“Faking it till you make it” does not lead to confidence, as the saying implies. On the contrary, the mantra is dangerous, and counteracts the ability of medical students to truly “make it” as confident and accomplished physicians.

The former high school teacher in me says there is room for improvement in medical school pedagogy. In fact, I have noticed some high-yield and easy-to-implement teaching “hacks” that would improve overall instructional practice and student understanding if they were consistently instituted by each professor during every lecture.

Today’s medical students are clinicians and scientists, but they are also innovators, app designers, coders, social entrepreneurs, economists, and artists. What can be done if the medical school curricula cannot provide what they crave and need?

Summer “break” has become a well-known critical time for students to strengthen and polish their applications to medical school. The question is: Is the competitiveness of medicine forcing more and more students to do internships that are unpaid, unproductive, and unhelpful just to check that last box on their resume?