How I learned to say “no”

Amanda Xi

Today’s inane image of the day:

I have been part of planning the American Medical Women’s Association [AMWA] meeting for almost a decade now. Although I’m striking a glamorous pose, take note of how not glamorous this room looks [it’s just a handful of us that unpack pallets of boxes, set up technology, and make the program run…]. This organization is one that I’ve said “yes” to for many years… but only more recently learned how “no” could make a huge difference in my enthusiasm for the work.

At heart, I am a selfless, people-pleaser that would rather suffer in silence than let others down. When I feel like I’ve let someone down, it crushes my soul. This leads me to tumble down the rabbit hole of saying “yes” to things. At work, this often translates into non-promotable assignments [aside: did you know that women are 48% more likely to to volunteer for non-promotable work and even when we learn to say no, we are disproportionately assigned to these types of tasks?]. In medicine, it’s often exceptionally difficult to tease out which tasks are “non-promotable work” and which ones will have indirect benefits through gaining knowledge, learning a new skill, or valuable connections that could lead to career advancement in the future.

Throughout medical training, we are conditioned to be generous with volunteering our time for research projects, organizations, and anything that might help get us to that next step. Understandably, when training is finally done, some of us are left wondering… now what? Especially in an academic environment, it seems like everyone has a million projects they’re working on and those who have “made it” to professorship/leadership were the ones that hustled the most [i.e. said “yes” to everything].

But is that approach sustainable? And most importantly, is that the approach you should take?

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That time I almost quit my job

Amanda Xi

Today’s inane image of the day:

From my Memorial Day weekend in Austin, TX. Peace out seemed like an appropriate photo for the entry title, no?

Oh, hi!

It has been a while since I updated here [woah, almost a year?!]. I kept telling myself it was time to write something or record something but the passion just hasn’t been there. A couple weeks back, I actually recorded a video, but I wasn’t excited to edit it. Either way, I’ve wanted to explore writing regularly again as a way to stay true to myself and practice articulating things that are important to me. Someday, I’d love to write a book [yup, I’m writing it here so that all two of you reading this entry can hold me accountable].

Anyway, for my first entry of 2023, I thought I’d start with a big one.

For those of you who follow along on YouTube or my social media channels, I’ve been very open about the fact that I enjoy my job. Sure, I can come up with reasons to hate it, but there is no such thing as the perfect job/career/anything. In general, I think I’m the type of person who would try to see the best in any job I’m in, or figure out how to make the most of it. But there was actually a time after I finished fellowship when I wondered if my current job was the right fit.

I actually went as far as reaching out to someone I knew in a private practice group to ask if they would hire me[!].

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How I studied for the ABA [anesthesia] critical care medicine board exam/certification

Amanda Xi

Today’s inane image of the day:

I took my anesthesia critical care medicine board examination on October 9, 2021 – a significant delay from my graduation from my fellowship in June 2020 because of pandemic restrictions. It was a different experience studying for this exam because I was working as an attending at that point and this board exam doesn’t have as “straightforward” of resources to use [e.g. BASIC/ADVANCED/ITE = TrueLearn + review book]. Also, it feels weird to have to study for yet another exam when you’re finally DONE with training.

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Are anesthesiologists DOCTORS/MDs/PHYSICIANS? …and other frequently Googled questions

Amanda Xi

Today’s inane image of the day:

During a talk I gave recently to an anesthesia department about social media for use by medical professionals, I used the example of typing into Google: “Are anesthesiologists…” and allowing the predictive text to fill in the rest. The FIRST response on Google is: “Are anesthesiologists doctors?” which I used as a demonstration that we [as anesthesiologists] need to do a better job with letting the public know our role in the surgical team.

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ERAS preference signaling, supplemental application, strategies for Match 2023

Amanda Xi

Today’s inane image of the day:

For the 2022 Match, the ERAS application included a “supplemental” portion that introduced something called preference signaling. 3 specialties participated in this pilot [though ENT started this starting with the 2021 Match cycle] and this year, this program is expanding to additional specialties [16 total]… including anesthesia.

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5 reasons NOT to become a doctor/physician

Amanda Xi

Today’s inane image of the day:

I have dreamed of becoming a doctor since I was a young girl. But nothing prepared me for the realities of the profession [of note, I’m a first-generation college graduate and no one in my family practices medicine]. If you are pre-medical and plan on embarking on the journey to becoming a physician, I ask that you consider these 5 reasons NOT to become one:

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4th year residency match: Prep for internship, studying, getting ready as a medical student

Amanda Xi

Today’s inane image of the day:

Match day was one of the happiest days of my life. It isn’t that way for everyone, so I think it’s important to respect that and support our colleagues when we can. But for those of you that have matched into a residency program (congratulations!) and now know where you’re going to be for the next few years, this video is for you.

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5 rejections and failures on journey to becoming a doctor… and what I learned from them

Amanda Xi

Today’s inane image of the day:

My journey to becoming an attending physician has not been straightforward. I’d argue that no one’s journey to adulthood really is. But that being said, with how much social media highlights all of the happy, bright things in life, it can be easy to forget that all of us stumble sometimes. All of us fail or receive rejections.

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