Medical Basics

8:04 AM


My very first clerkship of third year was internal medicine. Having just finished Step 1 (which now feels like an eternity ago!) I thought I knew things, but the anxiety of presenting patients confidently and accurately is still pretty memorable. I would write out all of my questions for each patient - even though I knew what I would ask - because I didn't want to forget any details. The truth is us med students probably don't give ourselves enough credit. I've been lucky to collaborate with Medical Basics and got to try out their scrubnotes ID badge cards and I truly wish I had these during my core clerkships. My favorites are the quick H&P reminder notes because I would've helped me to be more confident knowing that I didn't have to spend an hour writing a template for myself and could just look down at this card! For my last two rotations of medical school (what?!) I'll be on peds endocrinology and the anesthesia ICU. I'm excited to use the common insulin preparations card and the ABG/VBG card (because lets me honest, blood gases and acid base problems are still a thing and I can't avoid it anymore lol).

The medical abbreviations notebook is a nice little tool to have in your coat pocket, too. As a new third year, and now as a fourth year, there are always abbreviations thrown around that are specialty specific. I never liked the feeling of not knowing what my team was talking about and feeling like I had to wait until after rounds to look it up. This little book lets you look it up right then and there - even during rounds. 

Make sure you check out the giveaway on my instagram :)




{Medical ID badge cards & abbreviations pocket book c/o Medical Basics}
Follow them at @medicalbasics

Women in Medicine: Amy, PA-C

6:00 AM



Hi friends!

I'm so excited to share an interview I did with Amy. She's a practicing Physician Assistant and was kind enough to share some of her journey.

What has your educational journey been?
In undergrad, I started out as a pre-law student. It wasn’t until my sophomore year, when I was studying for the LSAT, that I realized I wanted something more. I had always been interested in medicine, but I was afraid I was too late to pursue a medical career. I knew I wanted to at least try, so I switched my major to Biology. This is a great major of study because it encompasses a lot of the pre-requisites needed for both medical school and PA school. I also took many other relevant courses such as virology, cancer biology, parasitology, etc to enhance my application. I graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology and began PA school the following January! My PA program was 24 months (they vary in length). The first year was completely didactic and was the hardest year by far. There is a common analogy for PA school: it is like trying to drink water from a fire hydrant. It all comes at you so fast, and you have to be able to absorb it. The second year was clinical rotations, which was much more fun! Across the country, there are 7 required rotations for PA students including emergency med, internal med, pediatrics, OBGYN, psychiatry, family med, and general surgery. Most, if not all programs also offer elective rotations. I chose to do mine in Dermatology and Cardiothoracic surgery! I graduated with my Masters of Science in Physician Assistant Studies and passed the national boards exam. Now I am a board-certified Physician Assistant practicing in Critical care and Pulmonology.

 When did you first become interested in the PA field?
When I was a sophomore in college I met a PA for the first time. I shadowed her a bit to see what her daily routine was like. She worked in orthopedic surgery, and I was immediately in awe of how competent she was. She was able to treat patients in the clinic autonomously and was a critical asset in the OR. I loved that she was able to take a little bit more time with the patients and really give them great patient education! 

 What drives you to pursue your goals?
I find that the goals that I am most passionate about need no outside motivation. When you are truly interested in something, you do what it takes to get where you want to be. I learn something new every single day, and that keeps it interesting. Each night (or morning) when I come home, I know that there is so much more information out there for me to discover! This keeps it so exciting! 
Have you had any challenges or struggles that others may benefit from hearing? 
 One semester during my sophomore year of college, I became lax in my studies and was more interested in hanging out with my friends and being involved in my sorority. And my grades suffered. I had always been a student who was somewhat neurotic about my grades and schoolwork, and I had always taken pride in my exam scores and study habits. After this semester, I felt extremely discouraged. I thought that I had ruined my entire future for a few months of fun. It took me a couple semesters to get back into my regular routine of getting consistently high grades. And as most of you know, a GPA is easy to lower and very hard to raise, especially with a lot of credits under your belt. So, I began to enhance my application in other ways. I began tutoring at the local children’s hospital and shadowing PAs whenever I could. I joined clubs on campus like the Wellness Committee and Future Greek Leaders Conference, and I began working in the virology lab. I wanted to do whatever I could to become more well rounded. I ended up graduating with honors, but I truly feel that it was everything else that helped me to stand out from the crowd when I applied to schools. 


My point is this: if you feel that you don’t have the GPA to pursue your dreams, there are so many things you can do to enhance your application. Even if you get denied from every school you apply to the first cycle, dust yourself off and use that year to show them that you won’t stop until you’ve accomplished your goals! Show them that you see your weaknesses and are working to improve them.


