Lex

Third year med student // I write this blog for my little sister // US // 23 // she/her

[wayfaringmd]

I did the Ultimate Bad Thing this semester and let a guy distract me from school. I thought we had something special and spent a significant amount of time with him or just distracted by the thought of instead of studying. My grades reflected the wasted time and I'm facing med school applications this summer with a much weaker GPA then last semester. He's ghosting me now. I don't know if I need advice or assurance that life will go on, everything just hurts right now.

Life does go on, I assure you. But lemme tell you a story about Premed Wayfaring...

Premed Wayfaring loved college. She loved having real friends for the first time and loved hanging out with them. Her best friends were her roommates and they were super fun. They ate a lot of pizza and watched an obscene amount of Golden Girls reruns. Now little Premed Wayfaring hated organic chemistry. There was no pizza, no fun roomies, and definitely no Golden Girls involved. Thus Wayfaring neglected studying SN1 and SN2 reactions and thoroughly bombed organic 1. Then one day she got a medical school interview and her interviewer said “what happened with organic chemistry? That’s sort of a big blip on your application.” Wayfaring’s response? Brutal honesty. “I had really great roommates that semester. They weren’t taking organic and I let myself be distracted by them and didn’t spend enough time studying.” The interviewer was taken aback. “That’s...an honest answer.” “Yes sir,” said Premed Wayfaring, “but as you can see from my junior and senior year grades I did get my act together and learned how to study and manage my friend time better.” The interviewer was obviously convinced and recommended Wayfaring’s acceptance to medical school. And she lived happily ever after except when she was in tiny town which was actual hell.

And that, friend, is how you spin the raw truth in a positive light.

[lexhasadragon]

Fun fact. This little anonymous premed was me. It was my junior year of college and also the hardest year; it felt like the whole world was ending and I was never going to get into medical school.

I'm a third-year medical student now, prepping to apply to the specialty that I love.

When I wrote this ask I was working 40+ hours a week, shadowing, volunteering, studying for the MCAT -- I was fighting for my life. That has become the theme for my journey through medicine. There are months at a time when I feel like I am drowning: becoming a doctor feels impossible, I feel inadequate, my personal life feels like it's crumbling. The difference is I learned to be okay.

Four years later, I felt the same way during my surgery rotation, but learning from my past, I told myself over and over to just survive for two months. Perfection was not required, I just needed to get through one hour at a time.

At the end of the day, I put the work in, and I was okay. In medicine there will be times you need to exceed and achieve. There are other times when surviving is your goal. Take a deep breath, do what you need to, and tell yourself that this time will end.

Being okay with discomfort is critical in medicine; if you're drowning, you're growing.

Just keep your head above the water and keep putting in the work. I promise you will get to your destination. you will be okay.

this will pass, you will be okay.

Oh, that distracting man, I'm marrying him in three months.

[irisharchaeology]

A beautiful and intact 13th century church at Gumfreston, south Wales (with a later medieval tower).

[lvnnsi]

06/24/23 // maya c. popa, from “signal”

[wayfaringmd]

I don’t think it’s [what the patient thinks is the problem], but I’m not gonna mansplain my way into damaging the relationship I’ve built with her.

- a very wise resident

[lexhasadragon]

Very Fast Study (life) Tip™ 5

If sending an email fills you with enough anxiety to induce nausea, schedule it for a few hours in the future. Most email services (outlook for sure) have this feature.

I know there's no logic to this, and it certainly won't work for everyone, but somehow automating that one little action makes all the difference.

[rubythecrimsonwriter]

I think people need to tell more kids that they're proud of them for graduating high school. I'm absolutely dead serious, especially now. I can see the graduating high schoolers surrounding me right now are burned out and traumatized and depressed, and they've undoubtedly had a much, much harder time in high school than I ever had, and I had some pretty shitty high school experiences.

I graduated high school with no more acknowledgement than the standard "congrats on surviving another year of school!" And immediately followed by "have you finished all your scholarship applications?" That was fine for me. I knew i wanted to go to college, I was set and ready for it, eager to get out of high school into more challenging courses.

But if I just finished high school after two years of fighting through online courses and no one acknowledged the battles I went through? If I was as burnt out and traumatized as these kids are right now? I'd have never have gone to college.

So for everyone graduating high school, even if you barely scraped by passing: I see you. I'm proud of you. You did such a good job. I wish you success in what you try to do, fortune enough to keep you safe and happy, and health always.

[lexhasadragon]

Very Fast Study Tip™ 4 (and a tip for getting out of bed)

Study in bed if you can't get up in the morning.

In the mornings, I struggle to get up to study if I don't have a required lecture to attend (most days).

