The Bro of Med School
Name every medical disease in 30 seconds. Ok, that may be a bit of an ask, but what if I asked you to break down just one at a time? Still a tough task, but as we speak, a medical student is taking down the goliath of medical education to deliver helpful, creative study tips. Many of you may already know who I’m talking about but allow me the pleasure of introducing the bro of med school himself, Jake Portnoff.
I recently had the pleasure of speaking with him about not just being a medical student, but how he built the global Med Ed business of “MedSchoolBro.” Now, our conversation took place on opposite sides of the globe with me bundling up for the fall and him getting ready for summer sun. What doesn’t change wherever you are as a medical student is that you’re always looking to make medicine more manageable. Wherever you are in your medical journey, take a moment and listen to how the Bro can help.
About the Bro
For those of you unfamiliar, Jake is a bit of a world traveler. Born and raised in Toronto, Canada with dual citizenship in the U.S., he did his undergraduate studies at Queens University. Applying to medical school at the start of the pandemic, a competitive process became even more selective with limited in-person seating available in Canada. Ready to start medical school wherever the journey would take him, Jake applied internationally and is currently finishing up his second year of medical school at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia.
“I was really drawn to Queensland for a unique opportunity: the UQ Ochsner program. In New Orleans, the Ochsner Clinical School of Medicine has this dual program where in phase one, the US students all study here in Brisbane. After steps, students have the opportunity to either stay in Australia or do their rotations in New Orleans. So, I had a chance for in-person schooling at a time where that was hard to come by, while also being able to do overseas rotations 3rd and 4th year to transition back to the states.”
The Bro Embarks on MedEd
If you’re like me, you may have been introduced to Jake from a video catching him walking down the street to suddenly being asked to guess a hidden diagnosis…in 30 seconds. Where did that inkling of creativity come from, and how did it build into what MedSchoolBro is now?
“So, prior to starting med school, I always had this kind of creative background. I played three instruments, I sing. I wasn't doing TikTok dances or anything like that, but I did dabble around and learn how to make videos, learn how to create trendy styles. That was always something that came naturally. And then when I got into med school, I knew every student, every resident, every doctor, is bound by limited time. If there was any way for me to stay creative while being a student, the two would have to be integrated.
I started filming day in the life videos or videos on how I studied, and one day my friend just comes up to me, starts filming, and prompts me to get to a disease in a limited amount of time. It was this natural mixture of creativity and education, and it was so much fun that we kept it going.
From there, it was really an organic process of trialing different video types. 30-second concepts, full mnemonics, new illustrations – new ways to get old information to stick.
During Covid, attention shifted to short-form media, but education hadn’t found its place in that model yet. Social media attention span is limited. By giving viewers 30 seconds, 60 seconds upfront right away, they know how much they're committing to something. Learning a tough topic becomes more manageable. By finding a way to make education fun and digestible in short-form videos, I soon found myself reaching a large audience of eager learners.”
I think it’s safe to say that anyone in medicine enjoys learning to an extent, but the difference between college and med school is that learning becomes your job. When that happens, people can fall into study traps that make learning stale or overwhelming. What’s fantastic about Jake’s content is how different it is from other Med Ed material. It’s visually engaging, quick, and a great way to introduce a new method to the monotony.
The Business Behind the Bro
What started as short-form education has now grown into a global brand. Balancing being a student and running a business is no easy feat, which is why he isn’t doing it alone. The MedSchoolBro team is comprised of various students and physicians, which helps MedSchoolBro connect to those in medicine at any stage in training. After all, who can speak better to the process than someone going through it themselves?
