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| Apple-caramel crisp (top), blackberry cream pie (L), and pumpkin pie (R). |
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| Granny smith and gala mostly. |
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| I thought this seemed really peaceful. And the logs on the side were a nice touch. |
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| So excited. |
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Apple Hill
One thing I've been meaning to do while living in NorCal is go apple picking. I've never gone fruit picking before and it seems like such a cool and interesting thing to do. Last year a few of us did go to Apple Hill (about a 45 minute drive from our med school), but we missed the apple picking season and it was already time for pumpkins. We did enjoy our day, but it was still a fail in that we came back empty-handed. This year, we made sure to double check when apple picking season starts (Labor Day weekend!) and when the best time to go is. And I am happy to report that our mission was successful.
Break time!
Because we at UCD believe wellness is the key to success, we were blessed with 1 week off after the end of our second rotation. Yaya! I got to go home after a 4 month absence from the city of Angels (the longest I've ever been away). Mostly I did nothing. And by nothing I mean eat too much and hang out with people I hadn't seen in a while. Perfect way to recharge for the rotation ahead.
On to Psychiatry!
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| Got to see my ragamuffins! |
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| First stop: Sprinkles ice cream sundae aka ice cream in between a cupcake. I have to admit, this may have been too much for me. |
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| Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup. Perfection! I had never tried this before and it was simply amazing. |
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| Had to treat myself while in the motherland. |
Rotation 2: Pediatrics
After my Surgery shelf exam, I had 2 whole days off before starting my second rotation. I didn't really know what to expect as I've heard really great things about Peds and some not-so-great experiences others have had. Overall, I was happy with my schedule and sites so figured it would be an interesting couple of months and definitely a respite from the OR!
I started off on Newborn Nursery. I basically got to play with babies all day, so I know you are all incredibly jealous. At first, I was very very very careful when examining the babies. After all, they were like 2 HOURS OLD. I would put my stethoscope on them extremely gingerly, so much so that my attending would watch me with a bemused expression on her face. She later assured me that I wouldn't break the babies and I could be a little more confident with the way I was conducting the exams. Ha!
I then had 3 weeks of outpatient. The hours on outpatient are glorious. It's basically 9-5 and I had to be in clinic 3 days out the week! It was such a change from the 13-hour-6-days-a-week schedule I had gotten so used to. It was nice to have the chance to catch up on some life things, like going to the optometrist, taking my car to get serviced, getting my laptop fixed, etc. I really enjoyed outpatient too, which was a little surprising to me. I've always known that I like the inpatient setting more than outpatient - I find the time constraint of appointments a little difficult to manage and I worry after the appointment if I did all that I could for the patient. At least on inpatient services, you can always check in on the patient whenever you want to, get more information, etc. Inpatient cases tend to be more acute as well, which I find exciting. It's like a puzzle you have to solve. And (at least in academic centers) you work in a team, so you feel less isolated and it's more of a learning environment where it's easy to call consults and bounce ideas off others. So when I found myself really enjoying the outpatient part of Peds, I figured it must be because of Peds itself. I told myself I would wait and see how my month of inpatient peds went and then figure out if this is something I want to consider pursuing as a career.
The preceptors I worked with in clinics were also really great about letting me take the reigns and seeing patients on my own rather than simply shadowing. I don't think all of my classmates had the same experience and that's really unfortunate. There's a huge educational benefit to being active participants in patient care so I'm grateful the pediatricians I worked with were willing to do that for me. I also felt I learned a great deal in just a few short weeks. Even though it was summertime, I still saw plenty of sore throat cases, rashes, ear pain, and of course sports physicals. Although some cases were tough and I couldn't get more than one-word answers even though I was trying really hard, other times it was just so easy to build rapport. One kid even gave me his sticker!
