The OSA Insider

One of the most commonly asked questions about life and medicine is: “When is the right time to start a family?” It's such a good question, and there's no single, one-size-fits-all kind of answer. In this episode, we'll get to know a student who has been juggling parenthood and medical school with great skill and grace. Olivia Torre, a 4th-year medical student who got her PhD before coming to medical school, is the mom of an adorable toddler named Emilia. In this episode, Olivia shares all about becoming a parent while in medical school: how she handles the various responsibilities, how being a parent has enhanced her experience of medical school, the most valuable help and support structures she's leaned on, and what advice she has for any student wondering if or when to start a family.   

We all know about the medical school curriculum. But what about the hidden curriculum, or how students learn about the unspoken culture of medicine through everyday, informal interactions? In this episode, Dr. Sandra Quezada and Dr. Sarah Dubbs explore the hidden curriculum with some examples, chat about whether the hidden curriculum can be positive or negative, and offer guidance on how students can best navigate the hidden curriculum and thrive within it.   References: Lawrence C, Mhlaba T, Stewart KA, et al. The Hidden Curricula of Medical Education: A Scoping Review. Acad Med. 2018 Apr;93(4):648-656. PMID: 29116981. Bandini J, Mitchell C, Epstein-Peterson ZD, et al. Student and Faculty Reflections of the Hidden Curriculum. Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2017 Feb;34(1):57-63. Epub 2016 Jul 11. PMID: 26566929. Martimianakis MA, Michalec B, Lam J, et al. Humanism, the Hidden Curriculum, and Educational Reform: A Scoping Review and Thematic Analysis. Acad Med. 2015 Nov;90(11 Suppl):S5-S13. PMID: 26505101. Hopkins L, Saciragic L, Kim J, Posner G. The Hidden Curriculum: Exposing the Unintended Lessons of Medical Education. Cureus. 2016 Oct 25;8(10):e845. PMID: 27909633 Kalter L. Navigating the Hidden Curriculum in Medical School. AAMC News. Published July 13, 2019. Accessed December 10, 2024. Link.  Freedman D. The Hidden Curriculum. NYU Langone Health Hub. Accessed December 10, 2024. Link.   

The path to becoming a physician - and then working as one for the rest of your career - can feel like a highly regimented road, with little room for side journeys. A new book called Improvising Adulthood: What I Wish Someone Had Told Me makes a bold claim: that adult life is a lot like an improv show, where you make one choice, and then another, and then another, and you get to change direction at any time. The author of this book, Amanda Hirsch, wants us to feel empowered to shift ourselves out of auto-pilot and question the scripts we feel we must follow. Amanda is our guest for this special episode in which we explore how her book applies to medical students in particular. There are three copies of her book in our OSA, so please feel free to stop by and borrow a copy!   

We are always looking for great suggestions of people and topics to cover on this podcast. So when a few people suggested an episode on our school's Wellness Committee, we were thrilled to sit down with M4 Nicol Tugarinov and M3 Nycole Hidalgo, both of whom sit on the Wellness Committee, to learn all about what this group is and how it helps promote and support medical student wellness.   

The Student Clinician Ceremony is a rite of passage for our medical students as they finish their preclinical years and enter clinical rotations. As a companion piece to the upcoming Student Clinician Ceremony, we are delighted to bring you the wisdom and perspectives of three wonderful MS4s: Indira Jetton, Dennis Morozov, and Gurbani Singh. They share stories of humanism in their third year, when they received help in a moment of need, and their top advice for students at this special time in training and life.

Many medical students pursue passions and hobbies alongside their medical studies. Kerrigan Dougherty, MS3, was featured in The Baltimore Banner for their work with the Skylight Boutique in Baltimore. In today's episode, they share some of their life story, their nonstandard path to medicine, their joy in working with the Skylight Boutique, and some tips and tricks for superb time management when balancing med school with the rest of life.  Reference: Scharper, J. “One of the country's few gender-affirming thrift stores is in Baltimore.” The Baltimore Banner. November 4, 2024. Link.   

