Also, you can add a comma here for comedic relief- Why, Cardiology?
Anyway, its just the best. I didn’t say this in interview season, but I am often amazed at how much I love this field and how cool I think it is.
Cardiology is one of the fields of internal medicine that is just so broad. Though people in residency made it seem like only one type of person goes into cardiology, I am pushing back against that, because it’s just not true.
July 1 is here! You’ve likely started your first job as a doctor and you are scared (petrified).
Some VERY normal questions that may be going through your mind…
How do I write notes again?
Where is the bathroom on this floor?
Will there be lunch at this lecture?
All of these were questions that were swirling through my mind as I entered my 3rd week of residency (recall that I had 2 weeks on night float to start out).
I have some practical things that I would share with myself if I could do it all over again.
During this fine black history month, your girl turned 30.
I, too, can’t believe it. It’s as if the perpetually “young” one can’t be called young anymore, technically.
I suddenly get to giggle when people card me.
I have a husband, a child, a mortgage, taxes, a couple gray hairs, extra letters behind my name, etc, etc.
I can now say to my child a variety of black mom phrases, including, but not limited to, “Don’t you see grown folks talking?”
In some seriousness, I do want to take some time and reflect on how I have had to let go of what the 16 year old me imagined 30 year old me to be like. I have been having a lot of convos with my friends about this transition, so thank you guys for processing this with me. That 16 year old Lise had a lot of expectations and she was pretty hard to please.
If I could talk to that young lady, I would probably tell her a couple of things about her future life.
So, thank you everyone for the birthday wishes! I had so much chocolate cake and got lovely flowers and spent time with people I love.
Love,
30 year old Lise
Microaggression- “a statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group such as a racial or ethnic minority.” (From Oxford Dictionary)
Before I took my graduation picture for medical school, the photographer said, “And what do you call that hairstyle? Do you need to fix your hair or something?”
I was wearing my hair in the puff that I had grown so fond of during my then 7 years of being natural. That day, my hair had made the most glorious puff in its own history.
This guy jumped in and made me feel small while I should have been celebrating one of the greatest achievements of my life.
2019 was a great year. I realize that I am saying that in the midst of Corona2020, when the world fell apart.
It was also the year that I adopted the phrase that is the title of this post. #ScrollLessReadMore
Back in 2018, I noticed how much time I was spending in my phone and not really getting any enjoyment from it. I know that I don’t look in my phone for anything but entertainment, but it really didn’t even do that for me. I was doing the zombie scroll and the time would just drift away from me. At some point, I asked myself, “If I was reading a book all the times I was scrolling through my phone, how many books would I be reading?” This led to me doing some strange things, like sitting in the ICU when I had a spare 5 minutes and reading, reading all day on my days off, and reading a book while walking. Hey, we do it all the time with our phones, right?
Continue reading “#ScrollLessReadMore”Who didn’t want to share this one? Me. I didn’t want to talk about it.
This one may come as a surprise to some of you, but I thought it was important to share about my struggle with depression.
This post is mostly for the current student doctors who will be residents next year (Or if you haven’t done orientation yet for this year). Congratulations in advance! This time is extremely busy with moving and all the random onboarding things that are required to start your first job as a doctor. Here are some things that helped me get through orientation without any snags.
Extras:
Hope this non-exhaustive list helps you! The general idea is just that it’s better to be safe rather than sorry and that you shouldn’t make some of the mistakes I did.
Love you guys,
Lise
As I reflect on my medical school matriculation, it is tempting to consider myself and say, “good job, Lise. You did that. You are now a doctor because of your hard work and intelligence.”
However, I know that thinking this would be a disservice to God who I felt gave me the idea to attend medical school, to become a physician. He is the one who sustained me throughout my time in school. He is the one who is responsible for the wonderful friends I have made and the mentors that I was blessed to find. He helped me pass my exams and he is the one who helped me match. He is teaching me, a baby healer, how to be like Him, the Great Healer. I am nothing without Him.
Keeping this truth in mind, I feel incredibly grateful for the opportunity that medical school was. It was a beautiful journey of stretching my limitations and shifting my viewpoints. I learned much about medicine and the nature of humans. I have also internalized the fact that I have much more to learn.
Thank you to every single person who encouraged me and prayed for me. Thank you to my husband, who made sure that I remembered what was most important. Thank you to my mother, my original inspiration to become a physician and my very first mentor. Thank you to the rest of my family who kept tabs on how I was doing and feeling through it all. Thank you to my friends, who reminded me that there are also exciting things that happen outside of the hospital.
