The Medmastery Show - Episode #7: Bernhard J. Gersh | From failing first year at med school to Rhodes Scholarship

Dr Gersh is the Professor of Medicine and past Chair of Cardiovascular Education at Mayo Medical School, as well as Consultant of Cardiovascular Diseases and Internal Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

Franz Wiesbauer, MD MPH
Franz Wiesbauer, MD MPH
27th Mar 2015 • 2m read

You can listen to it in one of three ways:

  1. You can subscribe to the show on iTunes (recommended)
  2. You can download the audio file
  3. You can listen to it on the bottom of this page

About Bernhard J. Gersh

Dr Gersh is the Professor of Medicine and past Chair of Cardiovascular Education at Mayo Medical School, as well as Consultant of Cardiovascular Diseases and Internal Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Born in Zambia, he went to high school and medical school in South Africa. After med school he received a Rhodes Scholarship and went to Oxford where he did his PhD in anesthesiology. When he came back to SA, he started his training and learned the nuts and bolts of hands-on clinical cardiology. In 1978 he joined the Mayo Clinic to continue his training. He has remained in their faculty up until the present moment with a short break of 5 years that he spent in Georgetown University in Washington, DC. He has been awarded many clinical honors and it’s no exaggeration to say that he’s one of the most renowned cardiologists in the world.

In this interview we're talking about Dr Gersh's track record, how he evolved from having to repeat first year at medical school to having straight A's and receiving the Rhodes Scholarship. He also gives advice to younger doctors on how to show effort and establish work relationships with senior colleagues.

The Interview