Author: Amanda Xi

Resources for 3rd year clerkship success [honors]

Amanda Xi

Today’s inane image of the day:

Surgery Clerkship Books
The books I used to study for my Surgery clerkship and shelf exam.

[Entry Last Updated: 4/17/2018] Spring/Summer marks a time of transitions in medical training. Premedical students prepare to begin their training; seasoned first year medical students disperse to conduct research, travel or volunteer; second year medical students emerge from their study caves to see the light of day following the grueling USMLE Step 1 and begin to infiltrate the wards; third year medical students apply to away rotations, compile their resumes, ask for letters and prepare for the best year of medical school; fourth year medical students participate in commencement festivities and bask in the final days of freedom before residency.

It’s quite an exciting time!

Anyway, this entry is meant to provide a list of the resources I used to study for my third year clerkships and shelf exams. I’ll also include other resources I’ve heard others using.

Read more →

Preparing for the USMLE Step 2 CK [includes a study plan + tips for success]

Amanda Xi

Today’s inane image of the day:

After I took Step 2 CS, I rewarded myself with a relaxing vacation up in the Bay Area. This is the view from our hotel room.
After I took Step 2 CK/CS, I rewarded myself with a relaxing vacation up in the Bay Area. This was the view from our hotel room.

After I found out my clerkship order for third year, I knew that I would be taking the USMLE Step 2 CK and CS before the start of 4th year. I scored above average on Step 1, but I knew that if I wanted a shot at top-tier residency programs, I needed to improve on Step 2 [I think it all worked out in the end].

Read more →

OUWB Match 2015 results are in!

Amanda Xi

Today’s [not so] inane images of the day:

IMG_2950
After almost 4 years of medical school and 4 agonizing days of waiting during Match Week, I was rewarded with my #1 rank – Henry Ford Transitional Year + Massachusetts General Anesthesiology!

 

IMG_2955
The obligatory “I Matched” photo!

 

My match result still hasn’t settled in. Despite having an entire weekend to wrap my mind around the fact that I matched at my #1 Transitional Year and Anesthesiology Residency programs, I cannot help but wonder when someone will wake me up from this pleasant dream.

Read more →

How to upgrade your 2011 or 2012 Macbook Pro RAM (with Step-by-Step photos)

Amanda Xi

Today’s inane images of the day will be scattered throughout the entry.

Sometime in late 2014, I was complaining to a current 3rd year about how slow my Macbook Pro [13-inch, Early 2011 model] had become. I like running ten to twenty Chrome browser tabs along with the whole Microsoft Office suite and FaceTime [so I can chat with Mike, of course] all at once. It doesn’t take a degree in computer science to know that this will inevitably slow down the performance of my laptop. Anyway, that genius 3rd year suggested that I look into upgrading my RAM and even went as far as to send me a link to the memory he purchased to upgrade his own laptop. After some hesitation [I really didn’t want to screw anything up!], I decided one frustrated evening when my laptop was operating at snail’s pace to just do it.

Read more →

My 5 low-tech study/work essentials

Amanda Xi

Today’s inane images of the day will be scattered within the post.

I absolutely love my laptop and iPhone but when it comes down to crunch time [e.g. exam-time, research-time, AMWA-time…] they prove to be more of a distraction than anything else. I mean, why would I want to review the Krebs cycle when I could be stalking people on Facebook or “Liking” everything on Instagram? Or, I’ll find that a great blog post idea strikes me and I just have to write it right now otherwise it will fall out of my head. Yeah. Right. [Excuses.]

Read more →