Making It As A Medical
Student: Questions
Answered
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
PGY-2
Emory University Family Medicine
Atlanta, GA
Talking Points
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Introduction
Why Family Medicine
How to Survive Clinical Rotations
Essential PDA Software Programs & Text for
Clinical Rotations
DO’s in the MD Residency
COMLEX vs USMLE
How to Become Involved in Emory
March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
About Me
Atlanta native
 B.S. in Biology: Emory University
 D.O. Degree from: Kansas City
University of Medicine and Biosciences
 M.B.A. Degree in Healthcare
Leadership from: Rockhurst University
 Second Year Resident: Emory
University Family Medicine
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March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
Why Family Medicine
Full breadth: both gender, all ages
 VARIETY of practice which keeps
things interesting and challenging!!
 Tailor your practice to what you want—
you have the training!
 High patient satisfaction
 Personal balance and comfortable
lifestyle
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March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
Why Family Medicine…
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Opportunity to do things other than
clinical medicine
– Teach, Politics, Volunteer, overseas
medicine, disaster relief
March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
Why Family Medicine:
Fellowships
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Sports Medicine
Obstetrics
Adolescent Medicine
Rural Medicine
Faculty Development
Geriatrics
Medical Editing
Women’s Health
March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
HOW TO SURVIVE
CLINICAL ROTATIONS:
Some Mantras from
Dr. Pandya
March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
Mantra #1
Know how to do a THOROUGH
PHYSICAL EXAM!
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No one will expect you to know
everything about medicine on your first
day on the wards as a third year medical
student! But you WILL BE expected to
know how to do a complete physical
exam.
March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
Mantra #2
Know your patient’s “Inside and Out”!
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One way to impress your Attendings and upper
level Residents is to know the patient you are
caring for VERY WELL. Know their labs,
allergies, medications, Past Medical History
almost as well as you know YOURSELF! This
mantra will quickly give you the title of being
‘reliable’ and set you apart from your peers!
Use notecards, patient information guides etc to
help you
See sample attached
March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
Mantra #3
Get good at reading EKGs and Chest
X-rays!
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Be prepared to be picked on during
morning reports and clinical rounds. The
most commonly topics where medical
students are pimped on are how to read
EKGs and Chest X-rays. If you can
master the basics, you’re golden!
March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
Mantra #4
Know how to interpret basic labs
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You should be able to recognize which labs are
grossly abnormal and which are within normal
limits. Often, medical students are asked to
interpret a CBC or a complete metabolic panel
and you have to recognize the abnormalities and
come up with common reasons of what might be
causing the abnormality.
Keep your Maxwell’s handy!
March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
Mantra #5
SHOW ENTHUSIASM!!
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This is your time to learn and grow as a student
and a future clinician. Be a happy worker.
Residents and interns have a hard life as it is,
and behaving in a reluctant or uninterested
manner will make them enjoy their situation even
less. Try to have a positive attitude. Make it a
goal to learn SOMETHING from EVERY patient
encounter—trust me, EVERY patient will teach
you SOMETHING!
March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
Mantra #6
Hard work will go a long way!
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Always try to be the first one to arrive and last
one to leave. This shows your desire to learn and
is another way to get good evaluations! Always
remember that late-comers get noticed, and this
is NOT what you want to get noticed for!
March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
Mantra #7
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Always READ AND KEEP READING!
– On your clinical rotations you will have a lot more time
than you did as a first or second year medical student
OR as a future resident! So make best use of it and
ALWAYS READ about what you see on your rotations
and keep learning. By reading, you learn more and
prepare yourself for when you become an official
Doctor. Although the wards experience can teach you a
lot that you can never learn from books, reading never
hurts. You will also obtain more details from books
than from your residents.
March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
Mantra #8
Be cognizant to rotations you like AND
dislike
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Take everything as a learning experience and be
aware of what rotations and/or aspects of
rotations you like or dislike as this will help you
narrow you final field of choice. But always
remember to RESPECT the rotation you are on—
respect the Residents and Attendings’ time and
profession and do not discount them by blatantly
showing disinterest!
March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
Mantra #9
Ask Questions!
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This is your time to learn so make the
best use of it! Asking questions shows
your eagerness to learn and your interest
in the field. Also, this is the best way to
learn during your third year rotations and
discuss articles you read and impress
your residents and attendings!
March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
Mantra #10
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Think about recommendation letters…
– You should start planning in advance;
especially if you are sure of what specialty
you want to go into. Scope out faculty
and/or attendings who can write you good
letters of recommendation.
