Mind Wanderlust

To ye new comrades: I am an MS1 and this is an attempt to stay alive and a reminder to have a life during the time I will spend in medical school. Shoot any questions you may have about the process of applying, new MCAT, anything, over my way! To ye olde comrades: I decided to keep this one. It was too complicated to try to figure out how to work a new blog. SO THIS WILL STAY MY BLOG TO TRY TO KEEP MY HEAD ABOVE WATERS.

[imrlynotsurewhatimdoing-blog]

DERP! Haha, I love that you have that as your ask. I just wanted to ask how did you approach your interviews. Thanks! :)

Hi Teddy! 

Derp is my constant state of life, for better or worse. :) 

As for interviews, I was very lucky to have gone to a school that offered interview practice over skype and in person with MDs and other professional counselors specifically for pre-medical students. Otherwise, I made a long list of interview questions that the schools may potentially ask and enlisted help from family and friends to simulate the actual interview day (I wore the suit and everything… make sure you’re comfortable in your suit!). I am the type of person who gets more nervous in front of my family (who love me enough to not sugar coat any criticism), so my family was the best audience of choice. I feel like it’s just better to practice with people who are not afraid to offer constructive criticism so that you can improve your interviewing skills! Here are some tips that I found helpful:

1. SHOW, DON’T TELL. 

When you answer these questions, make sure you frame your answer with EVIDENCE - meaning, have some background story or anecdote to support what you are saying. You can tell someone all you want that you want to help others and be there for those who cannot serve themselves - but how could I believe you if you don’t have anything to back it up, right? For example:

How did you display teamwork?

I learned teamwork by working with others. 

vs.

During college, I was on the board for -insert group name-. My individual role was to gather information about the surrounding areas and make connections, but without working together with my other board members, my job would end at making connections - without them, I would not have been able to contribute to a larger goal of bringing in influential leaders from the community to speak and show what they do for the rest of the community. etc, etc.

2. ANSWER THE ACTUAL QUESTION. 

I have seen so many people falter on this. It may seem so logical, but when you’re sitting in that seat in front of the interviewer, it’s very easy to sweat - and not properly answer the question. So make sure you hear them, process what they asked, and give them the proper answer to the question they asked. Also, if they re-word their question and ask again, that probably means you didn’t answer what they were actually asking. And that’s okay! Just re-group, and try again.

3. YOU DON’T HAVE TO ANSWER IN LIGHTNING SPEED.

It’s an interview! With no structure and no knowledge of what funky, weird questions they might ask you! So it’s okay to take your time before answering. In fact, if your gut tells you that you need to think a bit before answering, PLEASE DO IT. 

4. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. 

Practice what you want to convey to the interviewer - what do you want them to know about YOU? What should they remember about you? What makes you someone worth remembering? 

As for the list of questions, I researched some online and also compiled one based on what my interviewers asked me during practice and during some of the real deals. Here is the list of questions in case you were curious: 

-Tell me about yourself.

-Why do you want to be a doctor?

-If you want to help people, why not social work?

-How would your peers describe you?

-How do you handle stress? Failure? Change?

-Describe your style of communicating and interacting with others.

-Describe a situation in which you took initiative.

-Tell me about a hobby you enjoy. 

-Tell me about a time when you failed.

-Tell me about a time when you had to work with others.

-What does ‘success’ mean to you?

-How do you make important decisions?

-Name three strengths and three weaknesses. (or one of each, most meaningfully)

-What are your specific goals in medicine?

-What do you see yourself doing in medicine 10-15 years from now?

-Do you like the city that the school is in?

-What other schools have you applied to? 

-What do you think about euthanasia? About monetized transplants? Ethics Questions, look them up on google for more 

-What is the most pressing health issue today?

-What do you know about Obamacare? What do you think of the Affordable Care Act?

-There are 1000s of applicants as qualified as you. Why should we pick you?

-What do you bring to the table?

-What’s the most recent book you’ve read? 

-From what you understand of medical school, what part of the program will be most difficult for you?

-What steps have you taken to acquaint yourself with what the physician does?

-What have you done thus far that would make you a good fit/ready for medical school? (or for personal development)

-What are your career plans and what led you to these decisions?

-If you get multiple acceptances, how would you decide where to choose?

-What are you doing while you are applying to school?

-If you took a gap year, what did you do during your gap year?

-Why this school?

-If you don’t get into medical school, what would you do?

I hope this helps!

