She Wants The MD

Just a girl trying to get to a place where she can help others while getting to know every nook and cranny of the human body. Erin / she, her / 19 / INFJ-T / Accelerated MD Program / Medical School Class of 2023

[afterthemd]

Everyone else on the night shift:

Me:

[afterthemd]

Second Genetics Unit info condensed to a single page 😁

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The ER board tonight: (incoming) hatchet injury to head

[afterthemd]

I’m sorry I don’t post more (ever) because my life is crazy at this point but we had a kid (14) come into the ER last week via EMS because he shoved a LEGO in his phallus and that, my friends, is why I love EM

[afterthemd]

Alright I spent an entire day watching nothing but cholecystectomies. I have a pretty good idea of how they're done at this point.

I had my own done Friday and so I'm 3 days post-op and I have these identical gnarly bruises on the lateral portion of my lower stomach bilaterally and am so confused as to what caused them? I know lap chole's aren't gentle but they're low and indentical? Anyhow, thoughts to ponder later...

[fag]

[mj-md]

Lady Medblrs: Last Names

So I’ve got a question for all you ladydocs out there: if under the circumstances you were to be married, which last name would you prefer to be professionally known as?

This question might depend on a number of factors: timing of marriage, stage of career, traditional vs non-traditional, ease of name changing, one’s own personal beliefs.

I always felt that no matter when I got married, whether it’d be before I graduated medical school or after, I would keep my maiden name professionally and go by Dr. MJ. I went through medical school as an MJ, I earned my medical degree as an MJ, and so I want to be Dr. MJ. 

But, I would also like to take my husband’s last name socially… but I’m not sure how all that works in the “real world”  with licensing and such. Is there a checkbox you mark that says, “Hi yes I want to be Dr. MJ at the hospital but everywhere else I’m gonna go by Mrs. X”?

Thoughts and opinions?

[mymedlife]

I got married before medical school but didn’t change my name. So I’m Dr. [my last name], but in social situations I’ll introduce myself as Liz [husband’s last name] and all my family addresses me as such. 

[aspiringdoctors-blog]

I got married during third year of med school and changed my name to the Cabbage’s because I liked it. We are not traditional people. We only got married because I am in the military, and the Cabbage didn’t care what I did with my last name.

I know a lot of women who do the two name thing, keeping their maiden name professionally and legally, and socially going by their married name. Forms only care about your legal name so I don’t think you need to worry about what you go by socially.

[telep0rt]

Since Sweetheart and I are getting married in just a few weeks (woohoo!) this is a super timely question for me. 

Obviously, I am now post-medical-school and full into the actual MD phase of my training. I also have research publications under my maiden name. 

So I’m KEEPING my name professionally and legally and will socially go by Sweetheart’s name for functions/kids schools/random strangers/phone calls/etc– but I’ll always keep my maiden name officially and professionally. Growing up, my mom had kept her maiden name and went by it professionally, but then went by my dad’s last name socially. So the non-matched last name is super normalized for me.

I’m doing this for a lot of reasons: -It’s annoying to change your name – lots of forms, etc etc -It’s SUPER annoying to change your name AFTER you have a medical license. I looked into it. It’s a headache and I hate paperwork.  -It’s SUPER SUPER annoying to get the publications you published UNDER YOUR MAIDEN NAME “counted” toward your publishing record (dumb, antiquated rules).  -I’m not traditional. I’m just not.  -I’ve always had this name. It’s my name. It would be weird to me to wake up and suddenly have a different name. -It wasn’t important to Sweetheart for me to take his name (and it wasn’t important to me that he took mine). We’re not traditional.  -I like my name. I’ve had it for a quarter of a century. I’m used to it. 

Long story short: I think names are a very intimate thing. They are a special part of who you are. You are the person who gets to decide what to do with your name - change, don’t change. 

Whatever works for you!! And you should always feel free to have a conversation with your partner about your choices. 

So change your name, or don’t change your name, hyphenate, come up with a whole new name for both of you. 

There’s no right answer - except what’s right for you. 

[afterthemd]

They notified the incoming year 1's today. It's hard to believe I was in their seats a year ago. So happy for anyone who happens to read this if you got in :)

[afterthemd]

That’s a post-residency luxury

Anytime a med student wants anything

[freshphotons]

“Killing me softly” by Lucian Brihacescu.

