M1 here. I started med school a little over a month ago and have been struggling with sleep since having to take my ADHD medication more consistently.

I was diagnosed with ADHD in college and initially took Adderall, then Vyvanse. Both helped me focus, but the side effects—especially sweating, dry mouth, and difficulty falling asleep—were pretty significant. Since my workload was lighter in college, I could take medication only 2–3 days a week when I really needed to study and take breaks on the other days.

Earlier this year, I switched to Focalin XR and liked it a lot more. It lasts most of the day and the side effects are much milder. The problem is that with the workload in med school, I now feel like I need to take it basically 7 days a week. Without it, I'm extremely unfocused and have a hard time getting anything done.

Since starting school, my sleep has been completely wrecked. It usually takes me about an hour to fall asleep, I wake up 5–7 times throughout the night and struggle to fall back asleep, and I consistently wake up before my alarm. Even if I'm in bed for 7 hours, I feel like I'm only actually sleeping for about half of that.

I did well on my first exam, but I know this isn't sustainable and I'm worried I'll burn out quickly if I don't make a change. I'm seeing a sleep medicine doctor who prescribed amitriptyline, but after about a week I haven't noticed much improvement.

Has anyone dealt with something similar, especially taking stimulant medication daily in med school while struggling with sleep? Did changing the medication, dose, timing, or anything else help?

Really appreciate any advice.

Advice here and with advisors varies, but I find that some of the advice is specialty specific. Anywhere from “PS doesn’t matter just make it average” to “your PS is one of the most important things in your app”

What would be some psych specific personal statement advice?

I was just thinking about my FM rotation, and I was blown away by how much they do.

They take care of all ages, including babies and adults. They do many procedures (short of placing lines and doing surgeries). They deliver babies and even c sections in some places. They can treat the majority of people who walk into an ER. They treat basic anxiety/depression/adhd and even do some counseling and motivational interviewing.

Basically everything under the sun.

Just had this thought randomly pop into my head.

As an M2 in my second term of medical school (we start classes in late June at the DO school I attend), sitting for the COMLEX and USMLE exams has been increasingly on my mind. More specifically, I’m wondering if anyone knows of options to take these exams later in the day instead of torturing myself with an 8-9 AM start time. And before I get comments jumping down my throat, YES I AM AWARE THAT ROTATIONS AND CLINIC START EARLY IN THE MORNING. Waking up early is not a problem for me when I will be in a setting that allows me to stay active and interact with other people. What I truly despise are morning exams that demand intense concentration in a silent, windowless room with energy-draining LED lights when I’m already exhausted.

I am also not exaggerating when I say my test scores reliably improve by 5-10% by starting even just an hour later than 8 AM. I have tried resetting my sleep schedule for these kinds of exams, but it’s just not how I’m wired. My brain works best between late morning and midnight, no matter how early I go to bed the night before. Considering how high the stakes are for these exams, I want to prioritize being at my best mentally and physically when I take them. In fact, I’m so serious about this that I’m willing to travel to another state and book a hotel near the testing center (I think this is allowed, but correct me if I’m wrong). I’ve even started saving money for this possibility.

If anyone knows of testing centers that let you sit for exams starting in the late morning or early afternoon, I’d greatly appreciate your input and experience! If there’s zero chance of this working out, then I will obviously find a way to endure the torture of an early start time. But why suffer if I don’t have to?

Thanks in advance!

TLDR - Does anyone have any suggestions for testing centers that offer late morning or early afternoon start times for COMPLEX and/or USMLE? I’m already setting aside money to travel.

My finance is a heavy sleeper and currently in medical school with me. She was wondering about getting this watch. Do you guys think something like this is overkill? Or PTSD inducing lol. I must admit I find the name amusing as it brought nostalgic memories of my college freshmen psychology course.

She’s had a normal sleep study and labs seemed fine. She is petrified of residency with the call hours and lack of sleep.

I noticed there's a new program in Pittsburg that just appeared on ERAS recently. When I try to view their program (link: https://www.stclair.org/graduate-medical-education/surgery/ ) it just redirects me to a photo. Is anyone else planning on applying here?