So I make a deal with myself: I can stay in bed as long as I do flashcards. I use Anki so I always make sure my laptop is next to my bed at night. In the morning I pull it out and do my easiest flashcards. It makes my bed a little less cozy so eventually, I find the willpower to get up.

[lamerbleu]

If I had the slightest discipline in me I’d be unstoppable

[serratedpens]

Eden Robinson, “Writing Prompts for the Broken-hearted”

[neuromedical]

What a difference a year makes… (x)

[lexhasadragon]

A Comprehensive Study Plan for the MCAT

Most MCAT study plans I’ve seen are written by 520+ scoring students. This is not one of them. I scored at exactly 90th percentile (513). It’s not as awe inspiring as a 528 but statistically speaking, it’s a great score. Most important, it got me into medical school. 

This is how I did it. It is not how you’ll do it. You have a different brain and a different situation. My university funded the majority of my MCAT study materials so I also had the advantage of high quality materials for a low cost. 

1. I planned my courses well- I had all of my premed requirements done before studying for the MCAT, which meant that I had already studied most of the material on the MCAT. This was fantastic because it moved all of that information from “learning” to “review.” 

The most useful classes are as follows, remember these will vary by university:

Biochemistry (an absolute must, please don’t tackle biochem on your own),

Animal Physiology (or any systems-based physiology)

Physics I & II

First year General Chemistry classes. Do not underestimate your first year classes. They are arguably the highest yield classes.

Cellular and Molecular biology would have been useful if I had paid attention during class. 

Organic Chemistry was useful but my classes were wayyy to deep for the MCAT. 

2. I kept my resources simple and high quality

I used three paid resources: 

A subscription to the online Kaplan review + books for content review. It’s pricey, but my university helped enormously with this cost. If you’re on a tight budget, the Kaplan books in an older edition are fine.  

A three month UWorld subscription (UWorld is harder than the actual MCAT, don’t panic). This question bank was so useful and the explanations were better than the AAMC.

Three AAMC practice exams (essential, buy these before anything). These may come free with the Kaplan review subscription-I’m not sure. 

My free resources (don’t underestimate any of these):

Anki for flashcards. Anki is a free, open source flashcard app that uses spaced repetition. It’s a highly effective way to memorize information. Better yet, there are dozens of premade decks for the MCAT. Go to r/AnkiMCAT on Reddit and read through the descriptions of different Anki decks to choose the one that fits you best. I used u/MileDown’s deck and loved it (I found several updates to this deck so maybe look for a version that would suit you best). This deck is based on the Kaplan series.

I used u/MileDown’s Kaplan summary sheets as the basis for my note taking. This document was the basis for the Anki deck I used, so all of my resources flowed together. 

AK Lectures has wonderful explanations for conceptually challenging science topics.

As does Khan Academy. 

The AAMC guide to MCAT topics. I liked to check off topics as I covered them. 

3. I based my studying on my practice tests- Because of the broadness of the MCAT, content review could fill several years. My process began as 

I took an AAMC practice test at the very start of my studying.

Made three lists: one for each section except for CARS. 

Ranked subtopics for section from worst scoring to highest scoring: 

For example, one list might look like:

Biological Bases of Behavior

1. Consciousness (45%)

2. Emotion (48%)

3. Memory and learning (54%) 

We’ll come back to this in a second, but I repeated this process every time I took a practice test. 

I did UWorld practice questions daily, at least one quiz from each section a day (comes out to four quizzes a day). UWorld separates the section topics a little differently than AAMC. I just circulated the topics of the quizzes so that I did questions from each topic at least twice a week.

4. I streamlined content review- I took the ranked list of topics and studied the Kaplan chapters that correlated to each topic. I worked on the lowest score to the highest; making sure to hit each section of the MCAT every day. (eg. In one day I studied protein structure, personality disorders, and electromagnetism)

For the previous example, I would study consciousness and emotion on one day, then memory and learning the next.

My study process was as follows: 

I printed the u/MileDown summary sheets and took additional notes from the Kaplan videos in the margins or an additional piece of paper. 

I repeated this process with the Kaplan books. 

I also took separate notes from AK Lectures, especially for physics, organic, and biochem if I felt I needed it. I kept these notes sparse; notetaking does not improve recall much for me, personally. 

After studying a topic I redid the practice questions I got wrong on the AAMC practice exam plus new questions from UWorld. 

I noted the new score and moved on.

5. Anki- My Anki strategy was straightforward. There are seven subdecks (subtopics) in the u/Miledown deck. I studied each deck daily, though I can’t remember how many I studied a day. If I had trouble with a specific card or group of cards, I read the Kaplan section. 

6. CARS-I haven’t mentioned CARS much because I didn’t study for it much. CARS was easily my highest scoring section because it just clicked. I did lots of practice questions but barely studied it, per se. My strategy for CARS was just trusting my gut. I highlighted when I felt like it, but didn’t have a consistent system. The most important thing is to recognize your strengths on the MCAT and capitalize on them. Do you have a minor in psychology? Great, you can probably boost your psych score quickly. 

