Test week truth #2

Things I've withheld from myself in order to increase productivity (ie no X until you finish Y):

-Breakfast

-Shower

-Chocolate

-Sex

-Sleep

-Exercise (only works because I like to exercise)

-Booze

-Changing in to comfortable clothes

-Coffee (diminishing returns)

-Internet access

-My Facebook password (requires the help of my fiancé) 

-My cell phone

Test Week Truth #1

I have been a bad poster, but we have now entered test week. In an effort to remedy this problem- I present to you- Test Week Truths. 

When trying to decide if you want to spend the time to take a shower (instead of studying), if you can't remember whether or not you showered the day before, you should probably shower. 

Also: Study Puppy Picture Bonus

"Pharmacology? Le Sigh...." 

Sensitive

We learn the "sensitive" exams in the second year at my med school.  By "sensitive exams" I mean Male GU (kidneys, penis, testicles, hernia, and rectal exams) and female breast and gyn exam (speculum, bimanual, and rectal-vaginal exam).  The way it works is that we go to a clinical site where several professionals act as highly trained standardized patients (SPs).  They first demonstrate these exams, and then talk us through doing the exams on themselves.  To a non-medical person, it probably sounds kind of odd, but it was one of the most valuable experiences I've had in my medical school career.  The SPs not only teach us the mechanics of how to perform the exam, but help us to develop our technique of sensitively explaining what is going on in the exam and avoiding any pitfalls like saying "I'm now going to feel your breast" (as opposed to "I'm not going to examine your breast") and help us to learn how to make the patient feel as comfortable as humanly possible.

A few weeks ago, I had just learned the male GU exam and was later telling a few non-medical friends about it while we were visiting (I would never divulge any of the details, but just shared that I had learned the exam, how it was taught, and what a great learning experience it was).  I was genuinely really proud of myself for having gotten through that hurdle, and was excited to share my experience because it was such a major part of my education.  While I didn't expect them to want to hear all of the details (which I wouldn't share anyway out of respect to my SP), I was surprised by their response.  They were a bit disgusted and shocked (in a really negative way) to hear that there were people who would voluntarily submit themselves to the experience of being an SP.  Now I know that there are things in medicine that most people would rather not hear about, but I was really disappointed in their reaction.  I have so so much respect for the SPs who were our teachers and am so incredibly grateful for what they did for my education.  These are people who are incredibly comfortable in their bodies, are extremely knowledgable, and who must work tirelessly to develop their teaching skills.  They truly deserve nothing but the highest level of respect and gratitude from anyone who has ever been on the receiving end of one of these exams.  The fact that anyone could feel differently (even if they are a little weirded out) completely blows my mind.  I think they were also uncomfortable with how comfortable I was with the whole experience, which also defys logic.  Does anyone honestly think that physicians who perform those exams are uncomfortable while performing them?  That would be a disaster, and a disservice to the patent.  I left the conversation feeling offended and frustrated that none of them respected or recognized the significance of the experience.

Today, I learned how to do the GYN exam.  The woman who taught us was amazing.  She was so incredibly thorough in working with us on every aspect of the exam, from how we place our body relative to the patient to how to describe what we see and feel during the exam.  Words can't express how grateful I am to have had her at my teacher.  I left the experience more confident in my current interest to pursue OB/GYN as my specialty.  I like the challenge of making a patient comfortable in a situation that is incredibly uncomfortable for most.  There is a certain level of frankness coupled with warmth that you have to find, and that suits me, I think.

We are doing the lottery for our 3rd year rotations this month, and I should know the order and where all of my rotations will be by the end of the month.  I'm definitely going to make sure OB/GYN is in the middle so I can do my best and hopefully get a good letter for residency applications.

Study Snack!

