Explore every episode of the podcast Progress Note

Jack and Riley help map out what third and fourth year of medical school should look like, both for those applying to highly competitive and those applying to more general specialties. This is a good look into how the second half of medical school operates, and how to prepare for scheduling aways, applications, and testing.

Join the fellas as they recap the last few months and reflect on match day which happened one week ago today. Tons of life updates and information on how the match process works. As always, let us know if you have any suggestions or questions!

Today we are joined by one of our closest friends and colleagues, Kyanna Alleyne, to talk about her journey to medical school as a student athlete. A lot of the advice we give today applies to any student looking to better their application but struggle to find the time. Let us know your thoughts!

Despite our greatest intentions, we did not talk about Emergency Medicine in this podcast - do not be fooled by the intro! We spoke about residency application season, 4th year electives, research opportunities, and things to look forward to in the year ahead. We recorded this on a livestream, with real-time listener interactions! Thank you for joining us.

- Riley and Jack

Everything we’ve learned about being a good sub intern, all in one place. Today we talk about our experiences with away rotations, ways we can be helpful, and going from regular clerkships to the increased responsibility as a sub-I.

Join Jack and Riley as they discuss everything Step 2 related. With Step 1 being pass fail, Step 2 is becoming increasingly important each year. Today the guys talk about how to best prepare, how to schedule, aim points, practice exams, and much more. Stay tuned for the motivational speech at the end!

Thank you all so much for the support since we've been gone. We have a ton to update you on, and this episode is just the beginning. Life, school, and extracurricular changes have been happening in a big way, and for the first time in 6 months, Riley and Jack got to sit down and talk it through. Get ready for more content coming soon!

Join the gents as they chat about their recent Ob/Gyn rotation. They go through everything from reading FHTs to delivering babies themselves. Let us know your thoughts!

Family Medicine, Fam Med, FMmmm! I don’t know about that third one, but we talk about the superb and essential field of Family Medicine. We’ve seen it all during this rotation, and that speaks volumes to the scope of Family Medicine practice! From dermatological issues to gynecological visits, Family Medicine doctors are trained for it. We discuss day to day structure, the NBME exam, and get side tracked along the way!

Checking in after their surgery rotation, the guys go through a few stories, pieces of advice, and thoughts on how to succeed. Let us know your thoughts!

Cardiologist, professor, entrepreneur, and now officially a published author. We are so grateful to be joined again by Dr. Jason Ryan, founder of Boards and Beyond. So much has happened since the last time we talked. Today, we discuss selling Boards and Beyond, traveling the world for conferences, expanding to new regions, and, of course, his process in publishing his new book "The Gunner," found here: https://www.amazon.com/Gunner-Jason-Ryan/dp/1950109313. We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did.

Contact: rbaker12@mgh.harvard.edu

In depth review of psychiatry, both inpatient and out. This is a sobering episode which focuses on what to expect when working on a psych unit. Please don’t mind the short description - we are tired from rotations :/

Get your notepad ready, this one is jam packed with all things Physician Associate-ness. Our best friend Chris (PA) talks about his journey through PA school and into the working world. He talks about gathering clinical hours, his training from Yale, and hitting the ground running in Emergency Medicine - he has so many good tidbits to share! As always, hit us up in the comments for questions, concerns, and feedback.

Welcome to a true inside look at what our friend group is like. Medical school is tough but finding the right people makes it bearable. Harrison and Kyanna have been two of our best friends since day one, so today is all about discussing our journey. This episode gives everyone a good idea of what our true lives look like while in school. Wish us good luck Charlie.

Medicine is not rocket science, but if it was Josh could still do it… because he’s an AEROSPACE ENGINEER! Join our conversation with Josh as we cover his atypical journey into medicine, and what it’s like to go through the application process right now. We hear from his amazing perspective as a patient, and what it means to receive excellent medical care. This one is special.

Riley and Jack tackle preparation for clerkship exams! This advice certainly applies to anyone studying for an exam while working and trying to keep up with life! We talk study materials, types of exams, and test day preparation. We love comments, questions, and concerns - please keep ‘em coming. As always, thank you for listening!

