Temporary Shower

Today is a sad day for me. I spent last night watching the election with my husband and when we went to bed at 10pm, I still had hope that Hillary would win. But alas, at 3am when I got up to use the restroom, I found out that I was wrong….indeed we were all wrong. The shock kept me awake and worry/fear soon followed. I honestly don’t know how to express all the emotions I have felt in the last day but I know this: I am nervous about bringing a child into this world. I am scared about the repercussion of nationalism, the future repercussion of turning a blind eye to global warming, and the wall we will build to both isolate and doom ourselves. I want my daughter to know that there are still good people in this world and that hopefully she will be amongst them. I want her to trust the democratic process and to appreciate her birthright: freedom, gender equality, diversity, and justice. However, today for the first time, I am not sure this will be her inheritance.

I know I haven’t been great at keeping up with this blog. I now have plenty of time on my hands and yet, I just don’t want to do anything. Perhaps I am making up for last year where I had very little time but all I want to do these days is veg out on the couch. This could be because I am pregnant! Yes….25 weeks pregnant to be exact. We have been keeping it hush hush for awhile because I didn’t see the point of advertising it on social media but now that all our close friends/family know, I am ok with writing about it here. Needless to say, Dave and I are super excited…and scared. This will be our first child and I am super nervous about the labor process itself. I have had a great pregnancy so far. Besides some cramping pains at the beginning and some occasional discomfort, first and second trimester have flown by. I think third trimester will be a bit harder but what I really worry about is the labor and delivery part. I mean, I’ve seen it dozens of times on OB last year but it’

Yay I am finally done studying for Step 2 ck!!! Because I regretted not documenting my thoughts after Step 1, I thought I should hurry and document my thoughts for Step 2. Overall,  I think I was WAY less stressed about Step 2. Maybe this is because I have literally been prepping for it this whole year or maybe I was just so burned out, I couldn't bring myself to care. Either way, I am really glad I allotted 6 weeks for this. My school only recommends 4 weeks and some people find that 2 weeks is enough but for me, it was nice to leisurely work through UWorld and have my evenings off. Resources used: UWorld: definitely the best resource. In fact, I think you can do quite well on the test if you really know and understand everything in world. Master the Boards: very sparse on details but good in the week leading up to the test as a final review Kaplan qbank: I did like 500 question from it but didn't find it all that helpful. Their explanations were definitely not as good

Now that I am done with third year, I feel like I can share some wisdom on what to do for each rotation. Coming back from a 4 year leave of absence, I was definitely at a disadvantage knowledge-wise but I managed to honor 4/7 clerkships, high pass 2/7, and sadly only pass surgery. That said, I don't regret any of the resources I used and think anyone can get honors with the right mindset and the right study material. I hope some of you find this useful. General Advice You always have to try your best in clinic. It sucks when people ignore you or doesn't like you but swallow your pride and try to please them. At most schools, evals from your residents/attendings make up a good portion of your clerkship grade so do not overlook the importance of showing up early, being prepared, and being eager to learn. That said, don't play "the game". Go home when they tell you to go home. Don't try to outshine everyone around you. Instead, spend your free time at w

I did it! I am officially done with MSIII forever!!!! We just got our grades back for Family Medicine so now I can breath a sign of relief that I passed everything. YAY! Reflections: Things I liked: - The hours!!! My attending worked 6am-6pm because he liked to get in early and review his patient's charts. I only worked 8-5 but having nights and weekends is wonderful! - The breadth. I like seeing kids and adults Things I disliked - The monotony. It seemed like we saw the same things every day: diabetes diabetes diabetes! - The patients. I am sorry to say this but I learned I am just NOT interested in outpatient. I first thought this might be because I had been shadowing too much before so if I saw and worked up patients on my own, it would be more fun but I was wrong. I find it all really boring and tiring and I find it hard relating to patients who aren't really sick, who are not compliant with their meds, and who always just wants more meds. 

Third year ended without much fan-fare....though there may have been some unattractive crying on my part the last 2 weeks because I hated family medicine so much. I don't even know what it was...burn out? boredom? apathy? Anyways, I didn't even work that hard and I just dreaded going to work every day. I would mentally tick off how many patients I had to see and by the end, I was ALWAYS exhausted. I don't know how family medicine doctors do it. The 15min sessions followed by patient care notes is exhausting. More on that later when I get my FM grade back and when I write my obligatory "likes" and "dislikes". What am I doing now you ask? Well....I am currently laying in bed at 3pm in my PJs. Yup you heard me right! I have free this summer! And by free I mean, I am studying for Step 2 CK, Step 2 CS, and then the GMAT. By the time I am done with all these tests, it will be the start of fall semester and I will be an official business student. Weird but e

I have some other news…I have decided to take another year off before my last year of med school. I applied for both a bioengineering masters program called bioinnovate and the joint MD/MBA program and I got into both! After much thought and soul-searching, I have decided to pursue an MBA. This means I will have to study for the GMAT after I take Step 2 this summer but then off to something totally different from medicine and science! The truth is I have always thought I would get an MBA. Ever since I learned how important business is in the art of medicine, I’ve wanted to get more training. I am thinking about doing more and more administrative type work as I grow older and having an MBA will definitely help. I just didn’t know I would do it so soon. I primarily wanted a year off because I can’t decide what field to go into, I feel burnt out from this year, and I just needed some time to rediscover why I loved medicine. I looked around for programs to do so I wouldn’t get bo