After that, I had 4 weeks of inpatient service on the Wards team. Initially, I had requested either the Heme/Onc service (blood disorders and cancer) or Nephrology (kidneys), so I was a little bummed that I had gotten my third choice pick. But it turned out to be the greatest thing ever. I absolutely loved wards so very much. It's the general service so I got to see what you call the "bread and butter" of pediatrics - the typical cases that you manage. Each of my patients had a different issue so I got to experience a variety of things and it turned out to be great not just educationally but also as validation that this might just be the field for me. I loved learning about pediatric conditions, loved interacting with kids and their families, loved working with the various interns, residents, and attendings, and just always felt a sense of happiness. I was happy when I woke up in the morning, exciting to go in to the hospital and experience my day. And I was happy when I came home in the evening, excited about the things I had seen or learned about. Studying pediatrics also did not feel like a chore. At the risk of sounding like a nerd (but we all know I am one, not ashamed to admit so), I would read for hours and not realize how much time had elapsed. From meningitis to botulism to irritable bowel to rashes to cystic fibrosis, I took it all in as a starry-eyed third year student is apt to do.
On our last day of service, the pharmacist brought over samples of the medications we give kids so that we can taste them and experience what it's like. (Before anyone gets bothered, we used the syringes so we were only taking in a few drops.) Let me tell you, most of these are just nasty. I felt bad thinking back on all the times I had to prescribe some of these. I'm sorry, kids! It was for your own good and I'm so glad you got better!
What a wonderful rotation this was! I'm sad to leave but also excited to see what other surprises third year has in store for me. Check back in 8 months time to see if Peds is the winner.
I started off on Newborn Nursery. I basically got to play with babies all day, so I know you are all incredibly jealous. At first, I was very very very careful when examining the babies. After all, they were like 2 HOURS OLD. I would put my stethoscope on them extremely gingerly, so much so that my attending would watch me with a bemused expression on her face. She later assured me that I wouldn't break the babies and I could be a little more confident with the way I was conducting the exams. Ha!
I then had 3 weeks of outpatient. The hours on outpatient are glorious. It's basically 9-5 and I had to be in clinic 3 days out the week! It was such a change from the 13-hour-6-days-a-week schedule I had gotten so used to. It was nice to have the chance to catch up on some life things, like going to the optometrist, taking my car to get serviced, getting my laptop fixed, etc. I really enjoyed outpatient too, which was a little surprising to me. I've always known that I like the inpatient setting more than outpatient - I find the time constraint of appointments a little difficult to manage and I worry after the appointment if I did all that I could for the patient. At least on inpatient services, you can always check in on the patient whenever you want to, get more information, etc. Inpatient cases tend to be more acute as well, which I find exciting. It's like a puzzle you have to solve. And (at least in academic centers) you work in a team, so you feel less isolated and it's more of a learning environment where it's easy to call consults and bounce ideas off others. So when I found myself really enjoying the outpatient part of Peds, I figured it must be because of Peds itself. I told myself I would wait and see how my month of inpatient peds went and then figure out if this is something I want to consider pursuing as a career.
The preceptors I worked with in clinics were also really great about letting me take the reigns and seeing patients on my own rather than simply shadowing. I don't think all of my classmates had the same experience and that's really unfortunate. There's a huge educational benefit to being active participants in patient care so I'm grateful the pediatricians I worked with were willing to do that for me. I also felt I learned a great deal in just a few short weeks. Even though it was summertime, I still saw plenty of sore throat cases, rashes, ear pain, and of course sports physicals. Although some cases were tough and I couldn't get more than one-word answers even though I was trying really hard, other times it was just so easy to build rapport. One kid even gave me his sticker!
After that, I had 4 weeks of inpatient service on the Wards team. Initially, I had requested either the Heme/Onc service (blood disorders and cancer) or Nephrology (kidneys), so I was a little bummed that I had gotten my third choice pick. But it turned out to be the greatest thing ever. I absolutely loved wards so very much. It's the general service so I got to see what you call the "bread and butter" of pediatrics - the typical cases that you manage. Each of my patients had a different issue so I got to experience a variety of things and it turned out to be great not just educationally but also as validation that this might just be the field for me. I loved learning about pediatric conditions, loved interacting with kids and their families, loved working with the various interns, residents, and attendings, and just always felt a sense of happiness. I was happy when I woke up in the morning, exciting to go in to the hospital and experience my day. And I was happy when I came home in the evening, excited about the things I had seen or learned about. Studying pediatrics also did not feel like a chore. At the risk of sounding like a nerd (but we all know I am one, not ashamed to admit so), I would read for hours and not realize how much time had elapsed. From meningitis to botulism to irritable bowel to rashes to cystic fibrosis, I took it all in as a starry-eyed third year student is apt to do.
