Since I started compiling a list of every med student blog I have become astounded at the quality of writing my fellow med students produce. The talent and passion they have makes me feel all warm and fuzzy about the next generation of physicians.

That being said, I’ve been keeping track of some of the best posts I’ve run across over the past few months and I’d like to share them with you all so that you have the chance to appreciate their writing like I do. Enjoy!

- We Work in the Dark is quickly becoming one of my favorite med student blogs. I mean in this epic post Osler’s beast takes themes from Star Trek and relates it to a profound tension in medicine, how can you not love that? I give you this quote from the article as a teaser:

“On one hand, this is an entertaining popular pulp science fiction show (deploying very loose interpretations of Freud). On the other hand, this captures a profound struggle in the aspiring physician-trainee: medicine aspires to be both Vulcan and Human.”

- Shara Yurkiewicz who writes at the PLOS Blog This May Hurt a Bit explores the physical boundaries between patients and physicians. The comments are great on this post as well.

- Rick at Little White Coats (I love that name) writes about The Good Old Days. Basically it’s about “enjoying the ride” which is a welcome reminder during med school.

- This med student writes at Drinking from the Fire Hose. I loved this post called The Art of Raising a Medical Student. A must read for attending physicians? Yes, but who am I to say?

- Proving that I’ve been collecting these posts for a while, I submit this great post exploring the controversy surrounding Plan B by Amanda Wingle at Una Seconda Possibilita. She dissects a complicated issue in a logical and sensitive manner. Kudos!

- This Canadian med student who writes at The Notwithstanding Blog has an excellent couple of posts refuting the idea that the United States is stealing the world’s doctors. Fascinating stuff.

- Medaholic (who recently matched in Internal Medicine!) is creating a great list of resources for Medical School and Residency interviews. I especially appreciated the post on The Number One Question I Got Asked at Every Interview.

- Amanda Xi asks if it is possible to be too professional in this post at her blog And thus it begins.

- Allison Greco at MD2B explains her process of deciding a specialty. Reading posts like this make me feel better about not being sure what I want to do.

-For those of you who have USMLE Step 1 coming up I enjoyed this series of posts by Rishi Kumar at RK.MD.

-Speaking of Step 1, check out this Ultimate Guide to USMLE Step 1 and COMLEX at Mind on Medicine. Good stuff.

- Be sure to check out some soon to be medical students as well. Practical Pre Med and Phenomenemily will both be starting medical school this summer, congratulations!

There are many more blogs I will link to in the near future. In the meantime explore the rest on your own!

I feel the need to share two awesome music videos I have found recently.

I am a sucker for a music video that tells a story. Two older examples I love are I Say Fever by Ramona Falls and Evil Bee by Menomena. They are both weird (watch them and you’ll understand) but I love the stories.

Recently my brother sent me two new albums, Hurry Up We’re Dreaming by M83 and The Year of Hibernation by Youth Lagoon. Both are great albums and both have an amazing video to go with one of their songs.

First off, Midnight City by M83. This music video is EPIC. That’s all I really have to say about it. Check it out:

The second music video is Montana by Youth Lagoon. Every time I watch this video I tear up. It is so freaking sad.

Sorry for making you cry, but I had just had to share.

On a lighter note, GI Joe: Retaliation is coming out this summer! The first GI Joe was so incredibly terrible yet so incredibly entertaining. Cheesy dialogue, stereotypical characters, over the top action sequences, yeah it’s all there. And it looks like more to come with Retaliation. But with Bruce Willis! And dubstep White Stripes in the preview! And a sword-fighting-while-rappelling scene! The Rock! I’ve never been so excited about a movie that will likely be horrible.

Cowboys and Pit Crews.

- Atul Gawande delivers the commencement address at Harvard Medical School. Anyone interested in medicine should read this.

My Article on Men’s Health for Student Health 101.

-This is the only way I know to link to it. You can get to it by clicking on the icon for Men’s Health Checklist at the bottom. It’s not life altering work, but it is cool to see my own work published somewhere besides this blog.

Want a Better College Experience? Start Your Own Independent Project.

-Pre med blogger Ryan offers up some unique advice for college students. Also, congrats to Ryan on the new writing gig!

An International Service Corps for Health

-An interesting idea that needs to be fleshed out a bit. Would you be interested?

That’s all for now. More posts to come soon, it’s amazing how much writing I can get done in the summer!

I need some quotes!