Lately I've switched to being the student who never goes to class and studies from home.  This is partially due to the fact that my med school FINALLY agreed to camtasia (where they record the powerpoint/smartboard slides with voiceover and post the videos to the internet) all lectures and partially because I've completely lost my ability to pay attention to 3 hours straight of lecture (or more accurately, I never had the ability, and finally recognized that not paying attention in lecture for 2 hours was a waste of 2 hours).

My new system is to watch lectures from home on camtasia.  It takes me a little bit longer because I pause to take notes, go to the bathroom, search Facebook, slam my head into the desk…. but overall I think it's a time saver because I only have to watch/read (via transcription) the lecture once.  Added bonus, my dog is SUPER happy about the situation.

Another bonus of studying from home is I save a ton of money because I don't have to worry about forgetting/not having time to pack my lunch.  I have a pretty fast metabolism, so I usually get hungry around 10:30-11ish and need a snack.  Today I'm trying spin on a recipe I found somewhere on Pinterest- Roasted Chick Peas.  They are super healthy, a great source of protein, and take a minimum amount of time to make.  Plus, in the winter (especially this polar vortex fueled winter from hell) I find myself craving something warm.

Here is the recipe I went with today (The nice thing is when you get tired of one flavor, you can change it up!!):

Roasted Spicy Chick Peas:  Active time: less than 5 minutes
-1 can chick peas drained (I use canned organic chickpeas from TJs)
-Olive oil (just drizzle it all over)
-pinch of salt
-1/2 Teaspoon each of curry powder, cumin, and chili powder
-dash of cayenne pepper

Toss all ingredients in the colander that you drained your chickpeas in (I imagine you could do the same with the can and save a dish)

Throw onto a baking sheet lined with tinfoil (I didn't do the tinfoil this time, but it makes the cleanup even faster)

Bake at 425 for about 30 minutes and VOILA!!

Chow

Something I've realized is how important it has been for me to know how to cook well. If all else is gone to hell, and I haven't showered in days, and have been pulling 12 hour study marathons day in and day out, the least I can do for myself is to have some good healthy food on hand. 

I generally prefer to cook in bulk so I can spend 30mins to an hour on food prep one day and then microwave for the rest of the week. 

This week I picked 2 meats and 2 sides all from Trader Joes. 

Monday: 

-I took my whole chicken out to thaw

-thawed my TJs Alaskan coho salmon the baked it: layers both filets out skin side down on tin foil in a 13x9 baking dish and seasoned with salt and TJ's lemon pepper then did a generous coating of creme fraiche. Baked at 450 for 10 minutes

-cooked 2 cups of TJs multicolored quinoa per package instructions

-made 2 bags of TJs Kale: 3 frozen garlic cubes in pan with olive oil, continuously add kale until it all fits in the big skillet or wok. Add a little bit of water. Cover and steam until salmon is done. 

The salmon lasted Monday night and Monday lunch for both my fiancé and me. 

Wednesday I baked my chicken (seasoning it with the remainder of my cocktail mixing ingredients):

-rinse out chicken and set on roasting pan

-in a bowl combine half a stick of butter, 2 table spoons olive oil, zest from 3 lemons, 2 sprigs rosemary chopped, salt, pepper. Rub the mixture all over the chicken (including under skin and in cavity)

-squeeze juice of 2 lemons over chicken

-slice the remaining lemon into quarters and slice a small onion into chunks- stuff the lemon, onion and one more rosemary sprig into cavity

-Bake at 425until temperature reaches 165 when measured at the thigh. 

-check your chicken after about 30minutes. If it looks pretty brown, cover it with some tin foil. 

The chicken took about 20 minutes of prep time (just long enough to watch modern family). Tomorrow is Friday and we will be at the end of the chicken, Kale, and quinoa. Two people fed dinner and lunch for one week (plus salmon skin for the dog), about an hour of prep time, total cost: $40. Great success. 

