Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Monday, February 12, 2018
Wedding
I got engaged over Christmas, so now I'm in the middle of planning the wedding. Wheww. I will say it's easier to plan a wedding during 4th year than any other time in residency, so I have that going for me. Not that I'm doing that much of the planning. Thanks to the God (as a patient says) for wedding planners. It's up in the air where I'll be for residency, so there's that too. The wifey is a nurse, but is signed to a 3 year contract, so she'll have to stay in Bakersfield no matter where I end up. Good thing is all of my interviews in California. So if I'm fortunate to get a residency spot I won't be too far away no matter where I end up. It also helps that I have a supportive fiance who understands the residency process, and she wants me to choose whichever program I feel is the best fit for me.
Also, I'll be done with rotations in April and the wedding is in June, so that will give me time to finalize thing and I'll be able to go away for a honeymoon before residency starts.
Also, I'll be done with rotations in April and the wedding is in June, so that will give me time to finalize thing and I'll be able to go away for a honeymoon before residency starts.
Tuesday, January 30, 2018
Oncology rotation
Cancer, cancer, cancer. During this short 2 weeks, I've had to hold back tears in front of patients as they are forced to confront the gravity of their disease. I've also been there as patients received the "bad news" we all dread. I've been forced to reflect on the brevity of life, and how little time I may have to make an impact on those around me. It was inspiring how some of the cancer stage IV patients managed to stay positive while still accepting the severity of their disease. This rotation increased my respect for Oncologists even more. As they are constantly trying to teeter the line between palliative treatment to keep the patient comfortable vs. more aggressive treatment to leave a battle ground of cells in hopes of obliterating the cancer, while trying to manage side effects of the treatment. It sucks that poisoning the body is the best resort we have come up with so far, but there are many out there doing great work to make the treatment more tolerable.
I believe there's more progress to be done in regards to combining different modalities of treatment. Nutrition is an aspect that is not addressed nearly as much as it should be. We've excepted that preserved meats with nitrites and red meats can increase the risk of certain cancers, but it still isn't standard of practice to encourage a diet heavy in leafy green vegetables. Through a limited search, I've come across an article promoting decreased rate of breast cancer growth in mice given a diet consisting of 10% flax seed. Another article indicated greater erythropoesis when using a homogenized mixture of herbs along with doxorubcin led to higher neutrophil, erythrocyte, and leukocyte counts. These studies were done outside of the United States, as unfortunately I couldn't find any significant studies of alternative medicine in the U.S. Just an article comparing those who chose to do only alternative therapy vs. only chemotherapy, with chemotherapy leading to better outcomes. Hopefully more funding goes toward using alternative medicines in adjunct with chemotherapy.
I believe there's more progress to be done in regards to combining different modalities of treatment. Nutrition is an aspect that is not addressed nearly as much as it should be. We've excepted that preserved meats with nitrites and red meats can increase the risk of certain cancers, but it still isn't standard of practice to encourage a diet heavy in leafy green vegetables. Through a limited search, I've come across an article promoting decreased rate of breast cancer growth in mice given a diet consisting of 10% flax seed. Another article indicated greater erythropoesis when using a homogenized mixture of herbs along with doxorubcin led to higher neutrophil, erythrocyte, and leukocyte counts. These studies were done outside of the United States, as unfortunately I couldn't find any significant studies of alternative medicine in the U.S. Just an article comparing those who chose to do only alternative therapy vs. only chemotherapy, with chemotherapy leading to better outcomes. Hopefully more funding goes toward using alternative medicines in adjunct with chemotherapy.
Sunday, December 17, 2017
Ranking Programs
I've only done 2 interviews so far, and I am already continuously thinking about pros/cons of each particular program. It is difficult because outside of the actual environment and teaching of the hospital there are other things to consider such as family, significant other, and lifestyle.
Tuesday, December 12, 2017
Residency Interview
First off all, it's just exciting to be in the position to have one interview, especially with the uncertainty of whether there were even any interview spots available by the time I applied. I was fortunate enough to get 5 interviews, all in California, after I ended up applying to 36 family medicine programs.
This past week, I had two interviews, two days apart. Both places seemed like programs that prepared their residents well. They both seemed great and similar on paper, but they both had a different "feel." Throughout my short interview trail, I've been hearing "gut feeling" as a term used to describe where a resident choose to work at. I've been starting to understand what they mean by gut feeling, as one program just seemed like a better fit for me despite both programs appealing in similar ways.
