life-of-a-premed-student

[life-of-a-premed-student]

Warning: Powerful.

#healthcare #stories #powerful

[life-of-a-premed-student]

Books about medicine.

Biography 

When the Air Hits Your Brain: Tales from Neurosurgery

Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery

Direct Red: A Surgeon’s Story

Trust Me, I’m a (Junior) Doctor

House Of God

An Imperfect Offering: Dispatches from the medical frontline

Band-Aid for a Broken Leg

No Time to Lose: A Life in Pursuit of Deadly Viruses

History

The Emperor of All Maladies

Spitting Blood: The history of tuberculosis

Angel of Death: The Story of Smallpox

And the Band Played On: Politics, People and the AIDS Epidemic

The Tale of the Duelling Neurosurgeons: The History of the Human Brain as Revealed by True Stories of Trauma, Madness, and Recovery

Paralysed with Fear: The Story of Polio

Rabid: A Cultural History of the World’s Most Diabolical Virus

The Rise And Fall Of Modern Medicine

Blood and Guts: A Short History of Medicine

Other

Being Mortal: Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End

The Checklist Manifesto: How To Get Things Right

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat

Our Necessary Shadow: The Nature and Meaning of Psychiatry

The Drugs Don’t Work

Bad Science

Bad Pharma: How Medicine is Broken, And How We Can Fix It

Gut: the inside story of our body’s most under-rated organ

The Worried Student’s Guide to Medical Ethics and Law (Medipass)

Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic

Concussion

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The Invisible Enemy: A Natural History of Viruses

Deadly Companions: How microbes shaped our history

I Think You’ll Find It’s a Bit More Complicated Than That

[life-of-a-premed-student]

Update!

Hi all, 

I know I haven’t been posting at all lately, life has been hectic, so I just wanted to post an update as to how things are going!

Unfortunately, last year I did not get into medical school. There were a variety of factors, including a not so stellar (for premeds) GPA and a less than ideal amount of volunteering, so those are what I decided to work on this year. 

As last year was the final year of my biomedical science degree, I had a couple of options (backup plans can be your best friend). I could do a masters degree, take a year off, or do a second undergraduate degree. I chose the last option as it would help me boost my GPA, give the medical schools another undergraduate year to look at, and would keep me studying so the transition to medical school wouldn’t be as hard. It would also give me another chance to join clubs and extracurriculars. I found out quickly that I could do another Honours B.Sc. in Biology within a year, and so that’s the option I took. 

When I graduated, I knew I had to step up my game that summer if I were to have a chance at reaching my goal the year after. I started volunteering heavily, working in 3 places at the local hospital (ICU, Cancer centre and the main hospital) and working with the Canadian Blood Services. I also joined The Salvation Army’s Emergency Disaster Service (EDS). This was by far my favourite, as we would be on call for a week at a time, and we would be sent to fires in order to help victims with emotional trauma, food, clothing and furniture. I also made the important decision to leave the research lab I had been working in for 5 years in order to get more experience in clinical research, which I found interesting and thought would help me with my application. 

When school started, I kept volunteering, but I also formed a club with some friends with the goal of mentoring students that were currently doing their 4th-year honours projects, which has really taken off and adds a distinct leadership extracurricular to my CV. 

As of now, mostly because of all the extracurriculars and the GPA boost that my last year has given me, I’m happy to announce that I’ve been accepted to the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), and I’m currently waiting to hear back from St. Louis University (SLU). I also have an interview at the University of Toronto at the end of the month.

I’ve learnt a lot about life over the past year, and I’m actually very glad I wasn’t accepted last year. I’ve had to talk to people who had just been through some of the worst trauma they will ever face (with the EDS), and have learnt to appreciate just how important it is to be empathetic, and how much it means to people that are going through traumatic events to have someone, anyone there. I’ve been able to joke around with incredibly upbeat chronically ill cancer patients that have an amazing outlook on life despite their situation, and have been able to constantly practice the interpersonal skills that are so important for today’s physicians. Those are just a few of the experiences I’ve had over the past year that I feel will make me a better physician for my patients in the future (if I were to go over all of them my laptop would die before I was finished). I feel that, because of these experiences, I’ll be going to medical school much better prepared than I would be had I gone last year. 

