Challenger Medical Education Blog

January 23, 2025 Customer Newsletter

Written by Challenger Corporation | Jan 23, 2025 10:12:37 PM

  • AI Reads Med School Applications
  • Refer a Friend, Save Big
  • Health Agency Gag Order Imposed
  • Why Select Med-Chllenger?
  • Plan to Exit the WHO
  • QUIZ - Test Your Knowledge

AI Will Now Read Your Medical School Application

Makes sense. We’ve been reading articles for *many weeks* now cautioning residency applicants and medical school applicants to not use AI for writing their resumes and letters. Now we’re hearing the universities are going to get the AI to read those same applications. 😂 

“Last year we had 5,000 applicants, and we have to get that down to about 180” accepted students, notes Laurah Turner, PhD, MS, Associate Dean for artificial intelligence and educational informatics at UC College of Medicine.

While in favor of anything that saves 1000’s of hours of physician time a year, we’re a little doubtful about the usefulness of AI as a sieve. AI could do an outstanding job of summarization and organization of information, on the other hand. We’ve seen a lot of physicians tasked with admissions build complex tables each year as they look at residents or students - that’s the kind of job AI excels at.  AI is not going be so great at relative comparisons yet.

AI Will Now Read Your Medical School Application - AAMC

Trump Pauses US Department of Health and Human Services Agencies

He didn’t actually “pause the agencies”; the article refers to a blanket ban on communications. There’s no text associated with the ban—this is early reporting from within the agencies. Blanket bans are highly unusual. While it’s normal for new administrations to pause specific communications related to changing policies, procedures, or messaging, broad bans are not typically used. Obama didn’t do this. Biden’s administration did the opposite, moving communication controls back to the agencies from the White House. 

And you can’t really stop the FDA (for instance) from “talking to the public” for long. The early reports are coming from inside the agencies themselves and don’t include any details about the actual order. A couple of the articles mention that communications affecting critical health, safety, environmental, or financial functions are exempt. Others list no exemptions. This is when you wish there were board exams and certification requirements for reporters. 🙂

 Trump Pauses US Department of Health and Human Services Agencies


President Donald Trump’s Plan to Exit the WHO Alarms Health Leaders

We’re in, we’re out, we’re in…and now we’re out again. While the US is the largest contributor to WHO, we’re only 18% of the $6.8b budget, so the loss of the US is survivable, but difficult. The argument against WHO, one also made by the Biden White House, is (to put it succinctly) competence and independence. The argument FOR staying in is that no other world body is organized specifically to address some of the early stage warning signals that WHO is.   

Dr. Tedros, Director-General since 2017, and in office until 2027 at least, hasn’t been a fan of US health policy, but hasn’t been that politically vocal about it. While the handling of SARS-CoV-2 got some criticism, most physicians, whether supportive of United Nations agency or not, generally agree that the monitoring and reaction services it provides are needed.

President Donald Trump’s Plan to Exit the WHO Alarms Health Leaders
 
An external viewpoint, Malaika Mahlatsi is a South African, currently doing PhD studies in Germany. She argues that Trump is in fact ceding ground politically by leaving rather than engaging. 
 

QUIZ QUESTION

A 46-year-old man taking hydrochlorothiazide presents with a rash

A 46-year-old man taking no previous medication is started on hydrochlorothiazide 25 mg for essential hypertension. Several days later he presents with a rash (see image).

He complains of malaise, myalgia, and joint discomfort. This presentation is most consistent with which of the following?

-Henoch-Schönlein purpura
-Microscopic polyangiitis
-Takayasu arteritis
-Hypersensitivity vasculitis (leukocytoplastic vasculitis)
-Churg-Strauss syndrome