The AAMC is pleased to announce the launch of the newly redesigned Aspiring Docs Diaries blog! Since 2012, the Aspiring Docs blog has published over 300 posts from premeds, medical students, and residents to showcase nontraditional pathways to medicine. The blog features stories from career-changers, first-generation medical students, reapplicants, and more. Browse the site today to see our new design and catch up on the most popular posts from this year.
- A Personal Plea to Premeds
“It is okay to love a career in medicine for more reasons than one, but serving your community has to be your ‘Why,’ above anything else, for becoming a physician.”
First-year medical student Trisha K. writes about the importance of developing compassionate, empathetic physicians focused on patient-centric care.
- Lessons in 911
“Working in EMS is special. Nowhere else in the world will you witness such a diverse cross section of life on a daily basis, and in such an intimate environment. It is powerful and raw work.”
Learn what it's like to work as an emergency medical technician from premed student Julia Kim.
- To My Fellow First-Generations Pursing Medicine
“You’re going to walk into many rooms in your life and career where you may be the only one who looks like you or who has had the experiences you’ve had.”
Learn about the unique barriers facing first-generation students and the list of resources that helped Carolina.
- Cancer Is My Teacher
“I could decide to let my illness work on me, and I could crumble under the randomness of it all, or I could decide that my illness was going to work for me. In those early days, there was really no choice at all. I was going to turn cancer into the greatest opportunity that I had ever been given.”
Will Moody shares his remarkable tale of resilience after being a premed student diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
- Letter to My First-Year Self: Reflections on My Medical School Journey
“I want to remind you that you are capable, and that the fact that you will struggle does not mean you aren’t capable. I want to remind you also that the mission is worth it – that the mission that you have established for your life is worth it.”
Our first blogger, Elorm Avakame, MD, writes a letter to his first-year self about what he wishes he knew during his first year in medical school.
- Letter to a Future Doctor
“The day you eagerly put on that short, white coat, you’re not studying for the ‘grade’ anymore, you’re studying to save lives.”
Rafid Rahman reminds peers that in order to be a great doctor, one must remember what it’s like to be a patient.
- The Intimacy of Longitudinal Care and Boundaries
“My experiences with the lung health committee helped mold who I am as a medical student. It’s helped me to develop my own way of connecting with patients in order to provide them with the best care possible.”
Second-year medical student Patrick Samones shares what it’s like to volunteer at a free clinic through the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine's LACE program.
Do you have a story you’d like to share? We’re always accepting submissions. Stories can be related to anything about the path to a medical career. Feel free to read our blogging guidelines, browse our categories for inspiration, or email us at aspiringdocs@aamc.org for additional questions.