I made the mistake years ago of attaching my sense of self-worth to being accepted to medical school, so last year was really hard on me. My self-esteem plummeted to the point that my friends started to get really worried about me. I’m fine now, mainly because I realised I could apply again, and I had something to work towards. To all of you still struggling, and achieving amazing things (though you may not think so now) during your journey to medical school, as cliched as it is, and as much as you don’t want to hear this right now (I know I didn’t), things do work out. I was devasted last year, but I’m so incredibly grateful now for the experiences I’ve had. The most important thing is not losing hope in the future. Keep striving towards your goal, stay determined (this applies to everything, not just medical school), and don’t settle just because you think something else will be easier. I have faith in each and every one of you. 

Good luck, 

Shareef (future MD)

#succes #premed #medical school #advice #feels #good luck #medicine

[life-of-a-premed-student]

24 Invaluable Skills To Learn For Free Online This Year

Here’s an easy resolution: This stuff is all free as long as you have access to a computer, and the skills you learn will be invaluable in your career, and/or life in general. 

1. Become awesome at Excel.

Chandoo is one of many gracious Excel experts who wants to share their knowledge with the world. Excel excellence is one of those skills that will improve your chances of getting a good job instantly, and it will continue to prove invaluable over the course of your career. What are you waiting for?

2. Learn how to code.

littleanimalgifs.tumblr.com

Perhaps no other skill you can learn for free online has as much potential to lead to a lucrative career. Want to build a site for your startup? Want to build the next big app? Want to get hired at a place like BuzzFeed? You should learn to code. There are a lot of places that offer free or cheap online coding tutorials, but I recommend Code Academy for their breadth and innovative program. If you want to try a more traditional route, Harvard offers its excellent Introduction to Computer Science course online for free.

3. Make a dynamic website.

You could use a pre-existing template or blogging service, or you could learn Ruby on Rails and probably change your life forever. Here’s an extremely helpful long list of free Ruby learning tools that includes everything from Rails for Zombies to Learn Ruby The Hard Way. Go! Ruby! Some basic programming experience, like one of the courses above, might be helpful (but not necessarily required if you’re patient with yourself).

4. Learn to make a mobile game.

If you’re not interested in coding anything other than fun game apps, you could trythis course from the University of Reading. It promises to teach you how to build a game in Java, even if you don’t have programming experience! If you want to make a truly great game, you might want to read/listen up on Game Theory first.

5. Start reading faster.

Spreeder is a free online program that will improve your reading skill and comprehension no matter how old you are. With enough practice, you could learn to double, triple, or even quadruple the speed at which you read passages currently, which is basically like adding years to your life.

6. Learn a language!

With Duolingo, you can learn Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, or English (from any of the above or more). There’s a mobile app and a website, and the extensive courses are completely free.

Full disclosure: BuzzFeed and other websites are in a partnership with DuoLingo, but they did not pay or ask for this placement.

7. Pickle your own vegetables.

Tired of your farmer’s market haul going bad before you use it all? Or do you just love tangy pickled veggies? You too can pickle like a pro thanks to SkillShare and Travis Grillo.

8. Improve your public speaking skills.

You can take the University of Washington’s Intro to Public Speaking for free online. Once you learn a few tricks of the trade, you’ll be able to go into situations like being asked to present at a company meeting or giving a presentation in class without nearly as much fear and loathing.

9. Get a basic handle of statistics.

UC Berkeley put a stats intro class on iTunes. Once you know how to understand the numbers yourself, you’ll never read a biased “news” article the same way again — 100% of authors of this post agree!

10. Understand basic psychology.

Knowing the basics of psych will bring context to your understanding of yourself, the dynamics of your family and friendships, what’s really going on with your coworkers, and the woes and wonders of society in general. Yale University has its Intro to Psychology lectures online for free.

