In this episode of The Study Space Podcast, we talk to Andre Vu, a pre-medical student attending Johns Hopkins University to get his insights on the pre-med track, medical school, and how to overcome the challenges inherent with those goals. We discuss the competitiveness and pressure of being a pre-med, and how to deal with them. We talk about activities, research, and life as a pre-med student.

Becoming a doctor is an admirable, but daunting goal. The competition is on and pressure is high. The rewards can be great, but the steps to get there are numerous and difficult. In this episode, we aim to uncover what life is like for one pre-med student at Johns Hopkins University, and what advice he has for students like him.

Things mentioned in this episode:

• Inspiration for going into pre-medical track
• How upbringing can motivate your goals
• Psychological pressure to always be the perfect student
• Neurotic culture and competitiveness among students to gain admission to medical school
• Planning too far in advance can bog down your mind
• Don’t socially isolate yourself
• Go through tough classes with friends
• Don’t limit your extracurricular activities to your professional goals—have fun!
• Undergraduate research
• YouTube Link to Dr. Gregg L. Semenza’s Nobel Lecture on Hypoxia-Inducible Factors in Physiology and Medicine
• Slides to Dr. Gregg L. Semenza’s Nobel Lecture on Hypoxia-Inducible Factors in Physiology and Medicine
• Taking a gap year is normal
• Can anyone become a doctor?
• Think about your happiness, and your reasons for pursuing medicine

Your host: David Chuong

Featured guest: Andre Vu

Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar is licensed under a Creative Commons License.