4th year schedule!

So I technically had 1 more month of third year after my Family Medicine shelf, but it ended up being my elective block so doesn't count! Historically, all 3rd year rotations have been 8 weeks long, however this year, the school restructured the FM rotation to be 4 weeks, with the remainder of the rotation being spread out over the entire 3rd year with a longitudinal primary care clinic we were assigned to. Although I wasn't too thrilled about this option at first, I ended up really loving it, because I could hone my skills throughout the entire year, work with a preceptor directly for an entire year, and practice FM throughout the entire year before even starting my dedicated rotation.

I also had a few options for my elective block. Originally I wanted to do Neurology, however once it became clear I was most likely going into Pediatrics, I decided to postpone Neuro during 4th year, with the intention of taking the Child Neuro elective instead. I figured this would be much more relevant to my chosen field, and we really don't have much exposure to child neurology anyway so it would be good to gain those skills before residency. That left me with either PM&R or Diagnostic Radiology. Again, I wanted to leave PM&R for later, also because I didn't think I would want to do an entire month of it (a 2-week option is also available for fourth years). That left with the logical choice of Rads. Something I feel a little weak in. Four weeks would surely allow me to gain a better appreciation for imaging, improve those skills, and be relevant for Step 2 studying. Hooray!

It was also flexible enough for me to continue polishing my culinary skills.

Homemade cornbread for my Doctoring 3 group (see recipe at bottom)

Homemade chocolate chip cookies for my preceptor on my last day of longitudinal clinic. Love my Williams-Sonoma Baking Book for all its deliciousness.

Pork and beans dinner during my elective block.

Paint Nite at school. Mine is the worst-looking one (top left).

As for picking my 4th year schedule, it was back to undergrad methods for that, where you try to add a class and then if there is room it will be offered to you. Kinda miss how these last 3 years, I just had my schedule handed to me. So many permutations! In the end, I'm really proud of how my schedule came out. I was able to fit in pretty much everything I wanted, and met all the school requirements as well. Behold, my schedule:

MONTH OFF for Step 2 CK
PICU Acting Internship
Child Neurology elective
Peds Wards Acting Internship
SUMMER BREAK / Step 2 CS
PM&R (2 weeks)
Clinical Pathology (2 weeks)
Anesthesiology
Doctoring 4 Special Studies Module
MONTH OFF for interviews
WINTER BREAK
Dermatology
EKG Reading didactic (2 weeks)
ENT outpatient only (2 weeks)
Emergency Medicine Acting Internship
MATCH
SPRING QUARTER OFF

I feel like this year will fly on by! 10 more months of school left and I'm done!

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Golden Sweet Cornbread (from allrecipes.com)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1 cup milk*
1/3 cup vegetable oil

*I have also tried this recipe with almond milk instead and it works just as well.

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
-Spray a 9-inch round cake pan (can also use a square or rectangular pan)
-Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder.
-Stir in egg, milk, oil until well combined.
-Pour into pan and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Sac adventures aka Psychation Part 1

Hello. Is this blog dead? Probably. Actually, I think I'm going it resurrect it. I suppose an 8-month hiatus isn't so bad, considering it was during the most grueling year of medical school, but this was also meant to be a cathartic outlet for me and I shouldn't keep neglecting it, even when I'm busy busy busy. New goals for 4th year. I cannot believe I'm already an MS4. (More on that later.)

Anyway, Rotation 3 was Psychiatry, and I definitely had more time on my hands than before (weekends off! whaaaaat). Cue some adventures such as going to the Crocker Art Museum. I love going to museums, and cannot believe I hadn't been to the Crocker yet. When med school friend F signed us up for a free session there, I finally got my chance. It was a group of us touring the museum's newest collection for about an hour, discussing how we felt about the art pieces (for an art therapy/pain management research project), and then we were free to explore the rest of the museum for the day (FOR FREE!). What a steal! Glad I got my art fix in.

Since I also had plenty of time on my hands, I decided to take an elective class as well. Yep. Elective during 3rd year of med school. I had actually meant to take this class last year, but it conflicted with another commitment I had, so I was excited to take it this year since most of the sessions were during my Psych rotation so I knew my evenings would be free. It was a "Healthy Living Fit" class, divided into Nutrition, Exercise, and Mindfulness modules. The nutrition portion really introduced me to some things I hadn't thought of before and encouraged me to swap out certain things in my diet. For example, I rarely buy ice cream now (shocking). Though I will definitely eat it once in a while, just not like on the daily at home. I also swapped out cow's milk for almond milk instead, and started using almond butter. I also tried to incorporate more protein in the form of beans instead of meats, although that is still a work in progress. I always thought I was a healthy eater, even though I need help with portion-control, but logging my food intake made me realize that my fat content is way more than I realized, at the expense of my protein content. Things to think about.

Free weekends = treat yourself

Conveniently have a fridge magnet to remind me which foods are better choices and which aren't. Why are chocolate chip cookies under "extremely limited consumption?"