“While I have a unique style of portraying this stuff, I couldn’t do it on my own. I am so thankful for the MedSchoolBro team for making all this possible. The team includes several med student friends who assist with content building and feedback. We have a few academic physicians who review our guides, both for accuracy and to help make sure we’re covering what needs to be covered. I’m still in pre-clerkship, so we also have upper-year students help check the validity and appropriateness of what we build. As someone who's doing Step 1 and promoting a lot of Step 1 concepts, it's incredibly helpful to have people who have gone through that process already. My brother, funny enough, is everything I needed from a non-medical mind and helps with marketing, e-commerce, customer service, and outreach. All together, we help connect the process of my medical journey to educating others on their own journeys.
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The Brain Behind the Bro
You all as readers know how much I love covering unique stories like these in medicine. In part, it’s because I hope these stories inspire you to pursue what makes you happy and not fear traveling an untested path. You don’t need to build a business, but you should do what drives you. And if you’re worried about time or balancing it all, building on passion has a funny way of building more time into the day. You might want to hear how Jake juggles all the moving parts of his life.
“We're all human. There are days when I struggle with all of this. I won’t finish the questions I wanted to, or I’m behind on review cards, and I have meetings for the business that needs to get done. The key to all of this is passion. You don’t need to be the strictest or most regimented, but passion breeds efficiency. When you want something so badly, and you know there are constraints or roadblocks in the day around it, you find avenues to keep it alive. I know free time is limited as a med student, but when I have even any second, I’ve found ways to maximize the time. The more you work on anything, you find ways to become more efficient. I think when you really look at it and break it down, there is so much time in the day. It can certainly be stressful, and what can’t be said enough is how important taking care of yourself is to everything else. Eating right and exercising regularly makes everything else easier. Take half an hour to meditate or play music and center yourself. It’s never a waste of time to keep yourself right. It’s the most important part of all of this.
For anyone passionate about multiple pursuits, everything is a choice, and sometimes sacrifices have to be made. Sometimes, you sacrifice something today for something great tomorrow.
“If I’m a full-time student and running a business, it’s safe to say I'm not going out on the weekends every weekend with my friends and doing all the things I want to do all the time. I think that's true for anyone trying to pursue a lot of things. So, it comes down to taking a step back, assessing your life and your future, and finding what you really want to do with it.”
At times in the past, we’ve talked about keeping multiple passions alive, we often mix or maintain: to combine and ingrain the two together, or to keep them isolated and separate spaces. Both have their merits. For example, when I was writing the book, it was nice to have protected time away from studying as a break, a small escape. However, maintaining two succinct spaces can be a lot more time-consuming, and sometimes the best way forward is to bring everything together.
“It does feel like so much of my world and everything I live and breathe right now is medicine. But, of course, MedSchoolBro is only possible that way. It's a bit of a double-edged sword to make it easier to keep alive while also making it hard to step away from. I think at the end of the day it’s my passion that protects me. Physician burnout is real, and I'm not close to that stage, but I can see how if you put so much of your effort, emotion, and passion into something, that is a real possibility down the line. That’s why you have to delegate. That’s why I brought in people I lean on who support this idea. That’s why I protect time for myself to reenergize – to keep this going to the places I want to see it go.”
The Future of MedSchoolBro
Would you believe me if I told you MedSchoolBro joined Instagram only a year ago, and today it currently has 1.3 million followers? I had to do a double-take myself. That kind of growth is beyond rare, which just goes to show how Jake has tapped into something students are really looking for. If all of this has happened in only a year, who’s to say what will happen in another? In 5? The future of MedSchoolBro is rife with opportunity.
“When rotations begin, I will bring in some vlogging elements of my experiences and what I’m learning on the wards, how I’m growing through each rotation. The short form education will always be a staple. That style will tie so nicely into what I’m learning day-to-day and reinforce key takeaways of each rotation. Plus, it certainly will pair well with the newest additions to the company, specifically our new guides.