No matter which field of medicine we go into, counseling patients can be an enormous part of our daily practice. Motivational interviewing, a patient-centered technique, allows us to better address our patients' readiness for change and support them as best we can. Dr. Frayha got to interview SOM alum Dr. Michael Baca-Atlas from the class of 2015 on how to become an expert motivational interviewer. He is an Associate Professor of Family Medicine at UNC, fellowship-trained in Addiction Medicine, who wears lots of different leadership and medical education hats. He is an expert on this topic, and we are so glad to bring his wisdom to the SOM community. This conversation originally aired on Hippo Education's Primary Care Reviews and Perspectives podcast.   

It is that time of year again: 4th year scheduling season is here for our MS3s. Dr. Beth Lamos clarifies, demystifies, and reassures us about Advance Phase Scheduling - essentially everything that comes after Step 1, with a focus on the individual experiences that come after clerkships. She shares clear, practical information and concrete strategies to make the best of 4th year.  Resources: Advanced Clinical Phase Scheduling Process. UMSOM OSA Academic Handbook. Link.  Clinical Scheduling and Sites. UMSOM OSA Handbook. Link.   

During the course of our medical careers, we see a lot of hard things. We're in the room when patients die. We see the effects of enormous physical, emotional, and psychological trauma. We watch our peers and colleagues go through really hard times. We often compartmentalize this pain in the moment because we have to move forward and see the next patient. But we don't always make an effort to DE-compartmentalize afterward. What is decompartmentalization, and how can we practice it effectively to keep ourselves healthy? Dr. Marissa Flaherty from the OSA and the Department of Psychiatry is back to walk us through grief, debriefing, and decompartmentalization.  Resource: https://students-residents.aamc.org/medical-student-well-being/learning-decompartmentalize-self-care  

Situational awareness and judgment are two of the most important ingredients to success in life and definitely medical school, especially the clinical years. Even if you don't know what you're doing on day 1 of a new rotation, or even where the bathrooms are, situational awareness will allow you to clue in to the dynamics around you, avoid mistakes and gaffes, and help you shine through fluid, seamless interactions with others. Dr. John Allen from the OSA sits down with Dr. Frayha to explore situational awareness in med school: what it means and how to cultivate it, along with specific scripting and strategies for different situations. Resources: AMA resource on how clinical clerkship students can hone situational awareness  What is situational awareness in healthcare? Feller S, et al. Situational Awareness in the Context of Clinical Practice. Healthcare (Basel). 2023 Dec 4;11(23):3098. PMID: 38063666. Weller JM, et al. Teamwork matters: team situation awareness to build high-performing healthcare teams, a narrative review. Br J Anaesth. 2024 Apr;132(4):771-778. Epub 2024 Feb 2. PMID: 38310070.  

Sometimes, patients may exhibit agitated or even violent behavior in the clinical setting. It is so important to understand background and context, try to preserve the therapeutic relationship, and also ensure our and our patient's physical safety in these challenging circumstances. Dr. Marissa Flaherty from the OSA and the Department of Psychiatry is a wealth of information on this topic. In this episode, she offers tons of practical tips, scripting, and solutions for staying safe, de-escalating potential conflict, and remaining an advocate for your patient's needs while protecting yourself.

Does your brain ever jump to worst-case scenarios, no matter the situation? Many of us in medicine can relate to this phenomenon. It's called catastrophic thinking, and in this episode, Dr. Beth Lamos helps us understand what it is, why we do it, why it may be adaptive, all the ways it can be harmful, and concrete tools and strategies to de-catastrophize our way of thinking.  Resources: What to Do When Your Mind Always Dwells on the Worst Case Scenario. Harvard Business Review. Published September 15, 2020. Accessed July 20, 2024. Link.  16 Decatastrophizing Tools, Worksheets, and Role-Plays. Positive Psychology. Published September 24, 2020. Accessed July 20, 2024. Link.  

The UMSLE Step 1 exam going pass/fail in 2022 has been a huge change in medical education. In this episode, the OSA's Dr. John Allen talks through how the change has impacted our students at the UMSOM, the OSA's approach to residency and career advising, Step 2 CK prep, and the residency application process in general. This conversation is filled with wisdom to help students survive and thrive throughout med school and the transition to residency.  For more information on Step 1 P/F, check out episodes 54 and 108 of The OSA Insider. 