On our last day of service, the pharmacist brought over samples of the medications we give kids so that we can taste them and experience what it's like. (Before anyone gets bothered, we used the syringes so we were only taking in a few drops.) Let me tell you, most of these are just nasty. I felt bad thinking back on all the times I had to prescribe some of these. I'm sorry, kids! It was for your own good and I'm so glad you got better!
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| PharmBar. |
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| Shelf day. Peds students have a dress code. |
What a wonderful rotation this was! I'm sad to leave but also excited to see what other surprises third year has in store for me. Check back in 8 months time to see if Peds is the winner.
Culinary Adventures
My second rotation was a little more flexible, especially during my outpatient weeks! So of course I had to eat my way through it.
I was finally able to attend the CA State Fair! It was already over before I moved up to Sacramento my first year, and I didn't get a chance to go during second year, though I really cannot recall why. I was extremely excited to go this year and was looking forward to it a soon as third year began. Luckily, the fair coincided with my outpatient month so I was fortunate to have the extra time. Third year has actually been really great so far. I'm finding that I am actually spending *more* time with classmates, going out and enjoying the things Sactown has to offer. I think a lot of us are putting in the extra effort to get together because 1) we don't get to see each other as often now that we are spread out among different rotations and different sites and 2) it's a wonderful way to catch up and compare notes about how things are going.
Anyway, as evidenced below, I ate way too much, and people are willing to deep-fry anything and everything. Case in point: deep-fried snickers, nutella, cheesecake (what the...?). It's glorious.
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| Most important meal of the day. |
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| Impromptu contest at the Fourth of July Last Minute BBQ hosted by K. |
I was finally able to attend the CA State Fair! It was already over before I moved up to Sacramento my first year, and I didn't get a chance to go during second year, though I really cannot recall why. I was extremely excited to go this year and was looking forward to it a soon as third year began. Luckily, the fair coincided with my outpatient month so I was fortunate to have the extra time. Third year has actually been really great so far. I'm finding that I am actually spending *more* time with classmates, going out and enjoying the things Sactown has to offer. I think a lot of us are putting in the extra effort to get together because 1) we don't get to see each other as often now that we are spread out among different rotations and different sites and 2) it's a wonderful way to catch up and compare notes about how things are going.
Anyway, as evidenced below, I ate way too much, and people are willing to deep-fry anything and everything. Case in point: deep-fried snickers, nutella, cheesecake (what the...?). It's glorious.
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| Fried fried fried. Also, dragon! |
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| German chocolate cake (L) and banana creme pie (R). |
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| Summer pasta with beef ragu and garlic bread. |
Sunday, July 12, 2015
Rotation 1: Surgery
I started off third year with Surgery. It wasn't my original choice, but I convinced myself that it would be a good idea to get a hard rotation out of the way early on. I knew there wasn't a huge chance I would choose surgery as a career so it would function as way to get familiarized with the hospital and be comfortable seeing patients, charting, and just figuring out what 3rd year is like.
I had one month of cardiothoracic surgery and one month of general surgery. I ended up liking the rotation a lot, especially general surgery. CT had some really cool surgeries, but I felt like I grasped general surgery much better. CT was especially challenging with regards to management as most of the patients are in the ICU. Although I did get to see open heart surgeries, LVAD placements (don't cut the LVAD wire! (loyal Grey's Anatomy fan reference there), lung removals, and esophagectomies (yep, pretty much get rid of the esophagus due to the cancer eroding it. I got to hold the stomach up while it got stapled). General had more "bread-and-butter" cases that I thought were more within my scope - bunch of hernia repairs and gallbladder removals; I also scrubbed in on plenty of colorectal cases which are so complicated! I got to do plenty in the OR too: suturing, being in charge of the camera during laparoscopic procedures, putting in Foleys, retracting, etc!
