… in a word (or actually three): can be hard.

I’m disappointed that I have encountered several areas where previous MUA students that have “gone before” have made life more difficult.

Exhibit A: The current rotation I’m on was very nearly closed to students permanently because the last student that rotated through was horribly unprofessional and uninterested. He didn’t show interest, didn’t show knowledge and didn’t even show up! We have several med schools in this area with students from all over. Where was this particular student from? MUA!

Granted, Interventional Pain Management isn’t for everyone, but there is an interesting mix of neurology and anatomy with a wide variety of clinical patient encounters and in-hospital procedures to keep anyone on their toes for a mere four weeks.

Plus, it’s an elective. If you’re not interested in it, do something else. Simply punching the clock late in your 4th year because you want to finish electives and don’t really care what you do is NOT the way to go about it. Your actions (and inaction) affect more than just yourself.

And I don’t think most MUA students really realize that.

Exhibit B: I am currently trying to arrange a 4th year elective clerkship with a (super secret) program somewhere in the Midwest. The polite response to my email inquiry was to ask what school I attend. Apparently the program adopted a blanket rule this year and only accepts students from LCME/AOA/CA accredited schools for clerkship rotations. When did this rule pop up? Sometime after two MUA students rotated through!

Are you kidding me??

The stigma against Caribbean medical schools is dramatically receding every year. One of the attendings I work with said the majority of residents in his anesthesia program in Florida were from foreign schools and they all worked very hard. Harder than their American counterparts. Most of us work hard because we know we have to (especially to land a competitive anesthesia residency) and the rest of us work hard because we want to make the most of this opportunity to follow our dream.

And yet, I’m not advocating that everything you do should take into consideration other students around (and months behind) you. It’s okay to be selfish and make choices that help YOU get the most out of the thousands of dollars you’re paying for med school. It’s your money, your reputation and your career. The main ingredient that seems to be missing is integrity.

Thankfully, there are many students from MUA that swing the balance in the other direction. We have a lot of hard-working students that want to become great doctors and I am proud to call them my classmates and friends.

Still. What is it about that one rotten apple that can spoil an entire barrel?

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