In other news, I spent most the two weeks before graduation on opposite sides of the country. I was in both Panama City Beach and in the Bay Area of California. I spent a grand total of half a day in JXN in those two weeks and I love it because traveling. Yes.
Panama City Beach
First, we went to Panama City Beach with some of our friends (basically crashing their vacation) and below are some of the activities I enjoyed the most. We had been here before on our honeymoon and it was really cool to see it during its active season. Restaurants and attractions are mostly closed during the winter and open up right before spring break.
Saltwater Grill
Even now, I can’t stop thinking about this restaurant! EVERYONE at the table finished their food and it was all so delicious. The service was amazing and although our waiter was relatively new, he was extremely knowledgeable and attentive.
I had the Shrimp and Scallop Penne a la Vodka, which was a manageable portion, especially for someone like me who has trouble with the incredibly large portions that restaurants expect you to finish. After I devoured my food, I realized I would have eaten the entire large portion because it was just that good.
I have plans to bring one of my uncles to this restaurant one day because I know he will just adore the food and the service here.
Sunset Cruise
This cruise was low stress and came with a complimentary drink. We lounged on the deck and watched dolphins play around in the water, all while listening to “island music”.
The sun setting over the ocean from this perspective was breathtaking and well worth the money we spent to check it out.
First Watch
THIS RIGHT HERE. This place has become one of my favorite breakfast spots. Rome and I got a chance to check this place out for breakfast while he was in Omaha, and when Rome likes a restaurant, we go back multiple times. My favorite thing here is their freshly squeezed orange juice. I am not normally an orange juice fan, preferring apple as my juice of choice. However, I can’t exaggerate when I talk about how delicious and fresh this orange juice is. I have never tasted anything like it and I am going to be at every First Watch I can find, ordering this orange juice in a large and finishing off Rome’s if he isn’t quick enough. My mouth is watering just thinking about how delectable it is. Their food also is very fresh, offering a variety of organic options for those who are interested.
San Francisco/ Mountainview/Bay Area
Just so you know and so that you don’t make the same mistakes as I did, I was THAT tourist. You know, that tourist who is from Mississippi and assumes that it is blazing hot summer everywhere. Even better, the one who doesn’t check the weather of wherever we are traveling to. More like, the one who checks the weather then completely ignores it because surely, it can’t really be that cold.
Yeah, I did that. San Francisco is cold, y’all. Anyway, on to the touristy stuff we did.
Ghirardelli Square
We checked this one out first. It is a former chocolate factory that was made into a shopping center filled with mostly confectionary items. There are restaurants and bakeries and various shops that will make you want to dash your diet to pieces. You can smell the chocolate from a mile away. Your nose will lead you to tasty treats here. You also get your first view of the wharf from this square because San Fran is on a hill and has many hills within its hills. There’s no escaping the hills.
This is a view of Coit Memorial Tower from one of the streets.
Fisherman’s Wharf
This is totally a tourist area. We walked up and down the wharf a couple of times, which is mostly a street filled with seafood restaurants that may or may not have some good things to offer. Chowder in breadbowls was one of my most commonly seen menu items. There are also a couple of tourist stores in this area if you’re looking for an I <3 San Francisco shirt. There are literally tons of people just milling about down here going to all the restaurants. We had some really fresh seafood off of one of the street vendors down here and then later on we came back to check out In and Out Burger because you can’t go to California without going to In and Out.
From the wharf, you can get a great view of Alcatraz island, which hosts the now-closed famous prison surrounded by water.
Union Square
This area contains a beautiful monument (The Dewey Memorial) in the center of a large shopping area. There is a mall a couple of blocks down from the monument and there are stores completely surrounding the place.
We went to Daily Grill close to the square for lunch and did a lot of window shopping and walking around in this area (I got my 20,000 steps this day). Rome has a story he likes to tell about the water I ordered at Daily Grill that was the most delicious water ever and costed 9 bucks. Lise Lise has accidental expensive taste.
San Francisco Zoo
Rome makes a point to go to zoos in almost every place we visit, if they have one. He likes to compare them to the D.C. zoo, which he grew up frequenting with his family. No zoo ever compares to the D.C. zoo for him, but he still gives other zoos a chance.