Let Me Entertain You

This past Saturday was my 27th birthday.  Because a birthday that falls on a weekend and is not overshadowed by work or impending exam doom is super rare, I thought I should throw a party for myself.  My parents and brother came up to visit, and my best friend from college came early came so I had a ton of help.  I love my fiancé to pieces, but he isn't exactly a planner, nor is he much of a cook, so he wasn't especially helpful in the planning phase.  He was, however, a superstar in the cleanup department before and after the party and did a great job following instructions with food prep. 

When it was all said and done, we had about 20 guests- my family, fiancé's family, some friends from med school, friends from college, and a few of my fiancé's friends.  Because I've been struggling a lot with wedding guest list because there are so many people I "should" invite encroaching on the people I truly want to invite, I was super brutal with my birthday.  I only invited people who I truly enjoyed spending time with and completely, and selfishly, ignored any feelings of should or obligation.  The result?  An amazing diverse group of people who got along splendidly and had a great time.

Since I'm southern, I feel anytime people come to my home I need to feed them.  I was especially proud of my food and cocktail menu, which I cultivated on Pinterest over several weeks:

Food:
-Smoked salmon, creme fraiche, and chive on savory crisp
-Toasted french bread with warm goat cheese and fig butter (huge hit)
- Crudite platter with 3 types of hummus
-Cheese plate: white cheddar, brie, and blue cheese with water crackers and raisin rosemary crisps
-North Carolina pulled pork sliders
-Sweet and spicy chicken wrapped in bacon bites
-prosciutto wrapped melon bites
-spinach artichoke dip

-birthday cake!!

Cocktails
-plain vodka
-gin
-whiskey
-rye

-beer

-wine
-assortment of mixers and garnish: tonic water, seltzer water, cucumber, basil, mint, rosemary simple syrup, mint simple syrup, maraschino cherries, orange, lime, lemon, and sugar cubes.

-I posted 3 ideas for cocktails and encouraged everyone to get creative!! 

I had the food on our dining room table and the bar in the kitchen, which kept people moving in between spaces.  I felt like the fun cocktail mixers provided a fun adult activity for everyone and gave people a common conversation starter. All in all the party was a great success!! 

Here is a picture of the bar set up

The Fall of Snow Days

I live in the Northeast, which means this winter we have experienced snow storm after snow storm.  Because most people (not students, 80-90% of med students live on campus) that don't live at my school must drive to get there, they were pretty liberal with snow days (especially because last year, several students got into car accidents on the way to our biochem mini board).  From what I can tell, the rule of thumb has been: if it is actively snowing, and the roads have snow on them- cancel school.  We get a delay if they think perhaps the extra time will allow the salt to work its magic.  I'm pretty sure the administration (or whoever makes the snow calls) is starting to regret their decision and has thus changed the snow day rules to something along the lines of: "If a four wheel drive vehicle can make it to school, everyone else must suck it up."  I drive a Honda Civic.   

Today it was actively snowing, all major roads had snow on them, and the weather was expected to get better in a couple hours.  Seems like a a 2 hour delay to me.  Right?  WRONG!!  I don't go to class, but we had a Community and Preventative Medicine Exam this morning at 9 so I got up early to study, and hoped that the snow would at least give me a couple more hours at home.  I held out for as long as I possibly could, convinced they would post a delay.  I left for school only when I knew I would have just enough time to de-snow my car and drive to school at a moderate pace (assuming the roads would be decent since we didn't have a delay).  Decent roads what not what greeted me.  I drove my butt to  school in full snow fall, rolling through stop signs on the hills out of fear that my car would not continue to move forward if I came to a complete stop. When I arrived at school (15 minutes late for the exam), I saw a herd of other commuters who were late as well.  You would think they would at least wait 15 minutes before starting the exam right?  NOPE!!  Or perhaps, recognize that the people walking in with snow in their boots and car keys still in hand might need say an extra 15 minutes for the exam (we only had 30 minutes to take the test).  WRONG AGAIN!!  I'm now convinced our CPM course director either lives in his office or teleports to school.