Student Health 101 liked my last article and it which will be published in June. You may recall I asked for your help with that article a while back, thank you to those who responded!

My next article is about fitness and nutrition tips to get the year started right, to be published in September. Here is what I’m curious about:

What are the biggest challenges for college students to eat healthy  and exercise?

In your opinion, what are the best ways for college students to get exercise?

Do you feel that your fellow students take nutrition and exercise seriously? Why or why not?

If you want to help me out, answer any or all of the questions and write to me either by email (steve at mdjourney.com) or use my contact form. Please include your name, university and year in school.

Thanks in advance!

P.S. A recap of my first year is on it’s way soon, I promise.

I’m back working as an ER Scribe for a few shifts before I head off to medical school. I actually found myself missing work when I was on my little excursion to Peru. Just a little. It’s good to be back to work and I’ve found the scribing is just like riding a bike, it all comes back to you.

Most of all it just makes me excited to be a real doctor some day. That some day being about four years away now.

Anyway, here are some links I’ve found recently that are relevant to the Pre Med Journey:

-Thanks to Hack College for discovering that Amazon is offering Amazon Prime free to students for a year. That’s free two-day shipping on most stuff from Amazon, pretty cool! Check out this link to sign up for Amazon Student.

-Another classic post from Cal Newport at Study Hacks titled “Treat Your Mind As You Would A Private Garden.” There are plenty of parallels between tending a garden and nurturing your mind and he makes some interesting insights.

(Sidenote: I just picked up Cal’s book “How To Become A Straight-A Student.” So far it’s awesome, look forward to a full review soon.)

-Trent over at the Simple Dollar reveals one of his biggest financial mistakes: Using excess student loans to finance an unnecessary lifestyle during college. It may seem common sense to some people, but when thousands of seemingly “free” dollars are staring you in the face it can be difficult to turn them down. Don’t make the same mistake Trent did.

-I recently joined Premed Network, an online community for pre meds. While it is still fairly new, a significant number (over 1,400) of people have already joined. You can see this site is brimming with potential and I’m excited to see where it goes. Check out my profile here.

-The Memoirist over at A Med School Memoir talks about his first week during the third year of medical school. A nice glimpse into a med student’s life, although his experience so far is a little discouraging.

Hope July is going well!

Greetings from Lake Titikaka, Peru where the elevation is a cool 12,500 feet. I´m getting out of breath just typing this!

Seriously though, here are some great links related to the Pre Med journey:

-Cal Newport at Study Hacks probes the problems associated with multi-tasking and being hyper-connected. Bottom line: Multi-tasking makes it harder for you to focus on one task, even when you´re not multi-tasking.

-Jae Won Joh writes a compelling argument against using letter writing companies. Basically you´re much better off saving your money.

-Mohammed at Pre Med Hell explores the decision of picking a major as a pre med student. I essentially agree with the premise that you should major in what you´re interested in. However, if that means double majoring to fulfill the pre med requirements, I would be careful.

-Speaking of Pre Med Hell, did you see my guest post over there about the importance of quality sleep? If not, you should check it out. Look forward to more articles where I explore some scientfic research related to student matters here at Pre Med Journey.

That´s all for now. I´ll be back in the states soon, responding to emails and comments will happen more promptly after that!

Check out my guest post today at Pre-Med Hell.

It’s about the importance of sleep, not just quantity, but quality of sleep and how it effects your grades.

I cannot confirm it’s posted today as I’m starting the trek to Machu Picchu! Check the next couple days if it’s not up today.

According to rn-to-lpn.net this blog is one of the top 99 blogs for pre med students to read. Wahoo!

While I’m shooting for something better than top 99, I’ll take what I can get. : )

Look forward to more posts in the near future- I’m finally done with all my secondar applications and for various reasons should have more free time in the next month or so.

Do you find Premed Journey helpful? Spread the word, tell your friends, post helpful articles on your own blog, etc. Think I can improve the site? Send me an e-mail (sam (at)premedjourney.com) and let me know your thoughts!

Apparently, physics really can save lives.

I found a great new blog written by a student who is doing post-bac pre med requirements. The author’s name is Mel and her writing skills far surpass my own. She has a goal of losing 35 pounds and getting a 35 on the MCAT by the end of the year.

The blog serves as a sort of journal of her progress, and I’m grateful for the effort she puts into it as it is an entertaining read.

Check it out here:

http://35and35.wordpress.com/

Good luck Mel, I hope you achieve you goals and look forward to reading about your adventures along the way.