Hey guys, sorry it's been a while. Turns out the "80 hour work week" doesn't leave much time for blogging.
This week my program hosted our first interview of the year. I attended the pre-interview social and helped with tours on the day of. I had so much fun talking to the candidates and answering their questions. It's always so nice to reflect on where I was and how far I've come. It's hard to believe it was only 2 years ago that I was flying all the over the country interviewing.
Anyway, I will have some upcoming blogs about the interview process. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this cartoon. I started it on the plane home from one of my interviews way back when.
Saturday, November 18, 2017
Thursday, April 20, 2017
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Why Sleep Matters to Me
Hi guys! I know it’s been a while. I’m back
to discuss a very important topic to medical students and doctors: sleep. Let
me preface this blog by stating that everything contained herein is my personal
experience and may not apply to you.
Why
Sleep Matters To Me
My personal experience has taught me that
consistently getting decent sleep is THE most important factor in my overall
well-being—more than relationships, exercise, diet, money, or anything else.
That's why sleep is my top priority.
If you've read my blog before, you know that
I'm a surgery resident, and you're probably thinking sleep + surgery residency = ???
Obviously I don't currently, and likely never
will (except maybe during research sabbatical), get 8 hours of sleep 7 days per
week. But I always get as much sleep as possible. This means that sleep almost
always comes before my husband, family, friends, studying, drinking, TV,
and whatever else keeps me away from my bed. (Of course there are
exceptions.)
A mentor once told me, "Whenever you say
'yes' to something, you're saying 'no' to something else." Sometimes
saying ‘yes’ to sleep means my life appears pretty boring from the outside. For
example, when I was a 4th year med student on my surgery
sub-internship, I woke up at 4:00am every day and usually didn't get home until
7pm or later. When I got home, I ate dinner while I talked to my husband,
showered, and then got in bed around 8:00pm. This was also in July, so I was
actually in bed before the sun set every night.
This sounds like a really pathetic existence,
but I swear I was happy. Giving up some time with my husband after work in
favor of getting enough sleep was worth it because I wasn’t exhausted on my
days off. I actually had energy to spend time with him. And getting enough
sleep helped me perform at my peak so that I could get great letters of
recommendation. I didn’t get sick once and I didn’t get burnt out.
How I Get Enough
Sleep
I’m not going to rehash the 5 million
articles about sleep hygiene that we’ve all read. In brief, here’s what works
for me:
A
white noise machine. The Marpac Dohm-DS
All-Natural White Noise Sound Machine is probably that best $50 I ever spent. Available in
black, white, and beige on Amazon.
A
white noise playlist. For traveling and noisy call rooms.
A
sleep mask. A post-call must-have.
A
bedtime routine. We all know this… Try to go to bed at the same time
every night. Do the same things in the same order and it prepares you for
sleep.
A
non-screen bedtime hobby. For me, it’s reading. I’ve also tried Sudoku
in the past, but I tend to get too determined to win and it actually keeps me
awake.
Benadryl. When all
else fails.
Do y’all have any other sleep tips or tricks
that I didn’t mention?
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
How to Get Rec Letters
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Source: https://howtomba.com/mba-admissions/the-application/letter-of-recommendation/ |
When you formally ask for letters make
sure you have proper etiquette.
1) Set up a meeting as far in advance
as possible. Many of the people that you will need letters from probably have
assistants, so you should set up this meeting through their assistant. Call
or email the assistant, explaining that you will be asking for a letter and
that the attending should be expecting this meeting. You can also attach your
CV and supporting documents to this email, although you don’t have to if
they’re not up to snuff yet. Try to meet toward the end of a rotation with the
attending, so they have already had a chance to get to know you but you are
still fresh in their memory.
2) Add them as a letter writer on ERAS
before the meeting, making sure you have their correct name, degree(s), and
title. Then print their unique LOR information sheet and bring it to the
meeting. This document contains a unique number for uploading your letter, plus
all necessary instructions.
3) When you meet, bring paper copies of
your CV, an unofficial transcript, evaluations from relevant third year
rotations, and your statement of purpose (even if it's a rough draft). You will
give these to your letter writer to help them get to know you.
4) If possible, dress up for the
meeting. If you're in surgery, like me, scrubs are fine—just make sure to go
through the formality of apologizing for being in scrubs. Make sure you look
neat and clean.
5) Prepare for a short interview.
They will ask you how you know you want to do that specialty, what your career
goals are, etc. Some of my letter writers also asked me questions like my
greatest strengths and weaknesses.
6) Ask if they feel they can write you
a STRONG letter of recommendation.
7) Say thank you!
Now the tricky part: getting them to
write your letter. One of my attendings uploaded her letter to ERAS the day after we
met. Another attending took about 6 weeks. He is extremely busy and had a bunch
of traveling to do, so I certainly didn’t take it
personally, but I did start to get pretty nervous.
To handle the
latter situation, you need to be assertive and persistent but never demanding.
You should become best friends with your attending's assistant and email
him/her weekly. But NEVER be rude to the assistant. NEVER!
