Glauc Talk: How Residency Applications Became an Arms Race

Knock Knock, Hi! with the Glaucomfleckens · Feb 17, 2026 · 38m

This week, Kristin and I unpack what really happened after Step 1 went pass/fail and why medical students are now under more pressure, not less. We talk about how Step 2 quietly became the new make-or-break test, why students are leaving clinical rotations early just to study, and why calling this generation “less dedicated” completely misses the point.

We also zoom way out and ask a bigger question: are we solving the right problem… or just reacting downstream? From residency application overload to imposter syndrome to the arms race of research publications, this episode is a deep dive into…