11. Make your own music.

Step one: Learn how to play guitar: Justin Guitar is a fine and free place to start learning chords and the basic skills you’ll need to be able to play guitar — from there, it’s up to you, but once you know the basics, just looking up tabs for your favorite songs and learning them on your own is how many young guitar players get their start (plus it’s an excellent party trick).

Step two: A delightful free voice lesson from Berklee College Of Music.

Step three: Have you always thought you had an inner TSwift? Berklee College of Music offers an Introduction to Songwriting course completely for free online. The course is six weeks long, and by the end of the lesson you’ll have at least one completed song.

Step four: Lifehacker’s basics of music production will help you put it all together once you have the skills down! You’ll be recording your own music, ready to share with your valentine or the entire world, in no time!

12. Learn to negotiate.

Let Stanford’s Stan Christensen explain how to negotiate in business and your personal life, managing relationships for your personal gain and not letting yourself be steamrolled. There are a lot of football metaphors and it’s great.

13. Stop hating math.

If you struggled with math throughout school and now have trouble applying it in real-world situations when it crops up, try Saylor.org’s Real World Math course. It will reteach you basic math skills as they apply IRL. Very helpful!

14. Start drawing!

All kids draw — so why do we become so afraid of it as adults? Everyone should feel comfortable with a sketchbook and pencil, and sketching is a wonderful way to express your creativity. DrawSpace is a great place to start. (I also highly recommend the book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain if you can drop a few dollars for a used copy.)

15. Make your own animated GIF.

BuzzFeed’s own Katie Notopoulos has a great, simple guide to making an animated GIF without Photoshop. This is all you need to be the king or queen of Tumblr or your favorite email chains.

16. Appreciate jazz.

reddit.com

Have you never really “gotten” jazz? If you want to be able to participate in conversations at fancy parties and/or just add some context to your appreciation of all music, try this free online course from UT Austin.

17. Write well.

Macalester College’s lecture series is excellent. If you’re more interested in journalism, try Wikiversity’s course selection.

18. Get better at using Photoshop.

Another invaluable skill that will get you places in your career, learning Photoshop can be as fun as watching the hilarious videos on You Suck At Photoshop or as serious as this extensive Udemy training course (focused on photo retouching).

19. Take decent pictures.

Lifehacker’s basics of photography might be a good place to start. Learn how your camera works, the basic of composition, and editing images in post-production. If you finish that and you’re not sure what to do next, here’s a short course on displaying and sharing your digital photographs.

20. Learn to knit.

Instructables has a great course by a woman who is herself an online-taught knitter. You’ll be making baby hats and cute scarves before this winter’s over!

21. Get started with investing in stocks.

If you are lucky enough to have a regular income, you should start learning about savings and investment now. Investopedia has a ton of online resources, including this free stocks basics course. Invest away!

22. Clean your house in a short amount of time.

Unf$#k Your Habitat has a great emergency cleaning guide for when your mother-in-law springs a surprise visit on you. While you’re over there, the entire blog is good for getting organized and clean in the long term, not just in “emergencies.” You’ll be happier for it.

23. Start practicing yoga.

Most cities have free community classes (try just searching Google or inquiring at your local yoga studio), or if you’re more comfortable trying yoga at home, YogaGlohas a great 15-day trial and Yome is a compendium of 100% free yoga videos. If you’re already familiar with basic yoga positions but you need an easy way to practice at home, I recommend YogaTailor’s free trial as well.

24. Tie your shoelaces more efficiently.

It’s simple and just imagine the minutes of your life you’ll save!

[life-of-a-premed-student]

Places where reality is a bit altered:

• any target • churches in texas • abandoned 7/11’s • your bedroom at 5 am • hospitals at midnight • warehouses that smell like dust • lighthouses with lights that don’t work anymore • empty parking lots • ponds and lakes in suburban neighborhoods • rooftops in the early morning • inside a dark cabinet

[life-of-a-premed-student]

Saving this

Hey! My idea for this post was basically a general masterpost that’s going to cover a lot of different topics related to studying/studyblrs.

