#asksass

[miss-sassmaster]

You blog is lovely and funny and captures all the crazy things I'm going through. Six months into medical school and I already feel my mind melting, haha. Keep up the amazing work, and thank you for making Tumblr a better place.

Thank you so much for such kind words! Good luck in med school!

[miss-sassmaster]

Sorry if you’ve answered this before, I’m new to your page - What made you decide to pursue medicine? It’s been a thought of mine for years now. I’m still in undergrad, but my grades aren’t the best because of depressive episodes I had (which I’ve worked through). Every time I think of maybe going into a different healthcare career, I always bring myself back to becoming a doctor & thinking that maybe I really could do it. I’m just stuck on how I should make the decision.

Hey anon, 

I have answered similar questions in the past but what it boils down to is that I gave medicine a shot and it turned out to be right for me. I had a friend who was premed at the time (she ended up being a dentist, go figure) who talked with me a lot about it and it made me curious because it seemed to fit a lot of my values and goal in a time when I didn’t really know what I wanted out of my life. In a lot of ways, I got lucky that medicine struck me in the heart the way it does because I was very go with the flow about it. I’m just big on go with what your gut feels.

The great thing about being in undergrad is it gives to chance to explore your options. If you feel like what you’ve seen fits with what feels right (specifically doing things like shadowing, or research, or volunteering in a medical setting which gives you a good look into the job itself) and you can’t figure out a good reason to not try, then why not try? 

If you’re still stumped; make lists, write questions down, talk it out. Reason why yes, reason why no, get someone to counter your arguments. Read about it, imagine about it, ask about it. Give yourself all opportunities to figure it out. 

I wish you all the best and I hope you find the answer that speaks volumes to you, good luck! 

[miss-sassmaster]

Hello! I really love your posts and advice for pre-med students. I wanted to ask, would you be willing to take a look at a personal statement if it was sent through private message?

I probably could since I’m not on the floor atm, but I’m a pretty tough critic. 

Just so you know. 

[miss-sassmaster]

Congrats on finishing your intern year! It will surprise you how far you've come :) ~much love, a rising peds PGY3

Thank you! It was so much work!

Already just the different from this July first to last is insane. I definitely remember my first call and how hard it was, and I remember that when I work with our brand new interns.  

You seem like a fun senior <3

[miss-sassmaster]

Hi, After a week of mulling over I have questions, 1)I had mental issues which lead me to skipping classes during second year so I had sit down for a year. This affected me in many ways. But now I'm okay. 2)I have shortest of attention span and fall asleep in few minutes in class. I had backlogs. Due to language barrier I didn't learn how to interact with patients (and in clinical posting I go just for attendance like I go for theory classes) if you could help me I'd be so thankful. Thanks-

Okay, I hope I can answer this well @kajamal because your questions aren’t very clear. What I think your asking is how can you focus better and how can you over come issues with patient interaction, so that is what I’ll answer. 

But first remember you’re not alone and you’ve got an internet community rooting for you in the background. 

I’m gonna go ahead and say most people have probably fallen asleep in class once or twice. The difference is if you’re doing it all the time, you need to start looking for another reason besides “this material is boring”. It could be a number of a things like not getting enough sleep, being burned out, things in that realm. These same thing could also lead to inattention. Of course, if those things are under control it may be due to something underlying in which case I urge you to see your physician. 

As for saying your patient interactions are damped because of a language barrier and resigning yourself to it is is already setting yourself up for a bad time. Interacting with patients is a learned skilled which means you need to put the appropriate work. Is it fair that you have an extra barrier? Truthfully, it doesn’t matter. Effective communication is the backbone to effective care. Reading the theories and watching videos is fine, the only full-proof way to really improve is to practice. I don’t know where your school is, but it would surprise me if your program didn’t have standardized patients for you to get practice and feedback. In the weird event they don’t, see if you can get other people in your class who are good at patient encounters to help you out. It can be uncomfortable but you’ll see the difference. I also know there are services out there to help improve communication in general, but I’ve never used any so if anyone knows of any that work, feel free to post them.

It also really helps to know your info before you go. Patients will always find questions to ask so do your best to be well prepared. 

I hope this was helpful and good luck! 

[miss-sassmaster]

What do you suggest to a medical student who has to repeat a year? I will have to repeat M2 year...

Hey anon,

Don’t beat yourself up (thought I imagine you already have an still are) and take some time to decompress from this event in your life. Take a little time to mourn all the things that come with repeating a year. Bring yourself back to a human-esque level and then start prepping yourself to move forward. 

Obviously, I don’t know your specific situation so if there is something related to family or health or loss those are things that you can’t control and it’s a lesson that life will not stop for anyone. Its an unfortunate part of being a functional human and it’s harder for some than others. From that standpoint, I wish you best for all those categories from here on out. 

If you have to repeat due to an academic problem it’s time to really assess what were the factors that cause you to need to repeat a year. Was it a class specifically, timing problem, or a testing issue? Something else completely? You need to truly address them head on and not take any criticism personally. You might need to invest in a tutor or have a faculty member/upperclassmen mentor you. Point being, use this as an opportunity to give yourself the best chance possible to really knock round two out the park. 

More than anything else, remember that repeating a year does not define you or who will be as a physician. It does not make you a failure. You are not the first nor are you the last person to repeat a year in medical school. While it may present some challenges in the future it still means you have a future. 

Good luck and best wishes. 

[miss-sassmaster]

Hi! I’m currently a hs senior; I’ve already applied to colleges and I’m just waiting to hear back (fingers crossed!). I want to finish undergrad in 3 years then go into medschool. As an interviewer now, do you think that would positively or negatively impact my chances of getting accepted to medschool? Is that even a wise decision or and I just going to make things more difficult than they need to be? I’ll likely be paying out of state tuition, so I want to finish asap. Thanks!

Congrats on almost being done with high school! And good luck with your applications! Here’s the thing with finishing undergrad in three years. I probably would have no idea if you finished school early, late or right on time as an interviewer. Worst case someone might ask why but just being honest and saying cost was a concern is a fine answer. I don’t think anyone would be mad. Now if you took three years, rushed and didn’t get satisfactory grades that’s a totally different situation and I’m sure I don’t have to go into the details of why. So long story short, I don’t think it will impact you as long as you do well. The only problem I’m foreseeing with a three year plan is when you would take the MCAT. Traditional timeline is to take it the summer go junior year which would effectively be your last year. You could also take a year off and you wouldn’t have to worry about school costs. So if you can figure out the logistics I say do what works for you. Just don’t try to push something that isn’t working. Good luck!