271 on USMLE Step 2 CK, 225+ hours of experience

Michael F.

Hi, I'm Michael and I'm a PGY-2 Ophthalmology resident at the University of Texas at Austin. I received my undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University in 2017 with a double major in chemistry and French, and my medical degree from the University of Cincinnati in 2023. From 2017-2019, I also worked as a research fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland. In medical school, I received the grade of honors on my Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Surgery, Psychiatry, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Ophthalmology, and Family Medicine clerkships. Prior to graduation, I was also inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha national medical honor society. As part of my board certification, I scored a 257 on the USMLE Step 1 and a 271 on the USMLE Step 2 CK.

I have two years of tutoring experience as a medical student, during which I worked over 225 hours. Specifically, I led 1-hour individual or small group tutoring sessions with 3-15 students up to 5 times per week. I prepared lesson plans using practice questions and case-based learning to help students conceptualize and apply preclinical and clinical lecture material. I taught preclinical courses including Musculoskeletal/Integumentary, Brain Mind and Behavior, Blood/Cardiovascular, Renal/Pulmonary, GI/Endocrine/Reproductive, and Multisystems, and helped clinical students prepare for Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Surgery, Psychiatry, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Neurology, and Family Medicine shelf exams.

All that said, the most rewarding aspect of this work has been the relationships I developed with students over the years. Having met with individual students as frequently as every day during their dedicated study periods for the USMLE exams, I have experienced what it is like to become deeply invested in the success of my students. Above all, however, I am motivated to no only help my students pass exams, but understand concepts in such a way that will allow them to become better doctors.