The hours sure are long, but the days go by so quickly. The one really hard thing is carving out time to study. There just isn't enough time after you come home and eat because you have to be in bed soon after that in order to wake up at 4am! I did okay on the shelf exam, but not great, so I will be adjusting some study strategies for my next rotation.
End of rotation assessment:
I didn't expect to like surgery as much as I did. However, I found that I enjoyed reading up about patients' conditions and their management much more than being in the OR. I also think the structure of the rotation prepared me well for the rest of the year. It was definitely cool for 8 weeks, but I find myself more intrigued by the medicine than the procedure. Good effort though, Surgery!
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| Ready with my clogs and pager. Please page me! (Please don't.) |
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| "Practicing." |
End of rotation assessment:
I didn't expect to like surgery as much as I did. However, I found that I enjoyed reading up about patients' conditions and their management much more than being in the OR. I also think the structure of the rotation prepared me well for the rest of the year. It was definitely cool for 8 weeks, but I find myself more intrigued by the medicine than the procedure. Good effort though, Surgery!
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| Fam came up after my shelf and we went to Tahoe for the weekend! |
USMLE Step 1
It sure has been a busy few months. Second-year finals ended in late February, which meant it was time to start studying for boards. The medical licensing exam has three parts: one you take at the end of second year, one you take in fourth year, and one you take during intern year. Step 1 is really important because you can't move on to third year and residency programs really look at the score to determine your competitiveness.
I decided the best thing for me would be to study at home. I didn't want to have any responsibilities besides studying. Plus, it would be nice to be treated like a princess for 2 months!
Studying wasn't actually too bad. I had made a schedule which broke down my days into 8am-6pm on weekdays and 8am-2pm on Saturdays, with Sundays off. I usually ended up taking the entire day on Saturday to finish up questions and whatnot, but for the most part my schedule worked and kept me in check. I had gone through all of First Aid throughout the year so that my study period could be focused on review and question banks.
I also decided it would be a great time to pick up a new series to read! I read the Abhorsen books throughout my study period and I fell in love with them. It's got a perfect balance of modern-day and fantasy weaved in to what are essentially coming-of-age stories. Garth Nix is my new favorite author. (I eventually read Shade's Children as well. That wasn't my favorite, mostly because it was more science-fiction than fantasy. If you enjoy dystopian futures, then it's worth a read.)
I felt pretty good during my study period. I was doing well on questions and felt I had a good grasp on the material. I did fairly well on my practice tests. They were still a little below my ideal goal, but I figured I hadn't reached my peak yet and all would be swell come exam day. However, the test was absolutely brutal. It didn't help that I slept a grand total of 2 hours the night before. I didn't think I would be nervous but I lay wide-awake, tossing and turning. By some miracle, I had enough adrenaline pumping through me to make it through the entire 8 hours without feeling sleepy, but I did not feel I did my best. It was going to be a hard three weeks until the scores were released.
By that time, we had already had orientation and I had started my surgery rotation. The gossip is that you get paged the morning your scores are released if you failed. Of course I got paged and my heart just sank. Of course the page had nothing to do with me. I was still feeling shaky at the end of the day when I got home to check (I didn't have the guts to check while I was at the hospital). And I couldn't believe it: not only had I passed, I had scored above my goal! Such a relief.
I decided the best thing for me would be to study at home. I didn't want to have any responsibilities besides studying. Plus, it would be nice to be treated like a princess for 2 months!
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| Words of encouragement around campus. |
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| The holy grail. |
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| Study break: hike |
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| Study break: restaurant |
I felt pretty good during my study period. I was doing well on questions and felt I had a good grasp on the material. I did fairly well on my practice tests. They were still a little below my ideal goal, but I figured I hadn't reached my peak yet and all would be swell come exam day. However, the test was absolutely brutal. It didn't help that I slept a grand total of 2 hours the night before. I didn't think I would be nervous but I lay wide-awake, tossing and turning. By some miracle, I had enough adrenaline pumping through me to make it through the entire 8 hours without feeling sleepy, but I did not feel I did my best. It was going to be a hard three weeks until the scores were released.