[randommomentsdevida]

MS3 resources/apps/stuff

General/all rotations:

https://onlinemeded.org/

Has a ton of free lectures on various topics. Notes and stuff, you need to pay for.

http://www.medbullets.com/

Summary of various topics. Free. 

http://radiopaedia.org/

Useful radiology source

http://www.dynamed.com/ or http://www.uptodate.com/

Useful readings that are subscription based - I would wait to buy subscriptions because the hospital or your school may give it to you for free. Also, dynamed is free for students. 

Maxwell Quick Medical Reference

A quick reference for random things

Case files / Blueprints

Books series that has books for each rotation. Choose whichever works for you. 

http://som.uthscsa.edu/StudentAffairs/thirdyear.asp

Has review lectures for the psych, surgery, peds, and medicine shelves that are about 2 hours each.  

Qbank

Pick your fav

Medscape app Apple / Android

Useful reference and has calculators 

I don’t really recommend epocrates - has a lot of random and really stupid errors that even I caught. 

Figure1 - Apple / Android / Web

Instagram for medical people

http://www.2minutemedicine.com/

“High-Impact Reports on the Latest Medical Studies. All Curated and Written by Practicing Physicians and Health Professionals “

Medicine 

Pocket Medicine: The Massachusetts General Hospital Handbook of Internal Medicine (Pocket Notebook) 

Gold for medicine rotation

Step Up to Medicine 

Good reading for medicine rotation. I’ve heard that the older version and the newest version are not that much different so you might consider buying an older version to save money. 

Family

http://www.fpnotebook.com/ 

Reference guide. Also has apps. Recommended by my attending. 

ER

10 second EM app - Apple / Android

Recommended by an ER resident - has quick references for everything ER

Ortho

http://www.orthobullets.com/

Medbullets for ortho.

Surgery 

Pestana’s Surgery Notes  

Overview of surgery things. I dunno, I never finished reading this but people highly recommend it.

Surgical Recall 

Good to review before your surgery for pimp questions.

For pts

GoodRX - Apple / Android

Find the cheapest prescriptions. 

Medisafe - Apple / Android

To help remember when to take medications 

Random 

Compression socks

Especially on surgery or any other rotation where you’re on your feet a lot.

Comfy shoes

For all rotations

Food/granola bars in your whitecoat

Because you never know when you’ll get hungry/hangry

Pain meds

You may consider carrying some in your white coat because there may not be time to go to your locker to get anything.

Whitecoat clipboard 

Useful to organize notes and whatever. Also has some nice reference things on the back that I always forget is there.

General advice

Be flexible. Things don’t always work out perfectly - roll with it. 

Have things to study with you, especially for when your attending invariably runs late. 

Don’t take things too personal. People will yell for the most stupidest things. Realize that it’s a problem with them and not you. 

Do what’s best for you. Sometimes attendings don’t want you to use certain resources. You’re not gonna make everyone happy and at this point, you know what works for you so do what you can and what you already know works for you. Also, sometimes, you just need sleep. Sleep. 

[drdessertfox]

Medical School Resources Master Post as presented by Medschoolmanic

Hello fellow medblrs, premedblrs, and anyone else who just enjoys reading the hell that medical school students go through. When we are in medical school, I feel like we are constantly bombarded with multiple resources. Which ones are best? How do I know which ones will work for me? While not every learning method works for everyone, I did decide to compile a list of resources along with my thoughts on each one. Each resource is linked as well!

Keep reading

[afterthemd]

First Semester

Oh wowser I know it’s been a while, and I’m sorry about that. This semester has kicked my butt but I survived and so did my GPA (more or less). The semester threw it all at me, from awful professors to two weeks in the hospital, right before finals (never again- I don’t care if it kills me). However, I also had some truly amazing professors and classes I adored. I have decided to compile a list of things I wished I’d known before I started this semester and things I know now that I’ve survived it.

