Hi everyone. I'm currently on outpatient medicine (i.e. clinics) and while it's a lot slower than inpatient, I'm enjoying the laid-back hours and much-needed time to study. I've been thinking of doing something fun on the blog for a while now, and I'm happy to announce a book giveaway!

Back in June I got an opportunity to read and review "So You Got into Medical School...Now What? A Guide to Preparing for the Next Four Years," by Dr. Daniel Paull. Being so busy with Step 1 and and the start of clerkships it took me a few weeks to get through, but I found it to be an entertaining and insightful read. As I've gone through these last couple years of med school it's become clear that oftentimes students, including myself, are unaware of what big milestones are coming up and how they all fit into the big picture.

In his book Dr. Paull does a wonderful job of providing this much needed information while including funny, relatable stories of med students in relevant situations. Half the battle of medical school is figuring out what you should be doing next, and this book is a great resource for navigating medical school milestones. Though detailed and insightful, the first and second year-relevant topics were no longer applicable to me. I was lucky to have read the book before starting clerkships since the third and fourth year topics were a great resource for how to tackle the clinical years and applying for residency!

I only wish I had been able to read the book before starting first year - it would have cleared so many things up for me. Med school is a challenging time, but it goes beyond academics. I've often felt like I was just fumbling along trying to keep up with logistical details like planning for board exams, clerkships, letters of recommendations, and most importantly - residency. As a first year some of these things seemed so far away and I assumed they would just fall into place by themselves. That's just not the way things go, and I had to learn the hard way.

I believe that the best tool a new medical student can have is an idea of what to expect. As such, I would like to share what this book has to offer with a few of my followers. Dr. Paull has been gracious enough to provide me with three copies.

- How to Enter:

1) Subscribe to my blog on the left sidebar with an email address to receive future blog posts via email.

2) Follow me on instagram and repost the giveaway picture posted on my instagram page using the hashtag #mindfulofmed. For an extra entry you may mention a friend in the comments section of the original giveaway picture on my page!

- I will choose (1) winner from new blog subscribers and (2) from instagram.

- The contest is open to US residents only - sorry international friends!

- The contest will run for two weeks. You can enter anytime between August 7th, 2015 - August 20th, 2015.

- I will choose the three winners on August 20th and will contact them shortly afterwards.

Good luck!

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of the book from the author.

For more about the book and the author visit Dr. Paull's website.