March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
Helpful Article By the AAFP
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Surviving the Third Year of Medical
School: http://fmignet.aafp.org/PreBuilt/
fmig_survivingm3.pdf
– Goes month by month of what you should
be doing and learning during your 3rd year
of medical school
March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
Northwestern Medical
School Guide for Third Year
Medical Students
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http://www.medschool.northwestern.edu/educ
http://www.medschool.northwestern.edu/edu
pdf
March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
What to Carry In Your White
Coat?
Varies by rotation
 Stethoscope, Maxwell’s, PDA, Reflex
Hammer, Penlight
 Pocket notebook to write down
questions, what you learnt, quick notes
 Notecards on wards to keep track of
patients
 Reference text for particular rotation
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March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
Abbreviations On Clinical
Rotations
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See www.drtanyapandya.com
March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
Commonly “Pimped”
Questions on Clinical
Rotations
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See www.drtanyapandya.com
March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
Helpful PDA Programs for Clinical
Clerkships
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ePocrates: www.epocrates.com
MedRules: http://pbrain.hypermart.net/medrules.html
OBWheel: http://fppda.com/timob.html
MedMath:
http://www.palmgear.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=softwar
http://www.palmgear.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=softwa
5-minute Consult: Not a free program, but great!
http://www.lexi.com/web/news.jsp?id=100065
Diagnosaurus: helps with differential diagnosis
http://books.mcgraw-hill.com/medical/diagnosaurus/
Medical Eponyms: http://eponyms.net/eponyms.htm
March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
PDA Programs for Clinical Clerkships
(cont’d)
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PalmEKG: www.rnpalm.com/PalmEKG_Download.htm
Stat Cardiac Clearance: http://www.statcoder.com/cardiac1.
htm
American College of Cardiology (ACC) guidelines:
http://www.acc.org/qualityandscience/clinical/palm_downloadste
Johns Hopkins University Antibiotic Guide: http://www.
hopkins-abxguide.org
MentStat: Has the MMSE http://www.tonywitte.com/
Shots 2007: has all shots guideline http://www.
immunizationed.org/
Hyperbili calc: http://fppda.com/tim.htm
Useful website: http://www.freewarepalm
.com/medical/medical.shtml
March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
Helpful Texts for Clinical
Rotations
a)
b)
c)
*Maxwell Quick Medical Reference
*The Sanford Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy
Mosby’s Pocket Guide to Clinical Examination
-Owen, Epstein
e)
f)
Swanson's Family Practice Review: A ProblemOriented Approach
Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine
-Hardcover OR pocket guide
g)
Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment
-Lawrence M. Tierney, Stephen J. McPhee, and Maxine A. Papadakis
March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
Helpful Websites
www.uptodate.com
 www.emedicine.com
 www.google.com
 www.mdconsult.com
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March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
D.O. In an M.D.
Residency
March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
Facts: Not Enough D.O.
Residency Positions
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2,688 AOA approved positions
2,189 AOA funded positions
925 unfilled as of the February 12, 2007
1,575 out of 3,173 D.O. graduates participated in
the D.O. 2007 Match.
Approx. 40% of the D.O. graduates matched into an
osteopathic internship
181 did not match
217 will serve in the military
*Data from the AOA website of 2007 match results
March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
Personal Experience
Current PGY-2 class has 2 D.O.s
 Past Chief Resident was a D.O.
 No difference between the two
 No OMT focus
 !!!Do an Elective at program of choice!!!
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March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
COMLEX VS
USMLE
March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
COMLEX vs USMLE?
BOTH ARE JUST AS TOUGH!
 Different scoring system
 Contact Residency Programs to see if
they accept COMLEX
 Majority of the states (except Louisiana)
accept COMLEX for medical license
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March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
Taking USMLE: Disadvantages
 Cost
 Time
 STRESS!!
March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
Taking USMLE: Advantages
Same studying material as COMLEX
 Puts you on the same playing field
 Easier to compare between candidates
 USMLE Step 1 vs others…
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March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
Studying For Boards
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COMLEX & USMLE
Kaplan Course vs Qbank
Practice Test on www.nbome.org
Practice Test on www.usmle.org
USMLE World at www.usmleworld.com
NMS Review for USMLE Step 1
First Aid for Step 1
*OMT Review by Robert G. Savarese
March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
Getting Involved With Emory
Family Medicine
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Sign Up
Do Electives:
– Barbara Bingham - bbingha@emory.edu
– Application:
http://emorymed.emory.edu/Public/CurriculumPublicPages/U
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Visit our Website: http://www.fpm.emory.edu
/Family/index.cfm
Come to Thursday Didactics (i.e. lectures) at Emory
John’s Creek Hospital
Volunteer opportunities in the works
March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.
THANK YOU VERY
MUCH!!
www.drpandya.com
March 8th, 2007
Tanya Oberoi Pandya D.O., M.B.A.