Nearly ten million Americans are currently incarcerated, on parole or probation. This population has specific health care needs, especially those who were formerly incarcerated. Today, we bring you a very special conversation featuring two UMSOM alums, Dr. Michael Baca-Atlas and Dr. Matt Zeitler, as they interview their UNC Family Medicine mentor, Dr. Evan Ashkin, about how we can best care for our formerly incarcerated patients.  This conversation originally aired on Hippo Education's Primary Care Reviews and Perspectives podcast. 

Graduating Pediatrics resident Dr. Caroline Knoop had an innovative idea for her scholarly project in residency: create a podcast about social justice issues in Baltimore for Pediatrics residents, by a Pediatrics resident. And so, Charm City Checkup was born. Listen in as Dr. Knoop shares how she got the brand new podcast off the ground, the lessons she's learned along the way, and how she studied the impact of her podcast for her residency's research symposium. 

There are a lot of myths floating around when it comes to the Office of Medical Education (OME) and the Office of Student Affairs (OSA). Myths like, if a student visits these offices, it will show up in their residency application, or visiting the student counseling center will make its way back to the med school deans. False and false! In this episode, Dr. Joe Martinez, Associate Dean for Medical Education and Student Experience, sits down with Dr. Frayha to debunk the top 10 myths about how the OME and OSA work with our students. 

What do you do if you need help with something in medical school, or you have a question about life in Baltimore, and you don't quite feel like asking a faculty member? That's what the Peer Support Network is for. Two almost-fourth-year students, Alanna Stefano and Nicol Tugarinov, share everything you need to know about the Peer Support Network - what it is, how to become involved, how peer support leaders are trained, the kinds of questions they're happy to help with, and so much more.    Resource: The Peer Support Network from the OSA Academic Handbook

Match Day is coming up soon, and each year, the Match Day celebration at our medical school is sponsored by the Medical Alumni Association. This organization - much like the School of Medicine - has been around since the 1800s. Its office is located in Davidge Hall, the oldest medical education building in the United States in continuous use. And its executive director, Mr. Larry Pitrof, has been leading the organization since 1994 - for 30 years.  In late February, I visited him in Davidge Hall to learn more about his life and what he's seen throughout his decades at our medical school. On the day of our interview, Davidge Hall was filled with activity - renovations, HVAC installation, contractors everywhere. And I felt such powerful nostalgia being in that space. Memories from my first week of med school and from my own Match Day, among so many other important milestones. Larry and I got to talk about the history of Davidge Hall and of the SOM, why he was drawn to our Medical Alumni Association in the first place, how the MAA helps medical students and alumni, and, after 30 years, what comes next for him.   

Four years ago, we learned that the USMLE Step 1 exam would become graded on a Pass/Fail basis, rather than each student receiving a 3-digit score. We covered this change in episode 54 of The OSA Insider, featuring an interview with national expert Dr. J. Bryan Carmody. This change went live in January 2022, and we can't help but wonder: where do things stand today? Why did this switch to P/F happen in the first place? Are things better? How are med students feeling about Step 1, anxiety-wise? And how is the UMSOM responding to the current moment? Dr. Nirav Shah and Dr. Devang Patel answer all of these questions and more in their conversation with host Dr. Neda Frayha.    Resources: UMSOM OME page on USMLE Prep The Pass/Fail Effect: A Longitudinal Study of USMLE Step 1 Performance Over a Decade

Think about the last time you made a mistake. Now, imagine this happened at work, with a patient, and that your clinical setting is a punitive place where people are shamed for their mistakes. Would you want to tell anyone about this error?  What if, instead, you worked somewhere that embraced open conversation about errors, and looked without judgment at all the factors that might lead to mistakes?  This is at the heart of Just Culture - a philosophy and process that looks at both the individual and the system in a non-punitive way to figure out where something went wrong, and how we can all learn from it and make changes so it doesn't happen again. Our guest for this episode is Dr. Nidhi Goel - UMSOM alum, Med Peds physician, a leader in quality and safety for both the medicine and pediatrics departments at our hospital, and Director of the Medicine Clerkship - for a practical conversation on exactly what Just Culture is and how it impacts our students. Spoiler alert: she shares a real-world example of the Just Culture process that our team will never forget.  Resources: AHRQ's Just Culture Guide IHI courses Patient Safety and Quality Improvement elective from the UMSOM Course Catalog  

As we close out 2023, we get to become acquainted with Dr. Bruce Jarrell, transplant surgeon and President of the University of Maryland, Baltimore. He taught our host Dr. Neda Frayha when she was a medical student, so this reunion conversation felt very special. We learn about his decision to pursue surgery as a career, his approach to leadership, his path to the presidency of UMB, how he thinks of UMB and its role in the surrounding community, and his advice for all students listening.  