[imrlynotsurewhatimdoing-blog]

If you couldn't get flour from the grocery store for the weekend... I am guilty for buying some out. Baking experiments all weekend stuck inside during a snow storm with home made (boiled) Coffee Milk Boba! Crystal Fong, are you proud of me 🤗

[imrlynotsurewhatimdoing-blog]

Shortening in a pie crust fixes all. Apple tart with almond cream filling, everything from scratch down to the crust! Thank you to my professor for the crust recipe! Go see @pastryaffair for the almond cream recipe.

[imrlynotsurewhatimdoing-blog]

Today felt like a baking day. Pumpkin chocolate chip bread, adapted from @sallysbakeblog ! Replaced maple syrup for a good chunk of the sugar... And I couldn't find my loaf pan, so I stuck it in my bundt pan LOL whatever works... #baking #pumpkin #fall #omnomnom #bread

[mrdittomansir]

[summonerxi]

HIS DAD IS A DITTO

I AM NOT OKAY *SOBS*

[imrlynotsurewhatimdoing-blog]

OMYLORDMYFEELINGS

[imrlynotsurewhatimdoing-blog]

I lost weight 

Again.

This is really starting to be a problem... 

[imrlynotsurewhatimdoing-blog]

Hey! You asked me to DM you for some physics stuff! Thank you so much for your help!!!!!!!

Hey! So I’m not sure if you’ve heard of this already, but I often used this app on my phone or online:

http://mcatquestionoftheday.com/tag/physics/

Just to get my head rolling every morning.

And

http://www.wikipremed.com/tests_home.php

I used to use wikipremed until I got access to all my books from my class as well as extra materials I bought from the bookstore.

Hope this helps!

[imrlynotsurewhatimdoing-blog]

Courtesy of Sally’s Baking blog for this recipe! It’s a layered blueberry lemon cake with strawberry whipped cream. :) I tried piping for the first time using my NEW TIP SO EXCITE but realized it’s a teeny wheeny bit too small for decorating on a larger scale… But I tried.

Oh. I also used a regular plastic bag as my piping bag. IT WORKS!

Conclusion: it tastes better than it looks with this tacky as hail decor. Really.

[imrlynotsurewhatimdoing-blog]

Nutella surprise! Nutella swirl pound cake. :) I was hoping for more swirl near the bottom but I think the layer is more intense near the middle of the cake. @sallysbakeblog recipe! #baking #omnomnom #homemade #nutella #poundcake

[imrlynotsurewhatimdoing-blog]

How can you go wrong with two sticks of butter and Nutella?

[imrlynotsurewhatimdoing-blog]

Thoughts while perusing the “women” section of several shops

-Looking for a button up jersey: No why are you cropped I don’t want a cropped thing and not everything I own as a woman is cropped please stop

Solution: Go to the men’s section to find something in xs or s.

-Looking at leggings and joggers: So who can actually wear floral+leopard print together on loose joggers? And why are those leggings and joggers distressed? These are not jeans. They’re already pretty skin tight, we don’t need anymore skin to bulge out or give the pretense that women are scandalous beings.

Solution: Go to Adidas.

-Looking at dresses and tanks: That... is definitely not a tank dress...

Solution: Wear it as a tank if I get it, because that is no way in hell a dress. Model girl, I can see yo undies.

Sometimes the “women” section of the clothing stores bother me. I don’t mind the “women” and “men” section dichotomy, or the “boys” and “girls” section dichotomy - because I understand that females and males just have inherently different size proportions and fits, and it’s just not reasonable to try to conglomerate them into a whole united section. So for that dichotomy, I understand and agree with. But I don’t agree with making inherently different styles of clothes because that is what embodies “women” or “men” style. Some women enjoy wearing some clothes that cover up their body (surprise, surprise!). I wish they would make at least more similar style clothes as the ones in the Men section for women, but shorter length and shrunk a little, perhaps, to fit smaller framed women as well.

~musings while window perusing~

[imrlynotsurewhatimdoing-blog]

Did a closet re organization today and realized I have all these clothes. Donated a couple, and seriously contemplating keeping track of my outfits to make sure I wear all of them/style all of them at least once... Shall I make that low-key low-maintenance fashion blog for short legged people that I've been considering???

[imrlynotsurewhatimdoing-blog]

Struck me with lightning of realization. I decided to go into medicine with the idea and desire to help people in what I now realize is a very narrow thought: to help cure their underlying pathology or issues. However, each patient has different priorities, whether it is to live comfortably until the end or to be rid of all their health problems. As physicians, I believe we should be able to provide that respect with the treatment that patients want, on the grounds that the aforementioned patient is lucid and clear-minded. This article taught me how to better respect the patient - and his or her wishes for their life.

