that-med-girl

[that-med-girl]

Hey tumblr!!

I’m starting a 100 day productivity challenge; starting today i.e. 12 SEP 2022.

I’ll be posting a daily update on my feed.

Be sure to follow along and use #thatmedgirl to tag me in your post.

Let’s get started.

Happy studying

[that-med-girl]

Preparing for my second exam. Hope you are doing well study buddies.

Quick Tip

Always do the question banks. They are not just good testing tool but also learning tool.

Stay hydrated

Happy studying

[that-med-girl]

This might not be the most aesthetic setup on Tumblr but this is what helps me get my stuff done.

I have med finals in less than a week now. I'll be updating my progress here as a means of accountability for myself and motivation for others(maybe).

Kudos to those studying in this cold weather and holiday season.

Happy studying

[that-med-girl]

my masterpost | my studygram | ask me anything

[click images for high quality]

[transcript under the cut]

Other advice posts that may be of interest:

How To Study When You Really Don’t Want To

Active Revision Techniques

How To Do Uni Readings

How to Revise BIG Subjects

Keep reading

[that-med-girl]

HOW TO STAY FOCUSED WHILE STUDYING

Get all your study materials

Before starting gather all materials. All your notes, books, pens, highlighters, sticky notes ,laptop, charger and everything else. Fill your water bottle. Gather  everything you might need so that you don’t have to get up every time you need something.

Make a to-do list

Have in mind what you expect from specific study session. Make a to-do list beforehand. Whatever goal you have in mind it must be do-able. Make specific goals. 

Stay hydrated

Hydration helps with the focus. It's coming from experience. When you feel your focus is withering drink water. Plus, staying hydrated is important for overall wellbeing. body tissues comprise of 20-80% of water content.

Keep your phone away

Keep your phone away if possible. But if you can't, at least turn the notifications off. Log out of your social media accounts. Do what ever works for you. The aim is to minimize the distractions.

Take necessary breaks.

You can't maintain 100 percent of attention all the time. Attention span on average is around 10- 15 minutes. So you might be sitting staring at your study resource and not gaining anything. So take regular breaks.

Hope these strategies will help you stay more focused towards your task.

Happy studying

Stay safe; stay blessed

[that-med-girl]

this is a breakdown of how i go about doing research for my essays! do keep in mind i am an arts student, so i don’t know how well this method carries over into other disciplines. check out my other guides to writing essays here and here!

[that-med-girl]

COPING WITH EXAMS STRESS

Hi. Tumblr fam.

Let's talk about exam stress. What a student without exams. Huh. But exams are always accompanied with stress and anxiety for most, unless you are really a blessed soul.

Exams for many mean a nightmare. Sleepless night, lots of readings, memorizing, stress, coffee, energy drinks, hair loss and what not.

Over the years these strategies have helped me. So let me share top 3 secrets (an open secret though) these with you.

Start early 

You can’t cram everything the night before exam. Plan ahead and start early. Give yourself sufficient time to consume the knowledge. Plan according to the amount of syllabus and how well you know the material. Starting early saves you the eleventh hour hassle and stress.

Prioritize

First focus on the most important pieces of information. Rely on question banks to know what topic carry more weightage than the others. Ask your seniors or professors. They'll surely be more than happy to help. After you are done studying the core topics, then jump onto topics which have less weightage in exams. Knowing what is important can help you to prepare well and alleviate the stress.

Practice questions

Do practice questions.( This point is also related to above. But it is worthy to get a separate mention). I can't stress enough on this point. It has multiple benefits.

Tells you what's more important topic.

Helps to instill topic to your memory

Helps you to formulate better answers in exams.

Tell about the weak spots and strengths simultaneously.

Bonus tip

Don't compromise on your sleep. Take good 6-7 hour sleep. Sleep is also scientifically proven to enhance memory. More neuronal connections are made that help to instill information in our long term memory.

Hopefully you'll benefit from this. If you'd like to make a request or give any suggestions feel free to connect.

Stay blessed, stay safe.

[that-med-girl]

7 march 2021

Two more days and I will be done with the lengthiest exam season.

Happy studying everyone.

Stay safe, stay blessed.

[that-med-girl]

Apart from my usual stydyblr posts, today I want to pour my heart out. The world we live in is strange. Our life is sum of numerous human interactions. Each day, every day we come across numerous people.

All human connections are based on a delicate foundation called TRUST.

Trust is so delicate that any tear in it, can shatter the entire relationship. Not just that but one can't trust others again.

One of the things that harm that fabric is LIE. Once you realize someone lied to you, it makes you question the entire relationship. The trust of years. It makes you question every truth that has ever been spoken.

When a single person deceives you it is not the just the deception that hurts but also the fact that it makes you dubious of all other individuals around you. Even the ones who are loyal and sincere. You not just lose single person but all other good people as well. The mistrust resulting from single deception leads to point fingers at everything and everyone else.

