New YouTube video: my 4AM morning routine

Today’s inane image of the day:

[I just wanted to point out that this video went live at 4am 🤣] 

I start most of my mornings at ~4am. I find that this is the best way for me to start the day to be productive and overall for my well-being. I think for a while I was in denial about being a morning person, but once I became an anesthesiologist, it became clear that my days were just *so much better* when I started them early. 

My 4am morning routine looks like this:

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How to study for the CCEeXAM – resources and other advice

Today’s inane image of the day:

Here’s proof that I actually did this thing!

It is no secret that ultrasound is a powerful tool for the anesthesiologist and intensivist. During residency, we achieve competence in using ultrasound for vascular access, regional anesthesia, and basic cardiac examination [both transesophageal and transthoracic]. When I was a resident, there were times when it was really challenging to get an ultrasound, which translated into feeling like my own skill was mediocre. Fellowship in critical care anesthesiology certainly helped me build upon my skill and clinical application of ultrasound has continued to advance my knowledge.

During my critical care fellowship, I opted to take the CCEeXAM® Examination of Special Competence in Critical Care Echocardiography. Mostly because someone else was paying for the certification and I thought that it could be a useful certification to possess. At the time, the exam had only been administered a few times; there were limited resources to study from and very sparse information on the internet on how to structure my studying or where to focus my attention.

Luckily, if you’re looking to make this ~$1,000+ [probably more like ~$2000-$3000 after you include the study resources below] investment in your clinical practice, I have some advice from my own experience and a recent test-taker’s experience to help guide your study plan.

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