6. LAST, AND THE MOST IMPORTANT- Practice tests. Do a lot of them. Weekly, biweekly, whatever your schedule affords. I believe that this was my shortcoming; if I had done more practice tests I think I could have scored higher. 

When you do a practice test, simulate the actual environment as much as possible. Bring snacks and water for the breaks. Leave your phone outside the room. Decide on your system for flagging questions and highlighting. Be sure to flag questions you guess on.

After you do each practice test, go through every single question you flagged for guessing and every question you got wrong. Understand the correct answer and why you got it wrong. This is tedious. It will probably take the whole day. It is also very necessary.

This is a lot of information. Someday I’d like to write it out with pictures and illustrations, but this is not that day. Good luck, DM’s are open for questions. 

[lexhasadragon]

Very Fast Study Tip™

If you are a university student, especially a STEM major, ESPECIALLY AN ORGANIC CHEMISTRY STUDENT, you need a whiteboard.

You can revise all the notes in your respective hemisphere but without active repetition it means nothing. Write your mechanism/structure/wedding vows. Erase part of it. Write it again. Erase more of it. Repeat. 

Get a big one so that you can sit on the floor/bed/table without straining your back from looking down. I have no attention span but I can white-board for hours.

[inklingofadream]

My whiteboard is… i think 3x4 feet? but if you’re in STEM (or just like to write alot, but especially for STEM, a whiteboard means you can work out your equations as many times as you need and only copy out the correct version to turn in) you can get three this size for cheaper by going to the hardware store (mine came from Lowe’s but any big hardware store is probably the same) and finding the loooonnng chunk of whiteboard- if I’m right about the size of mine, it should be 3x12′- and having them cut it into thirds.

This costs less than buying three smaller boards, and getting it cut up should be something they do without an extra charge.

[lexhasadragon]

Reblogging for helpful addition

[lexhasadragon]

I’m a teaching assistant in a freshman chemistry lab. Here’s what you need to know to pass general chemistry.

I work as a lab teaching assistant for general chemistry II at a public university in the US. The class I work in has a high failure rate but also a high volume of students. In short, I’ve seen a lot of people fail. Here are some no BS tips for passing gen chem. 

1. Prep for class, but not with the textbook. 

Your first exposure to a topic is very important, and your goal is to make the first exposure as efficient as possible. Lectures move too fast and are too information dense to be a good first exposure. Textbooks are the opposite-fluffy tomes of information worded in non-intuitive, clumsy essays. Khan Academy is perfect as it focuses on understanding before calculation. Don’t obsess about taking notes. Your goal here is to build an intuitive knowledge of the content, understanding the principles rather than the calculations. 

2. Office hours. 

Go to them. Do the problems you can, then take them to your prof’s office. If you have a teaching assistant, ask endless questions. As a TA, I will do nearly anything to help my students succeed, but I cant ask questions for them. As long as you are actively thinking through the material, you are allowed to ask as many questions as you need. Effort is recognized; my most successful students are the ones I talk to the most. 

3. Start Early

You knew this was coming. Remember that first exposure we talked about? That needs to happen at least half a day before your lecture or lab. Starting early allows you to study and restudy. A short session over several days will always be more effective than a single cram session. This can be few practice problems, a read through of your notes, a sonata detailing chemical equilibrium. Keep it short and sweet but do it often. 

4. Use the 80/20 rule. 

This was a rule my organic chemistry professor taught me. Use twenty percent of your time on the actual content-the words, the rules, the principles. I liked to summarize the material, just write out the very essential points, nothing more. The other eighty percent goes to practice-homework, past exams, problems from sketchy websites, but it will force you to actively engage with the material. Working problems is the most effective thing you could possibly do to study general chemistry.

5. Speaking of practice.

Be careful with flashcards. Be even more wary of highlighters. Inactive studying is dangerous and useless, but it feels productive enough to lure you into a false sense confidence. My general rule is that I try to produce something or solve from each study session, even if its a dry erase mind map that I’ll erase.

6. Track the problems you’re getting wrong

Mark or list problems you got wrong the first time; redo them till you get them right. For each incorrect attempt add a mark and redo the problems according to their proportional difficulty. 

7. Know what you have, know what you want

Don't go into a problem without knowing what value you're looking for. At the start of each problem identify what values you have. This seems obvious but too many students blindly attempt problems because they rely more on memorization of processes rather than actual understanding.

8. Know what you're doing wrong.

I spend hours correcting lab reports, exams, and homework assignments so it's disheartening to see students make the same mistakes over and over again. Look at the work you get back and understand where you went wrong. If nothing else, do it for the sake of your poor, underpaid TA.