Never forget that you aren't entitled to a letter. Your attending is
doing you a favor, so all of your communications should have an undertone of
humility. I usually emailed the assistant something like, "Hi so-and-so! How are you
doing? I'm so sorry to bother you again, but I wondered if Dr. XYZ will have
time to finish my letter this week? I appreciate anything you can do to help me
get the letter in by September 15th. Thanks so much!" And make sure you
thank the assistant when the letter does finally get uploaded.
And if it starts getting close to the
deadline, line up a backup letter writer in case they don't come through.
Sunday, December 20, 2015
Finding the Perfect Mentor
One of the greatest moments of third
year is when you figure out (or confirm) what you want to do with your life. (I
know this doesn’t happen for everyone, and I’ll address that topic in a future
post.) Okay, so you know what you want to be when you grow up. What now? You
need to find a mentor.
![]() | |
Found on Pinterest without source credit. If this is your work, please contact me so I can provide appropriate credit. |
If you’ve read my blog before, you
probably know how strongly I feel about mentorship. (My very first post was on this very topic.) But what is the purpose of this particular
mentor? A mentor is an experienced and trusted adviser. Right now you need someone within
your specialty to help you choose letter-writers, decide which programs to
apply to, and prepare for interviews. You need someone to bolster your
confidence when you get anxious about this process. You also need
someone who will tell you things you don't want to hear, so that you can match
into the best possible program within your chosen specialty and not end up
scrambling (or whatever they call it now).
So what should you look for in a
mentor? I recommend choosing someone who has expressed confidence in you,
whose career you admire, and whose personality is somewhat similar to yours.
Also look for someone well-versed in resident selection in your
specialty or someone who has been through residency fairly recently. It's
probably better to find someone who is not
on the resident selection committee at your program, so that you can speak more
frankly and get less biased feedback on your rank list.
For this purpose, I find it more helpful to
choose a mentor I truly enjoy spending time with and respect, rather than
choosing someone based solely on reputation or connections. This may be less
practical in extremely competitive specialties, but you can always have two
mentors: one for support and advice, the other for his/her connections.
NB: If you can't find the perfect
mentor, just find one that is good enough. Do not try to get by without a mentor.
Once you choose a mentor, set up regular
meetings with him/her, starting as early as possible. Then make sure to follow
your mentor's advice.
I met with my mentor a few times
starting in January of my third year. I went over my current grades and Step 1
score, my Step 2 study plan, my fourth year schedule, etc. She gave me amazing
advice, and I am so grateful that I followed it. For example, she told me I
should do my month in STICU (shock/trauma intensive care unit) before I rotated on trauma surgery. At
my program the trauma surgeons are very vocal; if they like you, you'll get a
great letter of recommendation and have the chance to stay at our program. If
they don't like you… it’s not ideal. As such, I was a little nervous about
doing well on trauma, so I followed my mentor's advice and it worked amazingly.
After a month in STICU, I knew how to insert lines and tubes, was much less
intimidated by trauma patients, knew how to read chest films, etc. I did a
great job, got a letter from our well-known and well-published trauma chair,
and, perhaps most importantly, I had a fantastic time.
Thursday, November 19, 2015
Residency Interview Prep, Part II: What to Buy
Alternative title for this post: Let's Spend Some Money!
Suit
Don't be cheap. You'll keep this suit forever (or until your
weight changes significantly), so don't worry about the price tag. Buy a
conservative suit that fits you perfectly (or get it
tailored to fit perfectly). Check out this article for a lengthier
discussion on interview attire.
Women: the skirt versus pants debate rages on. (Especially
for surgeons.) I personally opted for pants because I feel more comfortable in them, which
translates into more confidence in my interviews. Plus I just can’t see myself
at a program where I am expected to wear a skirt. With that being said, if I
were equally comfortable in both I would actually opt for a skirt, as a skirt
is technically more formal. Of course, make sure your skirt is long enough,
especially when sitting down.
Men: I would save the 3-piece suit for another day. It's a
bit much. (This is just my opinion, but I've also heard some residents and
attendings make similar comments.) I would also avoid bow ties, unless you've
seen the program director or department chair in one. Bow ties just bring up
very strong feelings and you don't want your interviewer secretly judging you
for something so silly. Here's a good blog on interview attire for men.
Carry-on luggage
I just bought my first set of "fancy luggage." It's
fancy to me because it was actually purchased, not inherited from my parents
with a partially broken handle. I'm a nerd, so I read up on the best kind of
luggage to buy and here's what you want: a hard shell spinner that's about
20" tall. The hard shell bags are much lighter than fabric bags, and
spinners make navigating the airport much easier. (Spinners are those cool bags
that can roll next to you or behind you.) I found my bag on Amazon for under
$100.
I think carrying on is the right choice, mostly because you
don't have time to deal with lost baggage. (If you must check your baggage, then keep your suit with you on the plane.) I choose to wear my suit
jacket on the plane to keep it relatively wrinkle-free (Jerry Seinfeld style, with jeans
and sneakers) and pack my pants as carefully as possible.
Which brings me to my next purchase...