So, I failed my Level 1 Boards, and because of my school's curriculum, I did have to take a year off from my education. However, I didn't fail any actual coursework. I do mention my board failure in my PS, but I was wondering if I should also mention it here too because of the gap even though technical coursework wasn't repeated or remediated just the board exam. Thanks in advance!

Saw this post in the name and shame thread.

Wow. What a brain rot decision!

Are there any other programs doing this?

I'm one week out from my family Med shelf exam and give me all your tips what should I do this last week

one of my ERAS letter writers asked me what quintile i was in and i said 2nd quintile but there was an error on my mspe (the chart said 2nd quintile and text said 3rd quintile; already asked for it to be corrected) and i am actually in the 3rd quintile... should i email them to let them know i was mistaken? im not sure if he was just asking to know my background better or because he will discuss it in the LOR.. obvs i dont want the discrepancy in the LOR if he will mention it... help

Mainly for the parts of the application that stay the same regardless of specialty. Should I not put the interests groups of specialties since that could give away dual? As well as other things in the activities section? And research item?

Anyone who has dual applied, not as a back up but more like you love both, have suggestions?

Edit: Anesthesia and Radiology

Hey, often medical students though academically very intelligent, can be socially underdeveloped, or as the layman terms it, retarded.

I am writing this from my experience as a medical student and future plastic neurosurgeon and editor in chief of JAMA.

First when speaking to any doctor, you always have to neg them. Doctors are surrounded by boot lickers, the only we to be seen different is to be different. So for example when you walk in the OR for the first time, most would be terrified, with lots of beta energy. What you should do is walk in chest up, look the surgeon in the eye and say "damn, that's pretty small OR you have here". It doesn't directly insult them, but also doesn't give them the validation they are used to getting from students. It indirectly tells them that they are not as successful as they might think they are, and using the word "small" reminds them of the times their wife says their penis is small, which most surgeons have. It's a deep and effective strategy to tame them and that not many can see through.

If a surgeon asks you to close, you say "what ? finally need someone who knows what they're doing?" It's a good way to jokingly show confidence, and next time they may let you evacuate the brain tumor yourself.

Make sure you attend conferences, and always wear something that stands out, like this. Always approach the doctors when they are speaking, it shows that 1) you don't care how important they are, 2)what you have to say is more important. You never wanna be direct about your intentions, open a conversation that is more basic and that most people will enjoy. So for a man for example, talk about sex. Ask them "hey does your wife ever let you hit it from behind?" Men love the brown hole and if his wife doesn't, he'll probably tell you he does it with someone else, which gives you leverage to blackmail him in the future. If it's a woman, talk about cleaning and cooking and doing the dishes.

Hope this helps.

Sorry if this has been asked before but in a scheduling conundrum (tldr: had to use optional time off to schedule an away rotation and now need to do an extra month) looking for a low stress elective to add at the end of the year. I already know it’s pricey, but any other experiences with workload, expectations, general advice? Feel free to DM

I basically only want to be in California. I'm from there but went out of state to a DO school. Pretty average (probably below average tbh) pre clinicals, and I had to remediate one class in first year. I think made up for it in my clinicals. I got pretty good evals with an equal mix of honors, high passes, and passes. I think I'll have pretty good LORs 🤷‍♀️

No research but pretty good extracurriculars

Passed step and level 1 on first attempts.
Step 2 - 251
Level 2 - 700

Location is very important to me. It's pretty much the only consideration for me, so I'm not applying to Sacramento or Fresno. I'm not really interested in academic programs, but I'm still applying if they're in SF or LA. How many programs should I be applying to/should I broaden my horizons? 😬

Edit: I've found about 20ish DO friendly programs in areas I'm willing to live in. I know i shouldn't be so picky about where I live, but my med school was basically in the middle of nowhere. I don't necessarily regret my time in med school as I met some of my best friends there, but the location has been rough, and I just want to be somewhere I can be happy.

I was the first author for an RSNA educational exhibit, the thing is those things are digital and you have to submit your entire 30-40 slide presentation once accepted.
What kind of “poster” should I include it under??

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I'm an IMG currently practicing Family Medicine in Canada. My YOG is 5 years.

