Today’s inane image of the day:
Author: Amanda Xi
My 5 low-tech study/work essentials
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.]
Advice on crafting your MS4 schedule
Today’s inane image of the day:
I hear from my panic-stricken MS3s that this weekend marks the beginning of the MS4 scheduling lottery. I also hear that they are running things a bit differently than last year [which, from what I’ve heard, sounds like an incremental improvement over the system we had last year]. Because I don’t quite know the details of how the different rounds of the lottery are organized this year, I’m not going to provide strategies on ranking courses, only ideas to consider when planning out what to do for the 10-months that constitute the best year of medical training.
Selecting the best MS3 clerkship track order
Today’s inane image of the day:
The problem that arises with writing blog entries is that sometimes you have to stretch the truth in the title to grab your prospective reader’s attention. Am I going to go over a couple of factors to consider when selecting your 3rd year clerkship track order? Absolutely. But is there some magic formula to picking the “best” or “perfect” one? No. Plus, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter all that much. Yup, I went ahead and shared the dirty little secret… clerkship track order really won’t make a substantial difference on your success as an MS4 – no, that’s up to your individual effort. So, even if you do not get your 1st, 2nd, or even 3rd choice, please, do not panic and make the best of it.
Nervous about NRMP Match 2015/thoughts on rank order list
Today’s inane image of the day:
Time has decided to take on a mind of it’s own and fly faster than I could ever imagine. Earlier this month I complained to anyone who would listen about having to wait almost 2 months to finally open an envelope containing the fate of my life for the next 4 years. But today, I’m not so sure I want March 20th to come any sooner.
Preparing for the USMLE Step 1 [includes a study plan + tips for success]
Today’s [flashback] inane image of the day:
This past week I’ve had the pleasure of participating in a number of local AMWA at OUWB activities including a networking event and dinner with an Emergency Medicine doctor. Through these events, I’ve run into M2s that are in the midst of freaking out over the USMLE Step 1 exam. Since most of the entries on wrote with tips on studying for the exam were posted on Kaplan’s MedSchoolInsight [now no longer live], I decided to post an updated version that includes a study plan and tips for success.
Being mortal – what it means to live at the end of life
Today’s inane image of the day:
When I was in my Senior year of college, I subscribed to the New Yorker in an effort to stay up-to-date with current events as well as prepare for the verbal section of the MCAT. Consistently, my favorite articles were by the surgeon, Dr. Atul Gawande. The piece, Letting Go, really left me feeling unsettled and uncomfortable. Reading Sara Monopoli’s story of her journey from being a healthy, expectant mother, to a Stage IV lung cancer patient, forced me to consider the reality of being mortal.
On networking, research and improvement [preparing for MS4]
Today’s inane images of the day:
![The perks of being a Delta Medallion member! [It was a short flight... but I'll take it!]](https://i0.wp.com/blog.amandaxi.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/IMG_2711-e1423006547562.jpg)
There are a number of current 3rd year medical students whom I’ve counseled in the last couple months about planning for 4th year – to all of you, this will probably be redundant information. But for those of you who are interested in how I prepared for my 4th year, this entry may contain a couple pearls to consider.
Making the most of MS4
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The Next Step – Updates From 4th Year
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| I never get sick of the beautiful views from 40,000 feet up in the air… |