This is my first masterpost, so if it’s a little confusing, sorry! I wanted to put more in, but then it was like crazy long already? 

Studying

studying tips (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)

study tips masterpost

101 study tips

study methods

seven day study plan

five day study plan

basics of efficient studying

pomodoro method

study space guide

things NOT to do when studying

how to make a study schedule

13 study methods to try

how to study for math (when you hate math)

how to make study guides

voice recording

how to study like a straight a student

how to review in less time

study methods for each learning type (visual, auditory, kinesthetic)

a complete guide to studying (well)

Apps/Websites

blocking apps and extensions

apps for a better life

apps for language learners

best apps for students

CrashCourse (Youtube)

Duolingo

free online academic courses masterpost

productivity resource list

internet resources for your education

useful programs

calming websites

another masterpost of apps

web apps

note-taking apps and websites

tools for referencing

apps to help you survive school

helpful websites

Notes

effective reading and note-taking

visual note-taking

fundamentals of visual note-taking

how to take lecture notes

note-taking methods

note-taking tips

guide to aesthetically pleasing notes

note-taking system (theorganisedstudent)

note-taking system (emmastudies)

cornell note-taking system

note-taking masterpost

cause and effect diagrams

how to take notes from a textbook

useful symbols and abbreviations

how to mind map

guide to pretty notes

note-taking masterpost (i know, another one)

color-coding notes 101

Printables

theorganisedstudent

thearialligraphyproject

note-taking printables

passion planner

exam study pack

planner of a successful senior-year undergraduate

five useful printables

College (and beyond)

scholarships

scholarships 101

cliches to avoid for essays

save money on textbooks (plus other random stuffs)

where to save up to $1600.00 in college supplies

idk what to do with my life

a sister’s guide on how to college

becoming an adult cheat sheet

free textbooks

alternatives to overpriced textbooks

openstax: free college textbooks

more college textbook pdfs

things i wish someone had told me when i was entering university

tips for living alone

adulting life hacks

10 angry college tips for incoming freshmen

tips for college freshmen

how to write emails to your professors

college tips and resources masterpost

Whew! It’s done. I might come back and update this occasionally, or maybe do a part two for the stuff I didn’t put in here. But wow… If only I spent this much time on my actual work?

I hope that was at least a little bit useful for you! If you have any suggestions, comments, questions, please feel free to send me an ask. 

Have a good day!!

[life-of-a-premed-student]

1/100 days of productivity So I'm going to do start doing this again because school got to me last time, and I desperately need to keep productive now that it's over. It'll still have studyblr components to it as I'm taking several free online courses to keep me sane and medical school applications are coming up again. I just went for a quick bike ride, and it seems like the rest of the day is going to involve cooking, cleaning up my room and the basement so I can have a nice, clean environment to work in and working on an assignment for CS50, an online computer science course that's offered for free by Harvard. Have a good day everyone!

#studyblr #1/100 #100 days of productivity #keeping busy #i swear I'll finish this time

[life-of-a-premed-student]

What are some good resources for studying anatomy? Like do you know any apps, good books, etc..

Ooooh I love this question! 

Let’s get down to business: 

1. The first thing is, you need a good book.

Anatomy is an ancient discipline  and there are tons of good books out there that you can use as a reference. In my case, I use Sobotta and Netter quite a lot, there are people who prefer Gray’s anatomy, which is pretty great too. I would recommend you Sobotta, the draws are clear and realistic, so it is really clarifying. I also use “Rouviére’s anatomy”, but I don’t know if that one is available in english, because I only found it in spanish. Anyway, that’s a pretty good book if you want good theory, but not for the illustrations. You’ll find any of these books in your university library. Undoubtedly, the best and quickest resource is Fenei’s anatomy book: 

As you can see, the illustrations are so neat and clear you can look everything up in a second, and everything’s marked with numbers so you can know what you’re looking at. It’s one of my favorites and is so small you can carry it anywhere (I always take it with me to university).  ♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎ You can buy the Feneis pocket atlas of human anatomy here: 

http://www.amazon.es/Pocket-Atlas-Human-Anatomy-Founded/dp/3135112055/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1402927667&sr=8-2&keywords=feneis

