Life is Good

Hi! Im Sandie, 23. I am a registered nurse cuurently a 3rd year medical student. An artist in my own right. Im a fashion enthusiast, a foodie and a lover of life

[pinkladybug]

Cheers to a wonderful year!

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My christmas date 😘😍

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Merry christmas from the Figueroa girls!

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Tulin ni Lourdes ngan Fidel :)

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The Figueroa girls.

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Ayala triangle. (at Ayala Triangle Gardens)

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The face of a grateful heart. #typhoonnona #nonaph

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The Nona aftermath

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Im no super human.

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Christmas is fun in the Philippines :)

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Im both excited and scared in preparing this one. With the on going exams Im actually worried how I can manage everything but I am blessed with a great team. I know this will work out fine.

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12.17.15

[smorgas-bord]

We need to talk....

…about some things that no one tells you about medical school. Medical school is akin to running a marathon at a sprint pace the whole time, and this can be really fucking exhausting. Yes, people talk about how hard it is, but there’s always a note of cheery optimism - “I got through it and so can you! How hard can it be?”. 

Well - really really hard.

First year is exciting and new; you’re drowning in new material so you always feel like you’re learning something new. But you’re also treading water constantly trying to stay above the tide of material, which means that by the end of the year, you’re exhausted. Exhilarated, yes. But also exhausted. Then comes summer and you come back in second year thinking, I’ve got this, I’m well rested and ready. The thing is, second year is more massive chunks of information. This is the part where you feel like you’re running a marathon at a sprint pace, except now you have blocks of cement on your feet; more information to shove in and it feels like there will always be new facts to learn. And I haven’t even started studying for the Step yet. 

Maybe it’s just me, but the more time I spend in a classroom and away from patients, the more I feel like I’m dragging. The more arcane facts I memorize about tuberculosis and mesothelioma and hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy, the more I forget why I came here in the first place. It’s easy to lose sight of your goals in the face of the fifty-odd cardiology lectures you need to get through by Monday for your final. 

I’m not sure what the point of this post is. Maybe just to remind myself to breathe, to remind myself that I’m here for a purpose. To remind myself that sometimes it all clicks and that’s a really great feeling. To remind myself that I’m not slow or dumb, just worn down and doing the best I can. To remind myself that at the end of the day, it’s about patient care and connecting with people, which I’m really fucking good at - even if I can’t remember the 12 causes of gallstones. To remind myself that I came here for a reason and that I can finish this marathon at a sprint pace. And to remind myself to never, ever, EVER ask someone “How hard can it be?”. Harder than you can ever imagine. 

[dogemd]

This sums up so many feelings I have about 2nd year it is unbelievable! Thank you for putting into words the struggle I have been feeling this entire semester thus far.

[drdessertfox]

I am really glad that my program is set up differently. Our curriculum is actually easier second year (we do 70% of the material first year) and we start seeing patients on a weekly basis second year.

All pre med students should really take an opportunity to look into how each school does their curriculum differently, because not every system is set up the same.

[finallyalyssamd-deactivated2021]

My life.

And I seriously don’t think the timing of learning this material changes how you feel when you’re going through it.

[drdessertfox]

Maybe not. But I get to see patients on an earlier basis which I think helps with the feeling of burnout.

[dogemd]

I see patients at least once every 2 weeks guaranteed (on my own where I take HPI, Physical, then present to my physician before we see the patients together), but I participate in a lot of volunteering opportunities that makes it more like once a week. It helps enormously, but I still feel as though there is a significant separation/disconnect between what I do in clinic and what I am expected to learn in lectures for my exams.

There is a reason the only class I have honored thus far is our interviewing course. I am so much better when I am in a position where I can apply knowledge, not just regurgitate for exams.

[med-mom]

I just want to tell you all who are still going through the first two years that IT GETS BETTER. Board studying sucked but wasn’t unbearable. Then 3rd year starts. And you can finally breathe. I finally feel happy again (ok that sounds a little dramatic, but getting out of the classroom does wonders for your outlook on school and life). Some people hate 3rd and 4th year, but for me it’s been pretty spectacular. I have free time with my husband and toddler. I’m seeing patients on my own. I’m starting to remember why I wanted to go to med school in the first place. Tl;dr— Hang in there, it gets so so much better **And you can ALWAYS reach out to me if you’re burnt out or just overwhelmed. Anytime.

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Then third year comes. You learn to live for the day. You learn to survive each moment.

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Signing of with this message. :)

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Growing means learning to adapt to change and leaving the old ways behind.

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