Applying to medical school can be a daunting task. Luckily for you, we’ve complied Dr. John Hansen’s top tips for navigating the process. Dr. Hansen is the Consulting Editor of Netter’s Atlas of Human Anatomy and the former Associate Dean for Admissions at the University of Rochester Medical Center School of Medicine and Dentistry. He has over 20 years of experience in medical education, so we trust he knows what he is talking about. MORE

Good ol’ Hippocrates…  His stamp has been permanently inked on all modern-day physicians in the form of the Oath that bears his name.  All physicians have recited a version of the Hippocratic Oath at some point in their medical training.  And even though these famous words were written over 2000 years ago, the relevance of Hippocrates’ words ring true in our modern medical landscape:

• “Do no harm”
• “There is art to medicine”
• “The maintenance of the utmost respect for human life”

But what about the other Hippocratic Oaths?  You know, the ones about food and exercise and their relationship to our overall health.  Never heard of them?  Well, it turns out they don’t really qualify as official “oaths”, but that fact shouldn’t diminish their importance. MORE

The doctor said I had a grade three concussion with vestibular damage and medically could not attend class for a few days and to “avoid reading/studying” in hopes that the concussion would not worsen. I felt like I was going to go into hypertension as I processed what this meant: I was currently studying 24/7 to gear up for midterms and my anatomy and physiology lab practical but I would have to stop all studying for a week. MORE

Nineteen of the top board alerts for Allergy & Immunology – pearls, tips, memory aids, and “secrets” from experts in the field.

1. Intranasal steroids are the single most effective drug for treatment of allergic rhinitis. Decongestion with topical adrenergic agents may be needed initially to allow corticosteroids access to the deeper nasal mucosa.
2. ACE inhibitors can cause dry cough and angioedema.
3. Beta blockers should be avoided whenever possible in patients with asthma because they may accentuate the severity of anaphylaxis, prolong its cardiovascular and pulmonary manifestations, and greatly decrease the effectiveness of epinephrine and albuterol in reversing the life-threatening manifestations of anaphylaxis.

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