[that-med-girl]

17 feb 21

My theory exams are over. Vivas and osce will start from next week.

This is the longest exam season ever. Owing to situation because of the covid, exams got delayed twice. But it always feels great to be done with exams.

[that-med-girl]

Learning how to interact with patient is an important skill. Being able to communicate well and being able to win patients trust is key in understanding patients' symptoms which lead to establish good diagnosis.

In this regard it is important to show respect to patient and act professionally yet with empathy.

Let’s talk about ...

Thanks to the pandemic some of us lost 2 whole semesters of hospital classes that were instead spend home alone. We had to learn how to examine patiens via youtube videos. But our skills to palpate and auscultate are not the only thing suffering. We also did not get to comunicate with patients and learn to comfort them in their most vulnurable state.

While you can study symptoms, causes and drugs alone at home, interacting with people is something you need to practice. Here are a bunch of things i’ve seen other medical students do that have left a bad taste and i believe we can all benefit from avoiding. 

The patient is not your buddy! - they are not your bff and you are not at a bar. Don’t act like it! A very loose behaviour will make you look far from serious and reliable. I believe you have to show your patient you are confident not cocky and reliable so they trust that they are getting the best care possible. Believing in the process puts your patient one step closer to healing!

Being a doctor does’nt put you above the rest! - be confident not cocky! Dont be a peacock, say ‘Hello, how are you?” and “Have a nice day’ when you leave. Smile, be polite! Just because you went to med school does’nt mean you know all of life’s secrets. Acting heavy  is off-puting and forms a huge wall between you and your patient which will only make them not trut you or follow your medical advice. Patients still have the right to choose what’s best for them with the information they have. Your job is to make sure they have all of it.

Don’t invalidate your patients experiences! - Don’t attack patients for the decisions they make  just because they might not make sense to your scientific knowledge. Comforting people happens through making them feel heard and understood. People who are not into science form their own beliefs about why symptoms happen that are far from the scientific truth. Arguing with your patient and making them feel stupid will not help them trust you and tell you the truth! Health is also a state of mind.

Don’t invade patient’s personal space! - When you have to examine them always ask for permision. “Hello, I am a student, May i ask you a couple of questions?” “Do you mind if i auscultate your chest?”. Specially when it comes to examining more private parts like inguinal hernia or checking for lumps in the breast. be very carefull and always ask for permmision.

If you cannot be serious don’t talk to patients at all! - it is very frustrating to hear a medical student laugh at patients while taking their medical history. Not only it is unproffesional but also can be very insulting. When you go to the doctor you must feel safe and secure to share your deepest secrets in order to gett proper help. If you sit there laughing and giggling you will make your patient feel uncomfortable which will lead to them lying or keeping important information from you.

Jokes! - be carefull with joking. You are still a student. You don’t have a lot of experience with patients like older doctors do. I would say don’t joke at all. You can be polite and positive without cracking jokes. You never know how a person might react to a joke you made even if you had good intentions. 

DON’T TAKE PICTURES! - I cannot stress this enough! DON’T TAKE PICS OF PATIENTS OR THEIR DOCUMENTS OR TESTS OT ANYTHING. It is illigal. Even if you justify it with “Í just wanna help myself with studying” - NOO! there is enough material on the internet. DONT EVER DO IT! It is disgusting, unprofessional, invading privacy and just awfull in every aspect. 

Treating a patient poorly will not only make them not want to visit you again but might also make them hesitant to even go to the doctor the next time they are sick

Feel free to reblog with additional advice you have for other students so we can help eachoter learn better. Share something you have noticed students or doctors do that you think should change. Or even a personal story of how a doctor made you feel uncomfortable. We wanna get better at this!

[that-med-girl]

Asking for a Letter of Recommendation

I’ve seen some people post about being nervous/scared of rejection/etc so here is my strategy for requesting a letter of rec:

1. Title the email clearly, so recommender can access later: “Recommendation Request for NAME LASTNAME”

2. Greet them formally: “Dear Dr. X,” (I tend to do this no matter how close the relationship is)

3. Make the request: “I am writing to ask if you would be willing to write a letter of recommendation to support my application to WHATEVER THING.”

4. Tell them the deadline: “I would need the letter by MONTH/DAY/YEAR.” (If you want to give a reason, you can also say that the application is due, or that you are hoping to submit your application by that date.)

5. Why Them?: Share 1-2 sentences about why you think they are the right person to recommend you, or what they might add to your application. “Given your role as my advisor/mentor/colleague/etc, I believe you could offer a clear picture of my interpersonal skills/research abilities/developing strengths/academic abilities/etc.”

6. Offer to Help: Let them know that if they accept the offer, you will provide guidance and support in letter-writing. “If you are willing to write the letter, I would be happy to share more information about myself and my experiences, as well as information about where to send the letter.”