What do you hope your career will look like in the future?
The beauty of the PA profession is that as board-certified generalists we can change specialties at any time. I am happy with my choice to practice in critical care, and I feel that I will be able to make a difference in the lives of my patients and their families. Beauty and skincare has always been a passion of mine as well, so I am sure at some point I will practice dermatology in some capacity. In critical care the schedule is grueling, but it also allows for stretches of days off which gives me time to work on my other passions! 

What do you enjoy outside of the medical field?
Outside of medicine, I have always had a passion for skincare, beauty and styling. So, in my free time I enjoy cultivating these passions and working with others who enjoy the same things! 

Follow Amy at @chasingamy on Instagram!

Finding Your Passion

7:00 AM

Happy new year everyone! I truly hope this year is off to a good start for each and every one of you in spite of the current political and social climate. In just one month we have seen millions rally behind their beliefs towards a better future. I think that's pretty incredible. I feel as if I've stepped into a new season of my life - getting used to this whole mama thing and getting ready to finish off med school before graduation in May, waiting anxiously for Match Day, and getting excited to finally take care of patients and grow my skills as a clinician and surgeon. I've also switched over to blogspot to simplify my own life and hopefully bring more content in the coming months. 

This last year has been a whirlwind in many aspects of my life. And one of the main themes has been finding my passion. Jad and I are both at a time in our lives where this is so important and will impact the way we parent and our happiness. During medical school I entertained multiple specialities as paths I could take but ultimately followed my heart and committed to ObGyn. Following my heart and passion has been essential and I truly feel that I've made the right choice. 

If you're a dreamer like me, you can't wait to throw your energy and life purpose in the direction that is meant for you. So how do you find your passion(s)? It's neither linear nor necessarily sequential. Often finding your passion comes through trial, error and a great deal of honest introspection. I think it's also important to understand the nuances that you, as a human being, have and that many passions are a normal, rich thing to have. So after some thought, I've gathered up my top five tools to find your passion from a new mama and soon-to-be-doctor. What are your favorite tools?

Trust your gut. Have you ever felt that the direction of your life wasn't exactly one taking you towards happiness? Or have you ever felt stuck? Sometimes we get caught up in the system or situation we're in and can feel like this is simply what we have to endure. And sometimes that's true - enduring an inevitable, challenging life trial can make us stronger. But if we have the power to do something shouldn't we do just that? Truly knowing yourself is your best asset. It will keep you from putting up with unacceptable circumstances, act as a mirror when you need to take a good look at your life, and will help you follow your heart. 

Build your perspective. Being in the right frame of mind is helpful when considering making a change or implementing something new into your life. This can mean drawing on your previous experiences to build a vision of where you would like to go. It can also mean to repair your outlook - achieving a balanced, neutral view on your life. Sometimes our life situations can seem more bleak than they truly are based on our outlook. Give yourself a chance to appreciate reality as objectively as possible before attaching any negative feelings. Having a positive perspective will help keep your motivation alive! 

Consider your strategy. Once you've evaluated where you are, your vision, and have a positive outlook, it's time to strategize. I'll draw from my own life path for this one: so you want to graduate university, get into medical school, start a family and get into residency? There are so many steps in between each of those life changes. No matter what your goals are (including those #doctorgoals!) considering your steps & strategy is the action portion of passion-finding. Consult with your life partners, family, and friends to understand what support systems are available to you. Talk to mentors and reach out to people in your dream field (for example us med-student bloggers!) to understand what you're getting yourself into and what their experience has been. Climbing the literal academic mountain of medicine isn't something you should have to do alone. And because it is often interwoven with life challenges, finding your tribe is so important. 

Be flexible. In all aspects of life I try to always be flexible and it is my biggest piece of advice when asked. If you're interested in life in medicine you're probably already motivated and willing to work for those dreams. But visions can often be accompanied by rigidity and fear of failure. It's okay to fail. It's okay if one, or many, things don't work out. Learn to appreciate the things you do have whether that is your health, family, or beliefs. Being able to adjust to change is such a resilient quality. It is special because it's something you can't necessarily practice. Rather you get the opportunity to be flexible when things unexpectedly change. I encourage you to take that chance. 

What's worth my time? For me this means: what is worth getting up early, working long hours and not spending time with my family? Helping bring babies into this world safely and supporting women at all stages of the life cycle is worth it to me. Find something that not only calls to your heart but will also challenge you emotionally and intellectually as your grow.  



Copyright 2017. All images and opinions are my own unless otherwise noted. Please contact me if you'd like to use any of my content.