During my first interview, I made the mistake of leaving to the destination to arrive 10 minutes early. The night before, I was sure to iron and lay out my clothes, but I still left a little later than planned. I ended up making a wrong turn, despite directions from my GPS, and had issues finding the main lobby. This accumulated in me arriving just in time for interview. I was further delayed by these sweet elderly women volunteers who took a while to print my nametag. My poker face was not up to par, as one of them stated, I know you guys think we're inefficient old women. (She must have saw a look of concern on my face, because of my late arrival.) I assured her that was not the case and was preoccupied about being late to the interview. In retrospect I should have left at least 30 minutes before.
The actual interview went well. I had a great time discussing the program with the residents and program directors. The interviews were much more laid back than I was expecting. Not many difficult questions, just a question about a time I had overcome a failure. Mainly, it was just us two having a discussion and getting to know each other better. After interviews, we had lunch with the resident, this is usually a way to get more informatoin about lifestyle, the city, and how well you would fit in with the group. We were then taken on a tour of the city and to the local clinic. The interview was really fun, but also tiring, probably from the anxiety and anticipation of what the interview is going to be like and how well they will like you.
This past week, I had two interviews, two days apart. Both places seemed like programs that prepared their residents well. They both seemed great and similar on paper, but they both had a different "feel." Throughout my short interview trail, I've been hearing "gut feeling" as a term used to describe where a resident choose to work at. I've been starting to understand what they mean by gut feeling, as one program just seemed like a better fit for me despite both programs appealing in similar ways.
During my first interview, I made the mistake of leaving to the destination to arrive 10 minutes early. The night before, I was sure to iron and lay out my clothes, but I still left a little later than planned. I ended up making a wrong turn, despite directions from my GPS, and had issues finding the main lobby. This accumulated in me arriving just in time for interview. I was further delayed by these sweet elderly women volunteers who took a while to print my nametag. My poker face was not up to par, as one of them stated, I know you guys think we're inefficient old women. (She must have saw a look of concern on my face, because of my late arrival.) I assured her that was not the case and was preoccupied about being late to the interview. In retrospect I should have left at least 30 minutes before.
The actual interview went well. I had a great time discussing the program with the residents and program directors. The interviews were much more laid back than I was expecting. Not many difficult questions, just a question about a time I had overcome a failure. Mainly, it was just us two having a discussion and getting to know each other better. After interviews, we had lunch with the resident, this is usually a way to get more informatoin about lifestyle, the city, and how well you would fit in with the group. We were then taken on a tour of the city and to the local clinic. The interview was really fun, but also tiring, probably from the anxiety and anticipation of what the interview is going to be like and how well they will like you.
Sunday, November 19, 2017
Applying for residency late
I should know better by now than to think things will go as planned. Once I realized I wouldn't be taking STEP 2 CK until August 23rd, I figured I should postpone my match date to 2019. I wasn't sure to have CK by the time residency applications opened, and all the upcoming CS dates were already taken up. I was told that it is best to apply only once I have a "complete" application in, including CK and CS. Since this wasn't my case, I figured I wouldn't match until 2019, but that has since changed.
I was speaking to a program residency director who said it is not too late to apply, and this was in late October. I began to contemplate if I could still get everything in, including LOR's, personal statement, and push up my CS date so that I could get results in by February. She said I should apply, so I did despite the opposing advice from my school advisor.
As a caribbean student, you already have a baseline tolerance for risk, so I decided to take the much riskier route. The risks are being labeled as a "second time applicant" if I don't match, which Ross statistics indicate will decreased my chances of matching next time by around 50%! Also, by the time I got my LOR's in, it was already Nov. 14th. By this time most programs have already filled all their interview slots. As of now, I only have one interview and am waitlisted for another program. We'll see how it all turns out. Praying for a family medicine residency.
There was a opening for Step 2 CS in Los Angeles, so I managed to take it on Tuesday, Nov 14th. I think it went well, but we'll see.
I was speaking to a program residency director who said it is not too late to apply, and this was in late October. I began to contemplate if I could still get everything in, including LOR's, personal statement, and push up my CS date so that I could get results in by February. She said I should apply, so I did despite the opposing advice from my school advisor.
As a caribbean student, you already have a baseline tolerance for risk, so I decided to take the much riskier route. The risks are being labeled as a "second time applicant" if I don't match, which Ross statistics indicate will decreased my chances of matching next time by around 50%! Also, by the time I got my LOR's in, it was already Nov. 14th. By this time most programs have already filled all their interview slots. As of now, I only have one interview and am waitlisted for another program. We'll see how it all turns out. Praying for a family medicine residency.
There was a opening for Step 2 CS in Los Angeles, so I managed to take it on Tuesday, Nov 14th. I think it went well, but we'll see.
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