We are continuing our series on fourth-year students pursuing creative, slightly nontraditional paths to achieving their long-term career goals, this time with MS4 Manaahil Rao. She will be taking a gap year in between med school and residency. What will she be doing? How does she hope this experience will help her as a physician? And will she really come back to clinical training? Listen in for answers to all these questions and more. The road to being a physician is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor, as you'll hear in this episode. 

Preventive Medicine is a fantastic field that can feel like a bit of a mystery. We don't always learn about it as a residency option, or know what a career in preventive medicine might look like. This episode will change all of that. In this conversation with preventive medicine physicians and leaders Dr. Marissa Khajavi and Dr. Cara Dooley, we'll shine a light on preventive medicine, how to know if it might be a good fit for you, what different roles in the field might look like, and how to learn more about it. 

Have you ever wondered about taking a gap year during medical school? There are so many factors that go into this decision. What you would do, what you hope to accomplish, how you make it all happen, and what it's like to join a whole new medical school class when your gap year is done.    Fourth year medical student Kimia Abtahi wants to shine a light on this topic. She suggested this episode covering gap years, to demystify and even destigmatize the idea of taking a year away from medical school to do something else. You'll hear all about her experiences, why a gap year might be a good idea, and how the process of it all works. Spoiler alert: she loved her gap year! At the end, you'll also hear from Dr. Beth Lamos from the OSA, sharing the OSA's perspective and support.    Resource: OSA Academic Handbook Section on Leaves, Gaps, and Breaks from the Curriculum

In this special, student-led episode, MS2 Sarina Maini and Dr. Frayha speak with Dr. Devang Patel about the importance of global health, what a career in global health might look like, helpful resources and opportunities at UMB and the SOM, and the importance of entering clinical experiences around the world with an open mind and appreciation for local practices.  Resources for students: https://www.medschool.umaryland.edu/osa/Global-Health/ https://www.umaryland.edu/global/for-umb-students/listing-of-global-opportunities/

As we start a new academic year, Dr. Frayha has been reflecting on the habits that help us survive, and even thrive, in medical school and beyond. How many of these habits are adaptive at first, and then become maladaptive? Why don't we take stock of these habits more often, and assess whether a given behavior (perfectionism, people-pleasing, desire for control, hypervigilance, the list goes on) is still serving us or our patients? In this episode, she shares some guidance around creating opportunities to reevaluate our own ways of being and working, and deciding with intention which habits we should continue versus which ones we should leave behind. 

Graduating medical students Grace Begnell and Nick Fioravante have learned a lot from their leadership experiences. And in this episode, being released just days before our SOM 4th years graduate, Nick and Grace share how they found their way to leadership roles, the best and hardest parts of being leaders, what has surprised them along the way, and how all students can tap into their inner leader. They say it's easier than you think. This episode is part of our ongoing Personal Growth Program series, where we explore skills and habits to help all of us be the best people we can be, in addition to the best medical students and doctors. We couldn't think of a better way to celebrate our 100th episode than by featuring the voices of two graduating medical students as they reflect on leadership. 

Ms. Tess Gillis, Senior Academic Development Specialist at the SOM, is here to help you. She works with students across all four years of medical school on personal academic goals, learning differences, specific struggles, and even when things are going well. She is a wealth of information, a fountain of helpful resources, and a wonderful person. In this episode, we get to know her as a person and also as a resource for our med students. Take a listen, and stop by to "Talk with Tess."