There’s also a book that I only found in spanish, but medical terms are really similar in different languages because they all come form the latin, so I don’t think you’ll have lots of problems, and anyway the best part about this book are the illustrations. It has more than 1000 pages and it only costs 35 euros!! You can look it up here: 

http://www.marbanlibros.com/libro.php?isbn=9788471018168

2. Draw. Anatomy is the most visual subject you’ll ever study, so draw, draw and draw everything you can. In my university, we need to buy a book called “Human anatomy in dissection planes”. I talked about this book in one of my posts (http://studylikeadoctor.tumblr.com/post/88657697174/as-promised-here-are-some-photographs-of-the) but this one is pretty expensive so just draw, because it will help you to memorize and understand everything. Draw flow charts of circulations, of muskuloskeletal systems, of nervous systems, of EVERYTHING. You have an example here: I drew the nervous apparatus of the heart. 

3. Use color-coding. When I have to study the muscles that are innervated by different nerves, I paint all the muscles of the same group with the same color. Use that technique for the different arteries and veins that come from the same main artery or vein too, for the nerve endings that innervate the same structures, etc.  

4. Quiz yourself. When I have to study anatomy, I print out blank images, with no names at all, and after studying I put the names of all the structures I can see in that diagram. That way I make sure I’ve understood everything and that I know what I’m talking about. Using blank diagrams and illustrations with no names is a good way of realizing what you’ve learnt and what you haven’t. 

5. Observe the bodies. I don’t know if your university offers it, but if you have the possibility of studying in a dissection room with real human bodies, observe everything. Touch the body, realize how differs the touch of veins and arteries and nerves, how ligaments and tendons are not the same… 

6. Here are some good apps: if you’re an android user, I’d check these ones out: 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hssn.anatomyfree&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDEsImNvbS5oc3NuLmFuYXRvbXlmcmVlIl0. 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.GoodwillEnterpriseDevelopment.Anatronica

However, if you’re an apple user like me, I’d recommend 3D 4 Medical apps. They’re so clear and interactive, those are my favorites: 

http://applications.3d4medical.com/essential_anatomy_3/ 

In this page you can also see images and animations, and the have apps for android users too!! 

http://www.pocketanatomy.com (this one is also great) 

To study the skull (which is the hardest thing ever), use this app: 

http://www.iso-form.com/skullviewer/ (ugh I love this one) 

7. Reason as much as you can. Use mnemonic devices. Anatomical names have the advantage of being really obvious, clever and reasonable. If the thyro-epiglotticus is called like that it’s because its origin and insertion points are the thyroid and the epiglottis cartilages. That simple. If you can’t remember which are the vases that arrive to a lymphatic ganglion and the ones who leave, remember the “Afferent vases” are the ones which “arrive”, and the “efferent” ones, are the exit point. See? I just made a simple relation with the initials that helps me memorizing things! 

8. OBSERVE. Seriously, I can’t recommend you this enough. Observe the human body. Observe diagrams, illustrations, human cadavers and human bodies in action. Analyze, understand, and then, you can memorize everything you study, but if you just go to the theory without observing and analyzing, you’ll be doomed. Learning anatomy is like learning a new language, so make it fun, live it, and you’ll learn it quicker than you think. 

[life-of-a-premed-student]

So I finally finished my Bachelors of Science in Biomedical science. It's so weird to be done. Most of my friends are moving back home and I'm not as busy as I normally am. I have no MCATs to study for, I'll be reapplying to med school this summer (I was wait listed and I'm still waiting to hear back) but even then, that won't pick up for a while, I'm volunteering at a couple of places but I'm no longer working in the lab... I'm just so confused and feel like I should be really busy this summer... Maybe I just don't know how to take a break?

#self #biomed #grad #confused #rant

[life-of-a-premed-student]

You from Toronto

Nope, Ottawa!

