Island Med Student

Thanks to Doc Cartoon for allowing me to post her work!

My editor on Medscape just surprised me with the absolute COOLEST entry, ever. I was so excited by this post, that it caused me to have goosebumps, and it brought the hugest grin to my face. How. Very. Awesome!

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Oh my little blog, how I have missed you. I am a very strange gal. You probably already knew that. I have had (another!!) cold for the past few days and with the coughing and sniffling and cold meds, I’ve been a little whacked out. One would think that with me having absolutely nothing to do all day long, I’d be mad blogging every day. But it turns out to be quite the opposite. I seem to blog MORE when I am super busy, and less so when I’m bored. Perhaps it’s because I really don’t have much to say. And yes, that’s the case right now.

So, today has been very nice. I went for a long run in the park with my doggies and then came home to find my diploma in the mail! Okay, don’t get too excited…it’s not the REAL one, it’s just a certified copy (I needed it for my residency program…and yes, for those of you detail oriented folks, I graduated with a very high GPA…summa cum laude…aka “with highest honors”). But my real one is in the mail, and according to the USPS website, it should be here tomorrow! I feel like I keep giving you all “almost” photos…me in my graduation garb, but not at graduation…a photo of my diploma, but not the real one. Anyway, the “real” photos are soon to follow. I promise.

After my run I made a smoothie and then took a bubble bath. I then packed up my picnic gear and headed again to the park, and again with my doggies. I basked in the sun (for probably too long) in my bikini and finished the book I’ve been reading (more on that soon) about a doctor’s experiences in her medicine residency.

None of this is very exciting, and I realize that. But I honestly I just don’t have anything else cooler to share with you, world!

In other news, I’ve been trying to come up with fun and creative ways to make money (I am 100% broke), but have so far only managed to make a meager amount. It’s amazing how unemployable I am. I’m overqualified for most things, and underqualified for most things. How lusciously and cruelly ironic! If anyone out there has any recommendations on how to make one million dollars (or $100) in one month’s time, I’d love to hear them!

Check out my LAST post on Medscape (for med school, that is!) to read my reflections on the past four years.

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So, I am happy to announce that my new website will be called doctorpsychobabble.com. Don’t try to visit it yet, because it’s still in progress. Anyway, it’s going to rock, and I’ve been working on it all day. I hope to publish it in the next few days. The photo above will be the new banner. I’m still working out all the details. Anyway, I was going to keep this a secret until it was all finalized and published, but it turns out that I suck at keeping secrets.

Check out my post on Medscape to read how happy I am to have a taste of permanence in my life.

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Today is Monday. It’s rained almost non-stop for the past 4 days. The streets are flooded and I have zero pairs of dry jeans left. Rain, rain, go away!

I really shouldn’t complain so much, though. At least I’ve been lucky to have the past few days off. I don’t have to go back in to the pediatric ER until tomorrow night.

More importantly, today is MATCH DAY!! I’ve already heard from a few of my friends who have matched (and none so far who haven’t matched). CONGRATS to everyone, whether or not you matched! Either way, you’ve earned the right to be proud of where you are!

I hope you enjoy the photos with this post. I took them all yesterday during a very wet doggy walk. They are also a part of my new photo series, “Trash Talkin: Giving a Voice to the Discarded.” My “Yo Brooklyn, Fuhgeddaboudit” photo series was becoming a little inundated with trash, so I have now gone through and edited that collection a bit. My “Trash Talkin” series will now include only photos of trash, taken anywhere and everywhere, and my “Yo Brooklyn, Fuhgeddaboudit” series will be dedicated to all other Brooklyn related photos. Enjoy!

“Trash Talkin” Photo Series

Check out my post on Medscape to read my message to all you students who are matching this year!

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Check out my post on Medscape to learn about my feelings about matching (I forgot to post this last week).

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Ever since I wrote about matching to a residency position, it seems as though everyone was very curious as to where and in which specialty I matched. I’m happy to announce that I’ll be starting my residency in psychiatry on July 1st at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn, New York. There, I spilled the beans!

When ERAS opened, I originally applied to three specialties: psychiatry, family medicine and emergency medicine. My “problem” was that I felt truly passionate about all three specialties. I ended up getting interviews in all three. It was a very difficult decision for me to make, because I really could see myself in any one of those fields. I ended up choosing psychiatry, because I ultimately saw it as the best match for me. I really liked all of the programs that I interviewed at, but the SUNY Downstate program really seemed like a good fit for me. I liked the fact that they have a lot of research that I’m interested in, and everything about their program seemed like a good fit. In addition, the location is perfect. I really did want to stay in Brooklyn. The diverse patient population was also an important factor. So, when I went in for the interview, I was already very excited. The interview day was amazing. I loved all the faculty, residents, and program directors. So, when I was offered a pre-match position, there was really no decision to be made. I knew it was a perfect match for me.

So, there you have it. I will soon be beginning my residency in psychiatry. Also, I just made a wonderful discovery a few mintutes ago. I thought that I would be finishing up my electives by April 30th, but I just realized that I’ll be finished on April 16th! So, I will even have to update my MD countdown. In less than 7 weeks, I’ll be a doctor!

I couldn’t be happier right now! I just got home from a day of pediatrics clinic, which I absolutely loved. Maybe it’s a good thing that I’m doing this pediatrics rotation late in the game, because I love peds so much that I could see myself doing this as well!

Note: Photos were all taken with my iPhone on the way to the hospital this morning. My obsession with trash continues. And now that I’m going to be living in Brooklyn for 4 more years, expect much more trash to come!

“Yo Brooklyn, Fuhgeddaboudit” Photo Series