Are you a perfectionist? Chances are, the answer is yes, at least some of the time. How can perfectionism help us, and also how can it hold us back? When do we know the difference? How can we train our brains for the better? Dr. Beth Lamos and Dr. Marissa Flaherty are back with our Personal Growth Program series, this time tackling all things perfectionism. 

There's a new Dean in town! In this special episode, we sit down with SOM Dean Mark Gladwin to learn about his first year as Dean, the unique opportunities facing both the SOM and the medical profession at large, and how he hopes to prepare our medical students for the future. 

We are continuing our Personal Growth Series with Dr. Marissa Flaherty and Dr. Beth Lamos, this time with a conversation on communication skills in med school and beyond. How can we work on our communication styles to be as effective as possible, in both preclinical and clinical years? How can we "read the room" when we enter into a new setting? How have we messed up in our own communication attempts through the years? Listen in for answers to all these questions and more. 

After our episode featuring SOM alum Dr. Alice Chen's career at the FDA and NIH, MS4 Chloe Snow reached out to us to share that she, too, would be choosing a nonclinical path after medical school. In Chloe's case, she'll be pursuing a career in management consulting. She shares how she came to this decision, what she'll be doing, and how to embrace a career path that may be a little bit different from what everyone else is doing. Spoiler alert: she is so excited for what comes next! Her experiences and wisdom are relevant to any major life decision, clinical or otherwise. 

Time Magazine just announced that their Heroes of the Year are the Women of Iran. Today we're bringing you a personal story about these heroes, an essay written and recorded by our host Dr. Neda Frayha. This was originally written and recorded for Mighty Forces, where it was published under the title "Iranian Women Are A Mighty Force." https://mightyforces.substack.com/p/iranian-women-are-a-mighty-force

Today we are continuing our conversation on organization and time management as part of the OSA's Personal Growth Program, with a focus on procrastination - how it happens and how to deal with it. Dr. Beth Lamos and Dr. Marissa Flaherty are back to share pearls, insights, and tips for managing procrastination in our lives. 

In the OSA, Dr. Marissa Flaherty and Dr. Beth Lamos are spearheading a Personal Growth Program to help medical students keep growing and developing as human beings in addition to future physicians. With topics like Confidence, Communication Styles, Purpose, Passion, Relationships, and Leadership, their monthly series helps us tend to all the parts of our humanity that are so easy to forget in med school.  In this conversation, Drs. Lamos, Flaherty and Frayha cover Organization and Time Management skills that can help you throughout your entire lives, really. From task batching to bullet booking to calendar management tools, they cover concrete strategies to help you become more organized and efficient. Later this month, we'll feature a follow-up conversation on procrastination and how to manage the most common time sucks in our busy lives. 

Dr. Marissa Flaherty is the newest faculty member in the OSA, a graduate of the UMSOM class of 2014, an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, and an all around awesome human. In this episode, we get to learn about her, her career trajectory, how she chose her specialty, and what she is most passionate about when it comes to mentoring and advising medical students. 

Imagine being a 4th year student and deciding that you're not going to pursue a clinical career. How much courage that would take, especially when everyone around you is applying to residency programs. Today, we get to meet Dr. Alice Chen, a UMSOM graduate who found herself in this exact position several years ago. She shares her story in this episode, including how her career has evolved since med school graduation, as well as incredible advice when it comes to making any major life decision. This episode is part of our ongoing series on SOM alumni who pursued fulfilling, fascinating, nontraditional careers after graduating from medical school.

Have you ever wondered if you might need additional educational support? Do you feel like something is holding you back from functioning, studying, and working at your best? Today's podcast guest, Ms. Deborah Levi, the Director of UMB's Office of Educational Support and Disability Services, knows how to help. She shares helpful insights on how to define disability, understand if you might benefit from an accommodation, connect with her office, and so much more.  UMB Educational Support and Disability Serivces: https://www.umaryland.edu/disabilityservices/    

We are continuing our series on mentorship with a wonderful conversation between a real-life mentor and mentee: Dr. Rena Malik from the Department of Urology and MS4 Sara Ashai. They share what makes a mentor/mentee relationship successful, along with common pitfalls to avoid. This episode was Sara's idea, and we're so glad she made this happen!