50 Things I Learned in My First Semester 1. At 19 credit hours, you aren’t going to have a 4.0. 2. You may get a C, even for the semester. It’ll be okay. 3. Classes totally depend on the professor(s). 4. Some classes aren’t fair. Your grades may come down to pure luck. 5. This is your adjustment semester. Figure out what works (and what doesn’t) and adjust. It may take you the whole semester. 6. You may study hours for something and it may not show. See #5. 7. You’re not good at straight memorization. It’s going to make your life more difficult. It’ll be okay. 8. That urge to understand things and not just know them? It’ll make learning information take longer, but it makes you retain the knowledge. 9. Some of your classmates will have their own unique, shall we say, ways of surviving their semesters. They may seem to work better than yours. Keep your chin up and follow your path. 10. In addition to #9, they will not be ahead when the material builds. Life has a way of evening out the score. 11. Don’t ever take another 3 hour lab that starts at 7 pm. 12. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness; it is a sign of strength. 13. The people around you are more than willing to help, especially if you are. 14. Take a break from school sometimes. Read. Watch Netflix. Take a nap. It’ll do your brain good. 15. Occasionally it’s okay to buy food. The cafeteria really can be horrendous. Treat yo’ self. 16. You are a good person who deserves to be treated kindly and with respect. Don’t settle for less. 17. Sometimes being alone is better than being with people who don’t treat you right. 18. Take advantage of the free programming through the dorm and student union. You’re paying enough in room and board and tuition for all of it! 19. Get active occasionally. The sand volleyball court on campus is a great way to get your attention blood pumping and to meet people! 20. Speak up. You’re a student for a reason. You don’t always need to have the right answer. 21. Ask questions. You never know what knowledge you might be given. 22. Earplugs are a sound investment. (No pun intended) 23. Calling home is good for you and your family. Even if it’s every day for a while. 24. Rent textbooks that you won’t need to reference in the near future. If you must buy, buy used. 25. Go to class. All the time. 26. Sit near the front. Pay attention! 27. Talk to your professors, even if you don’t have a problem. 28. #25 - #27 will save your butt more than once, especially if you have something big come up (say missing two weeks). Listen to them. 29. Notebooks are sufficient for many classes. Binders should suffice for the rest. 30. For classes that the professors post the lecture online beforehand, print it and read through it before class. Then, annotate during lecture with what is said. 31. Do your homework. You never know when the professor will decide to make it extra credit (and it helps you review the material). 32. Just because someone finds something useful for studying doesn’t mean you will. 33. Print out all of your syllabi and make a master calendar of dates. Color code it. You will be thankful. 34. READ THROUGH ALL OF YOUR SYLLABI. 35. Get to know the area around campus. It’s easy to forget there’s a world outside of school so make an effort to get to know your new home. 36. You don’t need a significant other to be valid, even if everyone around you has paired off. 37. Classes that start with MED are pass/fail. However, there is a High Pass (A), Pass (B), Low Pass © and Fail (F), so don’t slack off too much. 38. Oh yeah, those MED classes also show up when you apply to residency. Definitely do not slack off. 39. When presented with time off, it is a gift. Accept it. Adore it. Sleep. 40. Caffeine may be a savior but your heart rate shouldn’t break 130. If it does, cut back. 41. People will tell you that getting a job is crazy. It is. Do it anyway. 42. Your compassion and dedication got you into the program. Don’t be afraid to let it show. 43. You are surrounded by medical nerds. Enjoy it. 44. This is as close to being a traditional undergrad as you’ll get. Savor it. 45. Constantly be willing to learn and you will be granted more opportunities than you thought possibly. 46. As easy as it is, don’t be discouraged and never give up. 47. You will never regret kindness. 48. Your gut instincts are rarely wrong. 49. You picked the right program. 50. They picked you and did not make a mistake. You belong where you are.

[getstudyblr]

10 . 09 . 2016 // guess who spent the entire day studying biology? Damn right it was me

[afterthemd]

Anatomy may kill me, but I’m not going down without a fight.

[afterthemd]

So, I injured my wrist/elbow (it is a very long story of a series of misfortune events..) and tomorrow is my first day back with patient contact since January. I’m so ready!!! :D

[afterthemd]

I spent 7 hours in the Peds ED today and had to reassure and promise 5 kids that Santa does, in fact, visit the hospital. I swear I can make it through the gruesome and usually the heart-wrenchers, but you stick me with some scared kids who don’t want to spend Christmas in the hospital, and I can’t help but cry. On the other hand, every kid we got to discharge home felt like a victory, even more so than usual. It was a good day.