I noticed that these short videos were helping, but the topics were scattered all over the place. How could I give this to people in one packaged format that they can use on their own time? That’s where the guide's inspiration came from. It calculates everything that I've been trying to communicate in my 30 and 60-second videos in a visual, easy-to-understand, digestible source. I’m a very visual learner, so I was incredibly excited to help people retain information in a way that worked for me. Something I found from step prep books and other textbooks was that there are so many interesting topics and areas…that unfortunately will never will be touched upon or aren’t worth your time in a busy day of studying. With Step 1 being pass/fail, I wondered could I get all of neurology in 40% of the pages that First Aid is doing while still covering everything relevant?
There’s a lot that goes into what is included and what’s omitted, which is why I’m so grateful to have my team and reviewers working alongside me. To have a collective of minds rigorously running through First Aid, Uworld, Amboss, and other common sources students are using and pick out the most essential topics. I plan on making a guide specifically for each module or system: cardiology, neurology, GI (coming next month), with others like renal, heme onc, and immunity to follow.
I want to be able to offer help to students from the first day they get into med school through the day they become a doctor. I plan to do a Step 2 series. Of course, I have an OSCE guide, which has been helpful for the clinical aspects of things. I’m really psyched to announce we just released these reference key cards for each rotation, designed with helpful factoids and quick guides for their respective areas of medicine. You’re on surgery? Here is a quick reference for trauma management or post-op fevers. You’re on peds? Take a quick glance at growth charts or developmental milestones.
Eventually, the plan is to put all of this together into a complete Step 1 guide – a complete one-stop source for topic review and study consolidation. From there, I’d love to integrate the guide with my video content, almost like a masterclass series, for a complete preclinical course. The videos would take students through the guides and – something I’m so excited about – incorporate AI-generated USMLE-style questions for testing knowledge progression! The questions would link back to spots on the digital guide as well as connect to other videos to explain topics of missed questions. All of that, of course, is way down the pipeline, but I hope to bring it forward soon.
This has all grown at such a rapid rate and I couldn't have ever imagined something like this. You can’t predict the future, but as this has become more real, the impact we’re having, and the scope in which we can help students around the world, there is a space for me to keep making learning fun and engaging. Wherever medicine takes me, education will always be a main focus and passion.”
Advice from the Bro
I remember the first month of medical school getting texts and calls from friends in high school or college asking me for all sorts of advice. I didn’t know what to tell them; only a week prior I was where they stood, how could I help? As I’m wrapping up my time in medical school now, I can’t help but think how wrong I was. Time in medical school sort of works like dog years: a month feels about as long as a semester in college. If anyone has proven that, it’s Jake. In less than two years, just look at what he’s done. When asked what advice he would give to someone starting today, he offered:
“There are already just so many resources out there. It's borderline oversaturated, so how does a first-year choose which to use? What fits your study methods? And certain resources only really tackle one area of the topic without diving into others. It’s why I’m trying to make a one-stop integrated resource. I think students should take some time trying out different resources and looking internally for what works for them, and then stick with one or two that work. Then, when they use those sources, they should always try to keep their mind open to integrating topics. Always ask questions, even for topics you already understand. If you’ve nailed down an element of physiology, ask yourself how ___ might affect it. Or how does ___ tie into pathology? And then how does pharmacology affect that? and how does pathology, how does ____ disease affect that? Always try to integrate anatomy, physiology, pathology, histology, and more as you learn, because you can always learn more. Try to study efficiently. The more you connect each topic at the start, the faster connections build later. Study smarter, not longer.
Even for myself who feels like I've kind of figured out how I study, those first six months of med school I scrambled to figure out my formula. Take a deep breath, allow yourself time to test, and try new ways of learning. The start might be a rocky road. This is a whole new experience and a lot is thrown at you, but part of learning is figuring out how to learn. Embrace that, give yourself grace to explore, and (I might be a little biased) maybe check out MedSchoolBro if you need a place to start :)”
Thank you so much, Jake, for taking the time to share your life and insight with our readers! Be sure to follow MedSchoolBro on Instagram and TikTok for more, and use code “NDMD15” for 15% off all products on medschoolbro.com!