Which brings me to my next purchase...
Travel steamer
Worth it. It is so much faster and easier than ironing.Plus, if you're not skilled with
an iron, you can completely ruin your suit. (Steam can only ruin your hand by
burning the hell out of it, which I consider a safer gamble, even as a future
surgeon.) This is the one I bought. It's tiny and fits in my carry-on without any problem.
Comfortable shoes
You're going to wear these shoes to probably >10 interviews.
(Some of you psychopaths might be wearing them to 30 interviews!) So don't make
your life hell. Buy some simple, attractive shoes that are comfortable. Avoid
flashy logos (I'm looking at you, Tory Burch) or anything else eye-catching.
The ideal interview shoe, much like the ideal suit and purse, is one that nobody ever
comments on.
Women: I recommend flats. If you're limping at the end of the
tour, it looks like you aren't intelligent enough to select proper shoes. I
also recommend keeping band aids in your purse for any blisters that pop up.
(Pro tip: I like to put a prophylactic band aid on any area that rubs
before the blister actually forms.) If you do wear heels, for the love of God,
choose low heels.
Men: I'm certainly not a men's shoe expert, but I would wear
shoes that match your suit (usually black with a black suit, brown with a navy suit, and user's choice with a gray suit). I would steer clear
of ultra high gloss shoes unless you are actually a member of the U.S. Navy.
Cold weather gear
(This only applies if you're from the south and will be
interviewing in the north. I assume you northerners have coats, since you lived
to read this blog.) Southerners:
New York City in January is the coldest place I have ever been—and I've
actually been to an ice castle in the arctic circle in February. (I have not
been to Syracuse, Chicago, or Mars, which I understand are even colder.)
This is a different kind of cold that doesn’t necessarily match the thermostat. It might be 30 degrees, but the wind bounces off all the glass
buildings and gains the power to completely penetrate your body. As such, you need a coat, scarf, gloves, and hat.
Nondescript purse
Your purse (as with everything else on your body) should not have large designer logos or flashy designs. I hunted for a long time before I finally found this bag, which is big enough to fit my portfolio (see next item) and airplane snacks.
Men: I don't think you need a briefcase, but if you want to
carry one the same rules apply. Choose one that's simple.
Leather portfolio
Not everyone carries one, but it looks pretty classy. Use the
notepad to makes note of questions that you want to ask. Also stick some copies
of your CV in the pocket to hand to your interviewers. (Make sure your CV is in
good shape if you choose to do this.)
Questions? Did I miss anything? Please add your own tips in the comments section below!
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Residency Interview Prep, Part I: How to Get There
This post is all about getting ready for interviews. I essentially just began interviewing, so much of the information in my next two posts will be based on advice from countless friends, blogs, and attendings, in addition to my personal experience. I’ll follow these up with a post at the end of interview season to add anything I wish I had known beforehand.
The very first step in preparing for interviews is setting up your 4th year schedule. This is based completely on personal preference and the requirements of your specialty. I took Step 2 in late June because about 30% of General Surgery programs require a Step 2 score for an interview. I chose an easy rotation in October, so that I could check my email constantly, and I am taking November and December off for interviews. Like I said, this is personal preference. Air travel stresses me out, so trying to arrange flights around an active rotation would drive me insane. I'd rather just have a rotation in April while the rest of my friends are on a beach somewhere. But the beach might be really important to you, so you'll figure out how to make it work.
As for the items below, you should start this process in September, before you actually get invited to any interviews (or even earlier if you have busy rotations in September and October).
1. Pick an airline
I chose Southwest Airlines because 1) their flights are
cheap and they allow 2 free checked bags, should I fail to carry on
efficiently; 2) they allow you to cancel your flight up to 10 minutes before
takeoff for an account credit; and 3) Hobby Airport (where Southwest
flies) is closer to my apartment than Bush Intercontinental. You can see that I thought this out.
2. Get an airline rewards credit card
And put all your plane tickets, hotel stays, and car rentals
on that card. You may be smart enough to already have one, but if not, apply
now! There’s no way around the fact that you’re going to spend a ton of money
3. Plan strategically
There are numerous other blogs on this topic, and it’s also
intuitive. If you’re flying to Boston, try to do all your Boston interviews on
the same trip. If you’re only applying to regional programs, try to book them
so that you can drive from one to the other.
Since I'm taking two months off, I don't have to be as strategic about selecting my interview dates. I don't need to do all my Texas interviews within one week, because I have the time to go on four different road trips. (Also, gas is really cheap right now.)
4. Avoid fleabags
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And definitely avoid this! Image credit: www.sleepinginairports.net |
Cheap motels are not worth it. Just pay the extra $50 to stay somewhere clean and safe You’re already in debt. Another $50 is not going to make that big of a
difference. However, sleeping well, interviewing well, and actually matching will make a difference.
Save money by staying with friends and family whenever you can. Their places are hopefully nicer than a horrible motel.
5. Go shopping
My next post will be about the travel gear, clothing, and accessories that I chose for interviews.
Please comment below if you have any other tips to share!
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