By that time, we had already had orientation and I had started my surgery rotation. The gossip is that you get paged the morning your scores are released if you failed. Of course I got paged and my heart just sank. Of course the page had nothing to do with me. I was still feeling shaky at the end of the day when I got home to check (I didn't have the guts to check while I was at the hospital). And I couldn't believe it: not only had I passed, I had scored above my goal! Such a relief.
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| HOORAY! |
Monday, January 19, 2015
Lottery
3rd year is right around the corner! Pretty soon, we will be done with our pre-clinical curriculum, go off to study for and take Step 1 of our boards, and then we will officially be in the clinical half of the med school years. Third year is reserved for the core clinical rotations. Since everyone can't obviously be on the same rotation at the same time, schools have various ways of scheduling students. Some schools simply hand students schedules. Other schools have a few set schedules they have students rank and then assign accordingly. Our school is a little different. ;)
We have a Lottery system of choosing your clerkship schedule. Everyone gets to pick a number out of a hat and then based on your number, you choose one rotation at a time. The starting point changes with each round, of course. Anyway, you don't have to go in any particular order (e.g. you can schedule your third rotation before your first) and are free to choose any order you like, so long as there is an open spot. Now, see where it gets stressful? What if what you want isn't open, you ask? Well, you can't take it and have to figure something else out!
Over winter break, I came up with like 17 permutations for schedules I would be okay with. Which was a complete waste of time, haha. You really end up making decisions on the fly, because your strategy needs to change based on how other people are choosing their rotations. If it looks like one of the rotations is filling up, you choose it that particular round to avoid losing it. Regardless, about 1/4 of the class will end up getting locked out of their last rotation pick just because the spaces have filled up. There might be spaces open for other rotations, but they are not the one you need.
Of course, I figured with my luck, I was bound to get locked out. And I did! Good thing I'm consistent. I had picked every rotation except Pediatrics for my second rotation. What happens when you get locked out is, each person has to go through their schedule and adjust accordingly to fill in whatever is open. This might mean that you have to tear apart your entire schedule. Luckily, the person before me dropped Pediatrics as her second rotation when she was adjusting her schedule, and I swooped right in. Didn't need to adjust my schedule after all!
Behold, my 3rd year schedule (8 weeks each):
Surgery
Pediatrics
Psychiatry
Medicine
Ob/Gyn
Family
It isn't what I originally wanted, but it's close enough. I'm excited and terrified.
We have a Lottery system of choosing your clerkship schedule. Everyone gets to pick a number out of a hat and then based on your number, you choose one rotation at a time. The starting point changes with each round, of course. Anyway, you don't have to go in any particular order (e.g. you can schedule your third rotation before your first) and are free to choose any order you like, so long as there is an open spot. Now, see where it gets stressful? What if what you want isn't open, you ask? Well, you can't take it and have to figure something else out!
Over winter break, I came up with like 17 permutations for schedules I would be okay with. Which was a complete waste of time, haha. You really end up making decisions on the fly, because your strategy needs to change based on how other people are choosing their rotations. If it looks like one of the rotations is filling up, you choose it that particular round to avoid losing it. Regardless, about 1/4 of the class will end up getting locked out of their last rotation pick just because the spaces have filled up. There might be spaces open for other rotations, but they are not the one you need.
Of course, I figured with my luck, I was bound to get locked out. And I did! Good thing I'm consistent. I had picked every rotation except Pediatrics for my second rotation. What happens when you get locked out is, each person has to go through their schedule and adjust accordingly to fill in whatever is open. This might mean that you have to tear apart your entire schedule. Luckily, the person before me dropped Pediatrics as her second rotation when she was adjusting her schedule, and I swooped right in. Didn't need to adjust my schedule after all!
Behold, my 3rd year schedule (8 weeks each):
Surgery
Pediatrics
Psychiatry
Medicine
Ob/Gyn
Family
It isn't what I originally wanted, but it's close enough. I'm excited and terrified.
