At times in medical school, it’s easy to get lost in the science and memorization and forget the bigger picture of why you want to be a doctor. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s InFocus weeks come between the major system blocks and are designed to be a break from the studying and an opportunity to think about important aspects of medicine that are not in a traditional medical school curriculum.
Here at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, InFocus weeks are meant to bring the entire class together for a few days to get exposure to a variety of things depending on where we are in our educational timeline. Our first InFocus experience came after a whirlwind nine weeks of scratching the surface of understanding the human body—otherwise known as “Structures.” We now know all of the bones in the body (triquetrum anyone?), can visually distinguish between an osteocyte and an osteoclast, and can officially say that we know how babies are made. I’ve felt simultaneously challenged, energized, and so grateful to be here.
Every year, students at the Icahn School of Medicine write Op-Ed articles about topics in health care and advocacy to culminate InFocus 4. Olga Salianski’s article, “What to Do with Illegal Immigrants and Are We Scared of the Wrong Monster?” was one of the 10 exemplary articles selected to appear in the 2016 issue of Physicians as Advocates—InFocus 4. We share her story.
Caroline Beyer, ISMMS MD Candidate, Class of 2018, discusses the challenges of working on cadavers in Anatomy Lab.
Caroline Beyer, ISMMS MD Candidate, Class of 2018, talks about the decision to come to med school and if it was the right choice.
Caroline Beyer, ISMMS MD Student, Class of 2018, details enhancing her medical education experience by taking advantage of electives offered outside of the required MD curriculum.
