last Summer of Your Life: Research, Missions, Travel, or Booze? | 91
11. USMLE Step 1: Choose Your Career! | 98
12. Short White Coat: Now You’re a Real Doctor (Almost) | 110
13. Dual-Degree Programs: Outlets for Overachievers | 118
14. Medicine Wards: Rounding, Admissions, and Discharge Summaries | 122
15. Surgery and the OR: Life as a Sleepless Human Retractor | 131
16. USMLE Step 2 CK: “But I Really Want to Be a Dermatologist!” | 138
17. USMLE Step 2 CS: “It Costs How Much to Prove I Speak English?” | 142
18. Applying to Residency: Black Friday for the Airline Industry | 146
19. Match Day: Beginning of the End | 155
20. Graduation: Now You’re Really a Doctor (Almost) | 158

PART III. RESIDENCY AND FELLOWSHIP
21. Tricky Terminology: The Confusing Language of Residency | 162
22. Starting Intern Year: Shit Just Got Real | 168
23. USMLE Step 3: Nobody Cares—Really | 174
24. Starting Residency: “Now This Is Really What I Want to Do! Sort of . . .” | 176
25. Relationship Advice: Residency and Beyond | 186
26. Sleep and Hobbies: Apparently Not Required for Life | 191
27. Jolly Good Fellows: “Yes, Ma’am; May I Have Another?” | 198

PART IV. MEDICAL PRACTICE
28. Get a Job: Light at the End of the Tunnel | 206
29. Doctor Beware: Scams, Shams, and Shady Groups | 226
30. Specialty Boards: “It Costs How Much to Prove I Know Stuff?” | 233
31. Starting Your First Real Job: “Where’s My Attending?” | 237
32. Your First Attending Paycheck: “What Do I Do with This?” | 242
33. Continuing Medical Education: “It Costs How Much to Prove I Still Know Stuff?” | 250
34. When Things Go Wrong: Guilt, Sleepless Nights, and Malpractice Attorneys | 254
35. Occupational Hazard: Dealing with Death on a Daily Basis | 262

Epilogue: Many Grains of Salt | 269