[life-of-a-premed-student]

Everyone needs to see this. 

What are the signs of emotional abuse?

Abusive Expectations - Makes impossible demands, requires constant attention, and constantly criticizes.

Aggressing - Name calling, accusing, blames, threatens or gives orders, and often disguised as a judgmental “I know best” or “helping” attitude.

Constant Chaos - Deliberately starts arguments with you or others. May treat you well in front of others, but changes when you’re alone.

Rejecting - Refusing to acknowledge a person’s value, worth or presence. Communicating that he or she is useless or inferior or devaluing his or her thoughts and feelings.

Denying - Denies personal needs (especially when need is greatest) with the intent of causing hurt or as punishment. Uses silent treatment as punishment. Denies certain events happened or things that were said. Denies your perceptions, memory and sanity by disallowing any viewpoints other than their own which causes self-doubt, confusion, and loss of self-esteem.

Degrading - Any behavior that diminishes the identity, worth or dignity of the person such as: name-calling, mocking, teasing, insulting, ridiculing,

Emotional Blackmail - Uses guilt, compassion, or fear to get what he or she wants.

Terrorizing - Inducing intense fear or terror in a person, by threats or coercion.

Invalidation - Attempts to distort your perception of the world by refusing to acknowledge your personal reality. Says that your emotions and perceptions aren’t real and shouldn’t be trusted.

Isolating - Reducing or restricting freedom and normal contact with others.

Corrupting - Convincing a person to accept and engage in illegal activities.

Exploiting - Using a person for advantage or profit.

Minimizing - A less extreme form of denial that trivializes something you’ve expressed as unimportant or inconsequential.

Unpredictable Responses - Gets angry and upset in a situation that would normally not warrant a response. You walk around on eggshells to avoid any unnecessary drama over innocent comments you make. Drastic mood swings and outbursts.

Gaslighting -A form of psychological abuse involving the manipulation of situations or events that cause a person to be confused or to doubt his perceptions and memories. Gaslighting causes victims to constantly second-guess themselves and wonder if they’re losing their minds.

Love, Salem

#important #abuse #emotional abuse

[life-of-a-premed-student]

Exams end at the end of April. 

#busy #student life #university #life-of-a-premed-student #This is what university does to you #funny

[life-of-a-premed-student]

You're going to do great things, even if it's not med school. I'm hoping your feelings from 4/2/16 aren't a constant thing. Here is something my supervisor said to me "why are you in this field? I'm not saying you're not going to be great at it but there are people in life who can do more and who have potential. And that's you". I'm passing this quote on to you. From an old friend

I’m constantly astounded by the kindness shown over the internet. Thanks so much for taking the time to message me, your supervisor was a smart guy. Today was a rough day too, but I’m doing better now, and this really helped. 

[life-of-a-premed-student]

36/100, 37/100, 38/100 [05/02/16, 06/02/16, 07/02/16]

So I’ve been busy busy busy (which is why I haven’t posted). So far this weekend I managed to get my first aid, AED and CPR certification, submit a couple of volunteer applications and finish my book for english, its been busy, but the real work begins tomorrow with more class and interview prep. 

#busy #studying #studyblr #premed #Biomed #fourth year #university

[life-of-a-premed-student]

Source

[life-of-a-premed-student]

35/100 [04/02/16]

its been a... day. Contacted some places for volunteering, registered for my first aid training and had a mental break down or two. I’m just stressed and slightly worried about my mental health, but I’ve been through much worse. I have back up plans in case of the (very likely) possibility that I’m not going to medical school next year, and I usually bounce back pretty well after days like today... all in the life of a premed student. Hope all of you had a decent day!

#35/100 days of productivity #100 days of productivity #stressed #premed #Biomed #studying #studyblr #university #fourth year

[life-of-a-premed-student]

Me this semester

@aliens .....wow now would be such a HORRIBLE time to get beamed up....i mean just the WORST......i mean i’ve got my LOCATION on.....it would be just AWFUL if y’all abducted me....