Riley and Jack riff about their weeks on their surgery and psychiatry rotations, respectively. Eventually, they meander to the point of the episode: tips for wellbeing and self-care whilst working through demanding schedules. These tips apply to anyone with a busy day-to-day, not just medicine! Thank you everyone for listening. Please leave comments, questions, and ideas for future episodes.

We love all the feedback and questions we get from you guys. So far, this has been one of our most asked questions: should I take a gap year before medical school? Since Jack took a gap year and Riley didn’t, we feel primed and ready to help answer this question. As always, stay until the end for this weeks code word! rbaker12@mgh.harvard.edu

If you are here for the serious medical content, this episode probably won’t interest you much. Jack and Riley shoot the breeze and talk about all things going on recently including New Years stories, highs/lows of the week, and more. Let us know if you are interested in more of this type of content. Back to the serious interviews soon, we promise. rbaker12@mgh.harvard.edu

In this episode, Jack and Riley reflect not only on this year, but their time in Boston, their research, and their med school path so far. There are a couple of important shoutouts we wanted to make and something at the end that’ll give you will a chance at a shoutout next episode! Contact Email: rbaker12@mgh.harvard.edu

This episode focuses on some of the most interesting experiences that Riley and Jack have had during their time in school. Riley helped with a heart transplant, Jack saved a life on his plane from Miami, and much more. Contact email: rbaker12@mgh.harvard.edu

For all crazy medical story enthusiasts, listen up. This episode is everything you've wanted to hear about real, life-saving stories that have come at the hands of Ultrasound. Today, we are joined by a pioneer of this unique imaging technique, Dr. Meghan Herbst. We discuss the lifestyle of emergency medicine, the importance/versatility of Ultrasound, and some incredible anecdotes that show just how life-changing this field is.

Contact Email: rbaker12@mgh.harvard.edu

Getting a research position can be stressful. There always seems to be pressure of competition and a deadline to get publications, especially if you are interested in the more selective specialties. Riley and Jack had those exact feelings, just without any guidance.

In this episode of Progress Note, they sit down to discuss the 5 best pieces of advice that will help you score a research position in medical school or during undergrad. As two students who were fortunate to work in a Harvard Medical School - Mass General Hospital affiliate lab, we have a ton of advice to offer!

Contact Email: rbaker12@mgh.harvard.edu

In this installment of Progress Note, Riley and Jack cover the most important points for tackling interview day. Luckily for you, Riley has insider experience as a student interviewer at UConn! We talk about everything you need to know in preparation, during, and following your interviews. With these key tips, you'll be sure to crush any medical school interview!

As always, please follow-up with any questions or feedback for us regarding the episode. And let us know how your medical school interviews go!

Contact email: rbaker12@mgh.harvard.edu

Join Riley and Jack as they speak with McGraw Hill executive editor Dr. Delia Chiaramonte, MD, MS, trained in Family Medicine and Palliative Care. We briefly discuss the beauty of Palliative Medicine, and its place in all fields of excellent medical care.

Dr. Chiaramonte describes McGraw Hill's exciting vision for the future of medical education, and their evolving resources like Boards & Beyond (which they acquired 12/2022) and First Aid Forward.

Have a listen to this enlightened chat as we med-student-geek-out over new and improved study tools provided by McGraw Hill.

Everyone knows the rigors of this career, and other online sources can scare you with the high rates of breakups that occur. Having done it successfully, Riley and Jack discuss their experiences maintaining a long-distance relationship throughout medical school. With this advice and a little bit of dedication, having a relationship that survives medical school is 100% possible.

Contact email:

rbaker12@mgh.harvard.edu

Riley and Jack talk about their Neurology rotations and go over what worked, what didn’t work, advice on how to succeed, what to study, and much more. If you are interested in neuro or what the rotation entails, this is your chance to get a step up on the rest of your class. Contact email: rbaker12@mgh.harvard.edu

In this episode, Jack and Riley discuss their experiences in internal medicine, how to approach this rotation, and some tips they wish they had prior to starting. This episode is made for all students who are beginning rotations or getting ready for their medicine rotation specifically. How can you succeed and stand out compared to other students? Listen here to find out!