9. Patience, Padawan.

Chemistry is hard. Be nice to yourself, have a good attitude, celebrate little victories.

Now go make me proud you fiesty little upstarts.

[lexhasadragon]

Very Fast Study Tip™ 3

Set a minimum for what you want to accomplish each day. 

Make it small enough to be easy but big enough to impact the next day's workload. Promise yourself that if you do at least that one thing, you'll go to bed without feeling guilty.

This is super helpful in maintaining mental health in school because it combats that persistent feeling of inadequacy that corrodes self confidence. At the same time, it feeds into a positive feedback loop that leads to even more productivity.

My goal is usually an hour of studying. I use this playlist to time myself. Even if I need to take a break after each song, I force myself through an hour and go to bed so much happier. Some days my goal is just paying attention for the entire lecture because I know even that will be a struggle. 

Mental health is precious, be aggressively protective of your brain.  

[lexhasadragon]

Very Fast Study Tip™ 2

Classically, learning occurs at a desk, in a carefully controlled environment. If you’re a student living from your backpack, hopping from lectures to jobs to internships, Official Study Sessions are hard. Between jobs, research, and classes, I found I needed to be capable of pushing through a bad study environment. Here are two tips to do so.

simplify your system- you can only take notes from so many books with so many colored pens. Simplicity and well defined systems=efficiency.

Side note: I limit my space to my laptop and a notebook as much as possible. To do so, I take pictures of lab manuals/notes/handouts as I get them. Reluctantly, I’ve also switched completely to eBooks.

control your environment- earbuds, water (internal environment counts), etc. Your mental state counts too.  As a freshman I struggled to feel at home anywhere, a product of not being home and not having the confidence to do things without an explanation. I used to feel self conscious sitting in the hallway to study. In public spaces I was terrified of making any noise.  

You are allowed to take up space in the world. You are allowed to make noise.

[lexhasadragon]

Very Fast Study Tip™

If you are a university student, especially a STEM major, ESPECIALLY AN ORGANIC CHEMISTRY STUDENT, you need a whiteboard.

You can revise all the notes in your respective hemisphere but without active repetition it means nothing. Write your mechanism/structure/wedding vows. Erase part of it. Write it again. Erase more of it. Repeat. 

Get a big one so that you can sit on the floor/bed/table without straining your back from looking down. I have no attention span but I can white-board for hours.

[lexhasadragon]

How to stay focused when you can’t sit still

Some people are capable of long, quiet study periods. 

How. 

I mean. 

How. 

I can’t sit still long enough to write a tweet. But with a full college load, it’s a skill I’ve had to learn. Through much trial and error, here are some ways I've learned to make long study sessions easier. 

Have clearly defined goals and times. Don’t sit down with a vague idea of studying biology till sometime in the evening. Decide exactly what you’re going to do (read 5.2 to 5.6, make flashcards for 5.1) and when you’re going to stop. Trust me on this one. 

Start with small sessions. Don’t plunge into five-hour sessions by forcing yourself to sit still for an hour. Start with a ten-minute session, take a five-minute break, and then come back for twenty minutes. Take another break, and then work for a longer session. I try to work up to ninety or fifty-minute sessions. 

Make progress visual. Have your to-do list right in front of you, scribble each item out as you do it. 

Watch caffeine. Caffeine can make you jittery and unfocused, even if you don’t notice it. Try tracking your caffeine intake and see how it correlates with your focus. 

On that same note, watch your food. I know it’s a cliche, but you need to eat well to study well. For me personally, sugar can be disruptive (for some reason I’m extremely sensitive?) and make me jittery and unfocused. Your brain needs energy, fuel it.  

Analyze your environment. One of my main distractions is the host of little sensations that I usually don’t notice. Check yourself before you start. Are you hydrated, hungry, generally comfortable? These little things can drag you down.

Empty your brain. When you start studying, you might be plagued by those annoying little thoughts that have nothing to do with the subject matter. A text you need to respond to, a test you’re dreading, etc. Keep a paper beside you and as you think of these things, write them down. This way they’re out of your head, and you can stop worrying about them.

Don’t sit still. Sometimes you’ve got to move. Sit on an exercise ball, or use a standing desk. Walk as you study flashcards, or if possible (and I know this may not be viable for many) set your phone on the front-shelf-screen (idk what it’s called) of a treadmill and walk or run as you watch educational videos. 

Never start a session without reminding yourself of your final goal. It’s easy to lose sight of your long-term goals in the midst of the homework and sleep deprived days. Don’t start without reviewing your final goal. Put it on a post-it note. Don’t forget why you’re here. 

Cheer yourself on. Give yourself a break and appreciate your own hard work.