We are continuing our series on living our best lives, this time with concrete tools and strategies to help us achieve financial wellness throughout medical school and beyond. Our special guest is Ms. Sofia Cascio,  MBA, the school's first Director of Student Financial Planning. We get into creating and maintaining a budget that makes sense, debt management, and other tools to help us make the smartest financial decisions we can. 

We all need help sometimes, and the Student Counseling Center at UMB is here for just that reason. We sit down with Dr. Cassie Moon from the counseling center to learn all about the resources available to students, how to access them, overcoming barriers to care, and the importance of recognizing that we are human beings before anything else. 

With Match Day 2022 in the books, we wanted to bring you a conversation on mentorship, including how to find an excellent mentor and how to cultivate helpful, strong mentor/mentee relationships. MS3 Chloe Snow and Pediatrics Chief Resident Dr. Rebka Tekeste share their strategies for success as mentees. 

So much has changed since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, including all the new treatment options for outpatients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. From oral medications to IV infusions, the range of options can feel overwhelming. Which treatment should we prescribe when? And for which patients? How does the omicron variant surge affect our choices? What's even available? In this conversation originally recorded for Hippo Education, our own Dr. Devang Patel joins host Dr. Neda Frayha to break it all down for us. Feel free to check out the quick reference medication table as an added resource.   Resources: Hippo Education's Quick Reference Table for Outpatient Treatment and Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Options for SARS-CoV-2 Infection Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Covid-19 Therapeutics Locator HHS Protect Public Data Hub – Therapeutics Distribution National Infusion Center Association (NICA) State and Territorial Health Department Websites 

It is so easy to go through medical school without being exposed to the range of career paths available, regardless of which specialty you pursue. And so, we are starting a new series on alums who have gone on to enjoy "nontraditional" career paths. In this episode, we hear from Dr. Maurice Reid (of the Reid Rooms!) about his career in Emergency Medicine and then as an entrepreneur who started his own highly successful business. 

Ever wondered how to request family care leave while in medical school? We've got you covered. Dr. Beth Lamos from the OSA shares everything we need to know about the new Family Care Leave policy at the UMSOM, and Dr. Natalie Hesselgrave, MS4 in the MD/PhD program, offers her perspective on family leave and juggling medical school with parenthood. 

Dr. Kristin Reavis wears many hats, including UMSOM alum, family medicine physician, Program Director of the Family and Community Medicine residency program at the University of Maryland, and Director of Student Diversity and Inclusion in the Office of Student Affairs. In this conversation, she tells us about her path to where she is now, her work in the D&I space for our students, and some of her biggest surprises, successes, and challenges in this role.

The covid pandemic has been challenging for all front-line clinicians. Can you imagine if you were in charge of the public health of an entire county? In this very special conversation, Dr. Frayha sits down with Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman, Anne Arundel County Health Officer in Maryland, to learn about his public health goals and personal challenges in the pandemic, and what we can learn from them. This conversation originally aired as part of Hippo Education's Primary Care Reviews and Perspectives podcast.

The topic of wellness in medical education has been on quite the journey in recent years. And the OSA's own Dr. John Allen has been on his journey with wellness as a medical student, resident, and attending physician. In this conversation, Dr. Allen shares his own story as well as so many resources and tips for medical students seeking out their own wellness. 

Welcome to the start of a new school year! As our 3rd and 4th year students rotate through various clinical settings, we wanted to share this episode featuring lots of practical tips and tricks for maximizing efficiency in the outpatient clinical setting. The special guest is Dr. Nikki Southall, internist and head of ambulatory medical education at the Baltimore VA Medical Center, and you'll also hear the voice of Dr. Paul Simmons, a Family Medicine physician and clinician educator in Grand Junction, CO. This conversation first aired as part of Hippo Education's Primary Care Reviews and Perspectives podcast.

Living through a global pandemic during med school is a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon. In this special series, we'll hear from different medical students about their experiences during covid and how the pandemic may shape their lives. In this episode, we feature Class of 2022 members Malina Howard and Lexi Van Besien. 

Living through a global pandemic during med school is a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon. In this special series, we'll hear from different medical students about their experiences during covid and how the pandemic may shape their lives. In this episode, we feature Class of 2023 members Jocelyn Wu and Chao Wang.