Join Riley and Jack as they talk about their experiences beginning rotations. They talk in-depth about inpatient and outpatient pediatrics while giving advice on how you can best succeed in those fields. For inpatient, both Riley and Jack specialized in pediatric hematology oncology.

Jack and Riley are back after quite a lengthy break. In our time away from the podcast, we both officially took and passed USMLE Step 1, went on some vacations, and began third-year rotations. This episode catches up on our hosts' lives while diving into the actual scheduling process for Step 1, what test day is like, what to expect, and more. We hope you enjoy catching up with us, and as always, let us know if you have any questions, recommendations, or feedback!

Riley: rbaker12@mgh.harvard.edu

Jack: jwolf0@mgh.harvard.edu

In this episode, Jack and Riley discuss life updates, how they prepared for medical school applications, advice on the application process, and most importantly, post-Step 1 travel plans.   Contact emails: rbaker12@mgh.harvard.edu jwolf0@mgh.harvard.edu

This episode is the first installment of a new series that follows Riley and Jack in their lives as medical students. These will provide updates on their time in and out of class, with a mix of advice for pre-meds/M1s. Today they talk about buckling down for Step 1, which resources they like the best for all aspects of medical school, and of course, a discussion about how we broke the podcast rankings in Taiwan.  rbaker12@mgh.harvard.edu jwolf0@mgh.harvard.edu

Take a listen while Jack and Riley sit down with the founder of Online MedEd, a source for centralized medical education. In this episode, we talk about his journey to medicine, what pushed him away from practicing, and how he developed a stream-lined education platform designed to improve the national curriculum. Through his PACE learning paradigm, he removes the unnecessary time wasted looking for information and figuring out what is essential. So listen to Dr. Williams' visions, and check out https://home.onlinemeded.org/ for more efficient learning. 

This episode has a little bit of everything.  For our pre-med listeners: A good chunk of this episode (mostly the second half) is dedicated to gaining advice on how to best prepare yourself for medical school, what AdComms look for, and how to stand out to the application committee. Dr. Regan, the dean of admissions at UConn SOM, gives listeners an inside look at how the review process is conducted, which will give our listeners an advantage when it comes to creating the best application.  For our prospective Emergency Medicine students: Dr. Regan is about as experienced as they come in EM. In this episode, he describes why he chose the field, the pros and cons of working in such an intense specialty, and how you can best prepare yourself for a career in EM.  Contact emails: rbaker12@mgh.harvard.edu jwolf0@mgh.harvard.edu

Information is a complex thing. Figuring out the best way to disperse it in an unbiased, enjoyable way might be even more complex. Join Riley and Jack as they sit down with the founder of Mad Medicine to discuss social media's role in education/spreading medical awareness. For students: take a look at his website madmedicine.org which has step 1/step 2 educational material for no cost! Dr. Farhan is using his 1.2 million follower platform (Tiktok: @madmedicine) to educate through unbiased entertainment while also creating free study resources for students. He also talks about Internal Medicine, his path to get there, and what specialties IM is a starting point for.

Join Riley and Jack as they explore the field of pediatric orthopedic surgery and sports medicine. Dr. Kramer is an excellent pediatric ortho surgeon who also serves as the team physician for collegiate ice hockey in Boston. This episode covers who can succeed in this field, how to stay in sports when pursuing the medical field, what life is like as a pediatric orthopedic surgeon, and much more.

Dr. Mike. Natter. Not much else to say. This man is such a humble, unique, and impressive individual who has gone from the average joe without top-tier test scores to an attending at NYU Bellevue Hospital. He joins us to talk about his journey through medicine, how his artwork has impacted his studies, the best tips for current students, and how to improve your learning capability. Dr. Natter is super down-to-Earth, and we think this is one of the most enjoyable episodes yet. If you like what you hear, need free Step 1 studying advice, or enjoy artwork of all kinds, check out his website mikenattermedical.com. Instagram: @mike.natter Contact Emails: Riley: rbaker12@mgh.harvard.edu Jack: jwolf0@mgh.harvard.edu