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| Prepping the night before. |
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| The school decorated our room as Super Heroes! |
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| My lottery number. |
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| Won a Starbucks gift card as well! |
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| Post-lottery celebrations. |
Silent Auction and Wine Tasting Benefit
Every year, the second-year medical students help put together a Wine Auction in order to raise money for our student-run clinics. Co-directors from the various clinics come together to co-chair the various committees. Last year, I volunteered with the Decorations committee and so this year became one of the Co-chairs for Decorations! Our theme was Casino Royale, and we came up with a bunch of ideas to turn our building into the swankiest casino ever. This year we had the misfortune of not being able to borrow items from the main campus, so we literally had to assemble decorations ourselves, come up with creative ways to save money, and purchase whatever else we could not find. And it turned out great! The place really looked amazing and we got so many compliments. Hopefully, we were able to raise a lot of money for the clinics.
And although it was a lot of fun, I am so glad the event is over. Most of my commitments are wrapping up, since it's getting close to crunch-time for boards studying. In fact, I had my last clinic shift in December. It's so odd to have my weekends off (for now), and though I am thankful for the extra time, I also miss going there.
And although it was a lot of fun, I am so glad the event is over. Most of my commitments are wrapping up, since it's getting close to crunch-time for boards studying. In fact, I had my last clinic shift in December. It's so odd to have my weekends off (for now), and though I am thankful for the extra time, I also miss going there.
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| Spray-painted some wine bottles with my awesome co-chair. |
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| Took me 8 hours to cut all those dots, no big. |
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| Amazing. |
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| So cool! |
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| Our catering department was able to put together this platter as well, ha! |
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| My last day as a Co-Director. Sad :( |
The home life
There's nothing like going home for the holidays.
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| Made sure to stop by my alma mater! |
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| First time making sweet potato pie! |
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| Cousin's wedding. What's that fluorescent stuff? ;) |
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| Pretty chocolates. |
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| J's birthday party venue. |
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| Annual Christmas cookie party with high school friends. |
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| Banana pudding! |
Fall in Sacramento
Yes, I know it's January and technically winter. But I've unfortunately been neglecting this blog, which I am sad about. Hopefully, I can pick up some writing this year, even though 2015 is going to be a huge change, what with board exams and starting rotations. Since I have a lot of pictures from the last few months, I figured I might as well share and pretend like I have been updating everything on a timely basis.
I've never gone apple picking before. I didn't even know it was a thing, until I saw some East Coast friends post some pictures a few years ago. Since then, I've resolved to do it, if anything to see what it's like. Unfortunately, we completely missed the season (PSA: go in August or September!) so there were no apples to actually pick! However, we still enjoyed our time and got to experience the beauty of Apple Hill. I will be on weekend-free rotation from late August to October this year, so hopefully I can get a chance to go during the season and pick some of them apples!
Back in early November, I also attended my very first, bonafide, grown-up medical conference! It was a smaller, cozy Psychiatry conference in San Francisco, so it was easy to make a day trip out of it. I'm really glad I attended. I sat in on some excellent presentations and workshops, enjoyed the day with some classmates and friends, and felt like a professional (sort of!). Psychiatry is still one of the top fields I'm considering pursuing, so it was a wonderful opportunity. And free for med students, booyah!
Fall time in Sac can get a little chilly, but it sure is pretty.
I've never gone apple picking before. I didn't even know it was a thing, until I saw some East Coast friends post some pictures a few years ago. Since then, I've resolved to do it, if anything to see what it's like. Unfortunately, we completely missed the season (PSA: go in August or September!) so there were no apples to actually pick! However, we still enjoyed our time and got to experience the beauty of Apple Hill. I will be on weekend-free rotation from late August to October this year, so hopefully I can get a chance to go during the season and pick some of them apples!
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| Beautiful Apple Hill |
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| On our walk through. |
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| Sundaes with apple pie filling and homemade caramel sauce! |
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| Drive in the really early AM to get there on time. |
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| Mid-conference lunch break. |
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| Hanging out with one our attendings at the rooftop lounge! Oh snap! |
Fall time in Sac can get a little chilly, but it sure is pretty.
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| Leaves just begging to get crunched. |
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| The colors! |
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| It's hot cocoa ;) |
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