Thankful

Hi my friends!

I'm halfway done my Pediatrics rotation and am currently in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) part of my rotation. The attendings I've been working with are so incredibly knowledgable and patient with me while I try to learn about Neonates.

I started noticing myself playing the dreadful "what if" game again with myself. I started comparing my journey and experience with others - and I thought to myself "Okay, if I'm doing this I'm sure others are as well" so here I am writing a blog post about it!

FIRST OF ALL, if you are reading this and you are in the medical field I wanted to say congratulations to you for choosing this path. From my very limited experience it is very rewarding but also extremely challenging. And no matter what part of your journey you are on I applaud you.

Now for some feelings I have directly towards my peers in MS3 - I know we spend all day with one another in the same hospital but in different rotations. I can almost guarantee we've all had the thought "I wish my rotation schedule was more like ____" or "I wish I had _______ attending".

I'd be lying if I said those thoughts never crossed my mind, they have, and I'll be the first to admit it.

BUT

After several different discussions I've had in the hospital with patients, nurses, residents, attendings and other students I've started to realize how thankful and lucky I am to even be on this journey. Not everyone is lucky enough to go to undergrad, get accepted to MERP, get accepted to medical school, go to medical school on a foreign island, (this felt weird to type) be fortunate enough to even write step one, rotate in a hospital, match into a program and eventually become an attending.

Some people may dream of it but are unable to attain it for whatever reason. Coming to the realization that I am lucky to be able to wake up early in the morning to go to the hospital to learn and then come home tired but still push through and study for upcoming exams has really helped my fatigued brain.

Suddenly when I've started just being thankful for being in medicine the comparisons I'd been making previously stopped - and I just wanted to experience the rotation in whatever order it had been given to me.

ANYWAYS, I need to stop procrastinating and start going through UWorld again.

- Jen

Searching For A World With 40 Hours

I've said the title of my post too many times to count in the past 12 weeks. As we get to the end of our semesters (I've got three weeks left) we have everything starting to pile up. Assignments, final projects, "midterms", presentations - you name it. As a normal student we start to burn out. We've been pushing ourselves for the earlier part of the semester and our brain is starting to go a little crazy.

I find that my time management skills always come into scrutiny at this point of the year. "How do I utilize my time properly?" I've been thinking this myself - along with crying to some friends about how stressed we were. So I have decided to do a post on time management skills.

I've asked countless profs, done research online, talked to other students and here are my top five time management techniques that work for me.

1. ALWAYS MAKE TIME TO WORK OUT
I've done a study on myself throughout undergrad and now - every time I don't work out I find it very difficult to study and my grades suffer. If working out isn't for you, then do something that will recharge your batteries and get your mind back in the game.

2. Schedule your day
I'm a very organized person. I need to plan what I'm doing that day. But I'm not saying plan to learn a whole subject if that's unattainable. Plan your day and schedule your time realistically. For example I cannot block off 4 hours straight studying and think I will get through a weeks worth of material. I know I can't sit and work on something for that long. Instead I will block hour slots with realistic tasks for me to complete in those hours.

3. Balance
I guess this goes with rule one... but it's so important I'm going to reiterate it again. Talk with family or friends, go for a walk... ect. I know after every hour I will have a five minute dance party to pull myself back together and focus again. The little breaks and time for your brain to decompress is so beneficial - rather than staring at that concept you can't figure out, have a dance party and then come back to it and look at it with a new perspective.

4. Change your study spot
I get very bored if I have the same study spot. Every once and a while switch it up! Go to a new cafe, or that library down the street. Having a different visual stimulations stops your brain from processing things redundantly and has shown to actually increase memory.

5. Sleep
I know what you're thinking. Sleep? This is a time management list... You always need to fit sleep in. Numerous studies have shown that your brain can think much more logically. So if you have that 8 am exam - don't stay up until 4 am studying. You won't be able to logically think your way through the exam or you may sleep right through it.

Hope that helps!

Jen

Medical School Week 1

Hello friends!

I just finished my first quiz of medical school along with my first week of medical school. Let me just emphasize one thing...

I was not ready for that.

The difference between undergrad and medical school is astounding. You can think you will prepare all you want but it will never be enough until you're actually there. The information comes at you much quicker and you have to do a lot of the work on your own.

For example - I have two two hour classes a day. That easily amplifies to 4 + hours of work in the evening.

Is the work impossible? No - but it is a lot.

Along with the fact that you can no longer memorize and regurgitate information. The questions asked are testing your clinical knowledge - you can know a biological pathway theoretically but would you be able to notice it in a clinical question?

That's all for now! Let me know if there is anything you'd like me to specifically talk about.

- Jen

Top 5 Vacation Spots

With the Canadian long weekend being this weekend I thought I'd be festive and make a post of my top 5 vacation spots!

1. St. Barths

• It's a cute little island just off of St. Maarten and you can get there by ferry or by a tiny, little plane. All of their beaches are public so there are no limitations on any beach you can go to. All of the locals are very friendly and none of them will bother you to buy anything off of them. The island is definitely a place to go if you want to sit back and relax. Since it's so small there is not a huge night life or clubbing scene. BUT it is the safest island in the Caribbean.

2. Barcelona, Spain

• I don't even know where to begin with Barcelona. The culture, the beaches, the city, the people... all of it is just so beautiful. You will never run out of things to do in Barcelona - during the day or at night. Plus the food is out of this world. If you're looking for a place to keep you busy all day and all night Barcelona is the place to be. Even travelling around to different cities is easy with the transit system in Spain.

3. New York, New York

• There is something so very special about New York and I don't know how to place a finger on it. It's so busy and so chaotic, but it can also be so beautiful and serene. Another amazing place where you will never run out of things to do. Between shows, museums, food, historical land marks and shopping you will never stop going. I don't think I've ever walked so much in my life - and gotten so many blisters - but I didn't even mind because New York was something you just have to experience.

4. Las Vegas, Nevada

• Where I went for my 21st birthday. The city that never sleeps, sin city, whatever you want to call it... I'm in love with it. I strongly believe that if I were to be any city in the world I would be Vegas. What a fun, energetic, HOT, crazy place to be. You do things in Vegas you would never be able to do anywhere else. Everything is so extravagant and beautiful. All of the hotels, the strip, the shopping... everywhere you look is stunning.

5. Costa Rica

• Words can't describe the greenery in Costa Rica until you've been there. Everything is so beautiful and fresh - and delicious. The people are so friendly and the weather is hot, hot, hot. I went during the rainy season so trust me when I say it's called rainy season for a reason. It will rain every day. And there is no use bringing stuff to do your hair because it will just automatically go frizzy. This place is definitely more of an "au natural" kinda place. But I wouldn't change it for the world. The water is so warm and so blue - and the wildlife is so vast. It's beautiful and you can't appreciate it until you've seen it yourself.

There you have it! My top 5 vacation spots! 

Where are your favourite places to vacation?

- Jen