Dr. Leigh Anne Dageforde joins the podcast to talk about all things transplant. We get an inside look at how a transplant OR operates, what the procedures are like, how organ delivery and donor matching work, and so much more. We go in-depth about her research to improve access to transplant organs for all patients and how future generations can aid in this endeavor. As always, stick around until the end for a fun chat about traveling in the field of medicine! We can't say enough about how exciting this interview and this field as a whole are. Contact emails: Riley - rbaker12@mgh.harvard.edu Jack - jwolf0@mgh.harvard.edu

Ever wondered what high-level, competitive residency programs look for in an applicant? Here is your chance to find out. Riley sits down with Dr. John Kwon, a former member of Mass-General's orthopedic surgery residency admission committee to discuss what parts of an application make students competitive for top-tier programs. Not only this, but you get to hear a lot about the field of foot and ankle orthopedic surgery and how personal expression in the workplace has changed over time.  Contact Emails: Riley: rbaker12@mgh.harvard.edu Jack: jwolf0@mgh.harvard.edu

Dr. Worldwide, or as he is more formally known, Dr. Vincent Fitzpatrick, sits down with the boys to talk about all things bioengineering. He discusses his current research focus on the BioDome and limb regeneration and how he uses 3D printing to provide bone scaffolding in patients. He ties together medicine, engineering, tissue growth, and 3D printing in a way that will excite you about the future. Oh, and did we forget to mention that his line of work may be the building block for medicine in outer space? Contact Emails: Riley: rbaker12@mgh.harvard.edu Jack: jwolf0@mgh.harvard.edu

Today's episode gives you an in-depth look at the field of orthopedic trauma surgery and the struggles of desensitization. More importantly, we take a deep dive into the importance of diversity, the need for more women in ortho, why women make the best leaders, and what makes multidisciplinary work so successful.  Contact emails: Riley: rbaker12@mgh.harvard.edu Jack: jwolf0@mgh.harvard.edu

Today we are joined by a guest host Dr. Joseph Schwab who will be interviewing his colleague Dr. Mitchel Harris. They are both orthopedic surgeons and chiefs of their respective divisions at Massachusettes General Hospital. Topics include their journey through medicine, how they became chief, advice on how to be a good leader, the future of medicine, virtual reality and AI, and much more. Part two of the episode will feature Jack and Riley interviewing Dr. Harris with more questions about the orthopedic trauma field, women in ortho, and the importance of diversity in the workplace.  Contact emails: Riley: rbaker12@mgh.harvard.edu Jack: jwolf0@mgh.harvard.edu

Today Dr. Jason Ryan joins the podcast to discuss his journey through medicine and into cardiology, his creation of Boards and Beyond, how he found the time to establish a business while practicing as a fellow, and what is wrong with the structure of current education. Not only this, but stick around until the end to hear all about his love for Boston sports, why textbooks are the worst purchase you can make, and much more! You may notice changes or pauses in the audio - this was not just us being awkward! We recorded this episode virtually and tried our best not to speak over each other. Contact emails: Riley: rbaker12@mgh.harvard.edu Jack: jwolf0@mgh.harvard.edu

Warning: Minutes 3-7 include somewhat distorted audio so if it remains too bothersome, skip to around 7 minutes for a crisper, cleaner audio.  Dr. Robin Hicks of Boston Children's Hospital joins for the inaugural podcast to tell us a bit about her path through medicine and how she ended up in Boston. She gives plenty of great advice on how to approach studying, avoid burnout, and who is fit to specialize in pediatrics. Not only this, but you get to hear multiple examples of maintaining a good work-life balance and how you can travel the world while practicing medicine! At the end, Dr. Hicks takes on the rapid-fire 20 random questions where she talks about fighting off waves of geese, answers interview questions, and proves that she knows way more about trees than you would expect... Contact emails:  Riley: rbaker12@mgh.harvard.edu Jack: jwolf0@mgh.harvard.edu

Welcome to the Foot and Ankle Research Innovation Lab, a Harvard-MGH affiliate orthopedic research lab. This is the first episode dedicated to showing off some of the students who work here. You get to see who we are, what we do here, and much more about our personalities.  Contact emails: Riley - rbaker12@mgh.harvard.edu Jack - jwolf0@mgh.harvard.edu