7. Help them decide if they are the right fit: Attach your CV, so they can take a look and make a more informed decision about whether they can confidently recommend you. “I have attached my CV in case you would like to review it.”

8. Thank them for their consideration and/or time

9. Sign off: Make sure your contact information is included in your email signature.

[that-med-girl]

my masterpost | my studygram | ask me anything

[click images for high quality]

Other advice posts that may be of interest:

How To Stop Procrastinating

How To Study When You Really Don’t Want To

My Experiences With GCSEs

[that-med-girl]

STUDY LIKE A PRO

Exams are an integral part of student life. Various students have varying response to exams. For me exams are accompanied with a lot of anxiety. Studying for long hours can be overwhelming at times. You just want to escape the exams but alas you can’t. The only way forward is to take exams head on.

Motivation is a hoax You read it right. Looking for motivation is not going to help. You might have heard “motivation is what gets you started; habit is what keeps you going”. You need to discipline yourself. Knowing why you are studying helps. You might be motivated one day and next you don’t feel like studying. This is what’s wrong with the concept of motivation. Self discipline is key.

Staying hydrated Can’t stress enough how important it is to stay hydrated. Keep a bottle of water with you so you don’t have to get up frequently to get water. Water helps you stay focused. It improves your concentration. When you feel dehydrated you are more likely to feel overwhelmed, and easily lose focus and get distracted.

Daylight/ sunlight Whether you are an early riser or a night owl daylight is essential. Before my recent exams I didn’t know this that how much difference sitting in daylight can make. We are surrounded by florescent/ artificial light most part of our day. Sitting whether outside in garden, balcony or near a window doesn’t matters as long you are getting sunlight. Plus, sunlight is also a source of vitamin D.

Comfortable settings Whether you like to study in your bed or on your desk or by walking or however, make sure you actually feel comfortable. Body must feel relax and must not be tensed. As it will affect your efficiency. And you might get tired or end up having backache. This is thing of common knowledge but of great value.  Wear comfortable clothes.

Changing settings I like to study in different environments. Instead of sitting in same room all day long, I prefer to spend first part of my day in daylight sitting near a window, then might study in my bed and may sit on floor cushions. To me this change of settings gives a fresh perspective and makes me study better.

Taking breaks Taking breaks is important. Just like your muscles can get fatigued so does your neurons. It’s better to give your brain cells sometime to relax. This helps better focus and retention. During these breaks you can call someone, go out for walk, or perform other chores.

Don’t compare yourself to others Never ever compare yourself to others in any matter. This is the key to stay happy. Comparison is killer of joy and mental peace. How is it relevant here? You tend to compare your progress with your mates. That person has covered this much syllabus that has done this topic from another book and so on, just don’t compare. Do take guidance but don’t make it a competition. Every individual has a different pace. And sometimes it happens the other way round. You discuss it with a friend that he has done only 2 chapters yet and you have already done 4; this slows you down. So, don’t compare.

Avoid distractions It is so easy to get distracted. Mobile phone is biggest of them all. It preferable that you put your phone on silent or airplane mode and keep it out of sight. But for many of us this is not the logical choice due to eLearning. In this case its better if you delete your social media or deactivate them for duration of exams or else use apps that help to stay focused by limiting the app usage.

Look after your diet In exam season it is easier for us to neglect our diet or use to much energy drinks etc. that might have adverse effects in our body. Do inculcate fruits and other healthy snacks in your diet.

Feeling stressed Exams are undoubtedly stressful time of year. A person may feel very vulnerable, anxious. Overwhelmed by deadlines. It can put a tons of pressure. Its okay to feel emotional. Its also okay to vent your emotions. One might cry at times.  Remember, your hard work will pay off.

Self-doubting At end of a long day, you might end up doubting yourself. Am I capable of this? What if I fail? I can’t do this. And all other million things. Remember you had made this far. It wasn’t an easy journey. You are going to make it through till the end.

Sleep Sleep is the most ignored part in our exam study routine. I won’t suggest you to sleep twelve hours a day. But do take 6 7-hour sleep and a nap. Sleep helps you integrate information from short term memory to long term memory.

To-do list and achievable targets. The most typical of them all comes at last. Make a to-do list. But keep the targets achievable. Instead of writing 100 pages, break them into small easy and achievable targets 25 pages in first sitting and 25 in next and so on.

 Congratulations if you made this far. Hope you got something new to learn. If you’ll like me to post about study techniques do let me know.

Happy studying. 

Stay safe, stay blessed

[that-med-girl]

You'll never be always motivated, so you must learn to be disciplined.

[that-med-girl]

DISCIPLINE is choosing between what you want now and what you want the most.

Abraham Lincoln

[that-med-girl]

Being positive isn’t pretending that everything is good, It’s finding good in everything.

unknown