[imrlynotsurewhatimdoing-blog]

“Cropped Jeans”

Inseam: 26inches

It ain’t a crop if inseam be longer than my leg length, people

SOME OF US ARE VERTICALLY CHALLENGEDDD

[imrlynotsurewhatimdoing-blog]

Found a book cafe in DC! 😳 And also received a book I wanted for a while from Le @t.kang.aroo 😝 @kramerbooks (at Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe & Grill)

[wayfaringmd]

how does the american health system work? like insurance and paying for care and it seems like you guys have heaps of hospitals with emergency rooms in the same city? also it seems like medications are advertised a lot? i watched a documentary set in the us and there was a prozac clock on the wall, but you have to be prescribed prozac (fluoxetine?) in my country. i think if you need it then treatment is free. like if you have cancer you dont have to pay anything to get surgery or chemo

Insurance / paying for care: It’s super complicated. There are two ways to pay for medical care in the US: insurance and cash. There are private insurance plans that individuals can buy, or you can buy into a plan through your employer if they offer insurance. There are TONS of private insurers and plans vary widely by state and by the level of coverage you pay for. Some plans may pay for pretty much everything whereas others require co-pays or require patients to pay a certain amount every year (called a deductible) before the insurance kicks in. 

Then there’s government insurance funded by taxes–Medicare, Medicaid, and what is fondly called Obamacare. Medicare and Medicaid do pay for a lot. Medicare is for people 65+ and has several parts to it that cover different things like hospital care or outpatient care. Medicare is probably the closest thing the US has to the single-payer systems that many other countries have. Medicaid is for the poor and disabled. Medicaid plans are sometimes managed by non-government third parties, and they also vary widely by plan and by state. Some states also have state-sponsored insurance programs to ensure that children are covered. When the Affordable Care Act took effect, states had the option to vote to expand their Medicaid coverage so that more uninsured people could be covered. Some states wisely voted yes, while others voted no. The ACA also brought about insurance “exchanges” (Obamacare) where insurance plans compete with each other, which is supposed to lower their prices. People can buy into those if they don’t qualify for Medicare, Medicaid, or can’t afford private insurance.

Oh wait, there are also prescription plans! And dental plans! And vision plans! Those are all usually options you pay extra for with your insurance plan so that you don’t have to fork out $500 for a tooth filling or $600 for glasses. 

Confused yet? We are too. 

Free Treatment: Some medical conditions (HIV/AIDS, end stage renal failure on dialysis, and breast cancer are a few that come to mind) will allow patients to qualify for Medicaid and other medical assistance programs when they otherwise wouldn’t, so they have access to treatment. Also, emergency rooms can’t withhold emergency treatment because of lack of ability to pay. I agree that healthcare should be available to everyone, but remember that even in a single payer system, nothing is free. Somebody (or somebody’s taxes) is always paying.

Heaps of hospitals?: only in the largest cities are there heaps of hospitals and emergency rooms, and generally different hospitals offer some different services. Most small cities and towns in the US would only have 1 or 2 hospitals. For perspective: my MedSchoolTown had 3 hospitals which served about 150-200,000 people from the city and surrounding towns. My NewJobTown is 20 miles away from the nearest hospital, which is a critical access hospital with only about 40 beds.

Are medications advertised a lot?: Yes, to the annoyance of most doctors. Direct to consumer advertising of prescription drugs is the most aggravating thing in the world. Yeah, you still have to be prescribed prozac (and all the other advertised prescription drugs) in the US too, but here you can also watch a commercial and walk in and tell your doctor “I only want drug X for this condition” and completely ignore your doctor’s years of experience in favor of the information you got from a 15 second commercial.

Prozac Clocks: Up until just a few years ago, drug companies gave doctors all sorts of free stuff with their drugs’ names on them. Docs got pens, mugs, clocks, educational materials, dinners, and even vacations from drug reps. But the rules have been tightened down on that stuff now, and drug companies can only hand out educational materials and meals now, and the meals can’t be extravagant. 

[imrlynotsurewhatimdoing-blog]

This is so helpful.

[imrlynotsurewhatimdoing-blog]

:) Amazing food, amazing service, and awesome company! I now have a potentially permanent food baby. I'm not sure. Blueberry Pancakes with lemon streusel and homemade creme fraiche and Short Rib Hash! You know food is good when the coffee is good. @blueducktavern #omnomnom #foodbaby #sofull #breakfast #wokeupsoearly (at Blue Duck Tavern)