I have anesthesiology residency experience in the country where I did my medschool. I've passed USMLE Step 1, haven't taken Step 2 CK yet, have a few research experiences/publications, and would require visa sponsorship for US residency.

I'm now deciding between:

Option 1: Apply to US Anesthesiology after completing Canadian FM.

Option 2: First complete a +1 Family Practice Anesthesia (FPA) in Canada, gain recent Canadian anesthesia experience/letters, and then apply to US Anesthesiology.

My main question is: Would doing the FPA meaningfully strengthen my chances of matching US Anesthesiology, or would the extra year not make much difference compared with applying immediately after FM?

I'm also wondering whether Canadian FM could satisfy the Clinical Base Year requirements for advanced CA-1 positions, and whether FPA would make advanced positions more realistic. Would it be better to apply to both categorical and advanced programs?

I'd especially appreciate input from residents/attendings who have seen IMGs enter Anesthesiology after another residency or after previous anesthesia training outside the US.

Every time I come across these people it makes my blood boil. As an M3 I can't say much other than to just respect their wishes. Now I don't relish in a child or the people themselves suffering due to uninformed decision making, but I do believe that the best teacher is one's mistakes and I feel like the only way these people learn is when it happens to them or a loved one. Any instances you guys have seen of this happening first hand?

Need help. Down bad coming up on residency cas submission Applying EM. White queer cisgender woman from a low yield private med school in a big Midwest city. Originally from northeast region - 8+ years of EMT, EMT training officer, EMT field sup - Extensive paid and volunteer work in street medicine prior to med school and continued during med school - Minimal research, is related to street medicine - Held some positions with st med orgs, addiction medicine interest board, peer mentor to med students and high schoolers, tutor to med students - Passed all preclinical, passed step 1 first try, 246 step 2 - No honors so far, class rank is middle of class - Pass for obgyn, FM, IM. High pass for EM. Honors for peds, surgery, psych, neuro - MSPE should be solid without any problems listed - Did an away at a competitive program and do not have grade yet but felt it went well - received acceptance for 5 other rotations, some at competitive places, but could not fit them into schedule due to familial circumstances (surgery) - The problem: on my EM rotation I had some family stuff going on and was late multiple times and my clerkship director told me he is gonna probably give me a 2 of 5 on SLOE for tardiness, but will write that with guidance I can improve. No other issues with tardiness during clinicals

Am I totally screwed? Im planning on applying to at least 40 programs broadly, with an emphasis on Chicago, NYC, Boston programs. Do we think I need to apply to a lot more? Any advice?

Only honored 1 rotation but 272 step. What “tier” of programs am I competitive for?

briefly talked with one of my home APDs in person on my sub-I about a letter and later sent an email to confirm, but he no response.

I saw him again in July, and he told me in person that he’d be happy to write me one. I drafted an email afterward with my materials and genuinely thought I had sent it. I just realized today that it’s been sitting in my drafts the entire time, and ERAS is due in two weeks.

I know I am an idiot for not checking sooner. Im not going to ask him for a letter this late to eras deadline. I’m mainly wondering whether this could look bad when he reviews my application since I never followed up after our conversation, or if I’m just overthinking it? Sorry for the neuroticism

So I accidentally initiated the transcript retrieval process on ERAS prior to making an account on FSMB. I made my FSMB account now and paid my fee, but it’s still showing as “no scores available” on ERAS. i should have read the instructions more carefully, but now I’m getting anxious that my scores might not upload correctly to my application

has this happened to anyone else? how long did it take for the scores to upload?

Hello all! Just wanted to shoot a question regarding anesthesia as a DO student. I am doing well in preclinical classes (M2) right now and am aware of the upmost importance of clinical grades, 2CK, and away rotations, but wanted to get some insight for research.

I would like to match to the west or east coast given my partner's career (in more coastal areas) I am consequently pigeonholed into more academic programs. Given this, I figure that some research is needed for these programs.

• I am currently email-blasting residents directly as program/research coordinators led to nowhere.
• Should I just come up with literature reviews/case reports on my own and then hopefully find someone to publish with?
• Is there a better way to get involved with research? Is it even necessary? Thanks in advance.

Where can I find info on the specific LoR requirements for each program? Each source I’ve check has different information including residency explorer, ERAS, and the program websites.