The San Francisco Zoo boasts graceful giraffes, zebras, lions, tigers, grizzly bears, African birds, an insect area, monkeys and chimpanzees. I think my favorite thing about this zoo was the Rainforest area. It is likely my favorite because we couldn’t find it and had to go on a scavenger hunt to find this area. When we got there, it was a pleasant 80 degrees inside the building (a respite from the windy, freezing zoo). The birds in this area are unrestrained for the most part and are close enough to touch. If I had any artistic ability whatsoever, I would have taken the time to sketch them and then I would have painted the vivid plumes adorning the birds I saw in this rainforest.
My most recent traveling adventure is not traveling at all but moving. I have officially moved to NJ and am trying my best to adult. I don’t know how my college classmates have been doing this for 4 years while I was still in school. I’m trying to be like you guys 😉
Talk to you soon!
Lise
Before I got to college, I knew that I wanted to become a doctor. I just wasn’t aware of all the time and effort it would take to complete this journey to MD.
Disclaimer about this post: I am going to forever keep it real with you guys. I am not afraid to share my failures in hopes that someone else can learn from them. I can’t pretend to be perfect.
I went to college with a goal in mind, but I didn’t attack my classes and my life in general as a future physician would. I pretended as if I didn’t already know my weaknesses (Hey Math, I’m looking at you). Flailing around and hoping for the best was my mode of operation because I was brilliant, right? Answer: no, Lise is not brilliant, and even if she was, I don’t know that it would have helped her.
Some things I wish I had done:
I was taking some of the hardest classes on campus, yet I thought I would be able to keep up with the same apathetic high school class work effort. I went to all my classes, but I didn’t go to them prepared. I wasn’t focused and I essentially went as if I was going to watch a rom-com. I did this every day for an entire semester! You would think I would have learned sometime in the middle that I needed to get my life, and quickly, but no.
I didn’t keep in mind that I was LEARNING a lot of this stuff for the first time. In high school, I was just memorizing facts that I knew would be on an exam. It came easily to me then, so I thought it would come easily to me this time around.
This was a completely different ball game. “You mean anything is fair game? Even if we didn’t talk about it in class? So you don’t have to use the questions that you gave us on the study guide? There is a book associated with this class?”, were all questions that went through my head as I drowned in my first semester. I learned later that all this information I was avoiding learning would be resurrected when I was studying for the MCAT.
Why is this even important, Analise? Because when these topics showed up again on the MCAT, I wasn’t prepared. As much as I hate to admit it, I should have been taking notes and learning like I wanted to be able to REVIEW (instead of truly learn it the first time) it to prepare for this exam.
I had MCAT prep classes, I did the studying. However, if I had studied for the MCAT as I have studied for STEP 1 and STEP 2, it would have made a huge difference in my score (Hindsight is always 20/20 right?). This just means that when I studied for the MCAT, that was supposed to be my job. I was supposed to set a schedule and have a plan, but that is not how it went. I was haphazardly studying here and there, getting distracted then coming back to it, and wasting time and then wondering where it went… and then I took the test. That is not how I succeed in life, I’ve learned.
I could have taken the time to delve deep into my studying and given myself the freedom to put everything else on hold for that short time.
I knew that there was no way to simulate the situation that is medical school. I was told this many times before I started school, and now that I have almost finished school (Yay, 2 weeks away!), I completely agree. There is no reason to try and simulate it, nor do I think any simulation will be accurate.
However, I do think that having a plan when beginning matriculation is invaluable to success. This is especially important in the beginning when we learned so much, so fast. I simply didn’t have time to sit and think about how I was going to study. My study style changed when I went through the different classes and years, but the tried and true methods were good places to start.
The way that I studied for the MCAT was an excellent way to start off with studying.
I wish that I had taken organization seriously! After my first year in college, I realized that my same methods that I employed in high school would still work, I just needed to make fit my schedule more. I started doing them and didn’t look back. If I had employed these methods in my first year, I would have been less dazed and confused and more prepared.
Love you guys and hope this helps!
Lise
“You are always so busy!”
“How do you even have time to be here right now?”
“I feel like you are about to rush off somewhere to doctor on someone!”
These are just a few of the many quotes I got during my stint in medical school. Yes, medical students are extremely busy. We are always studying, learning how to be a doctor, or asleep.
The things that my friends, husband, or family members did to encourage me made me feel like a human again after all the studying. These are some of the things I loved.
Encouraging texts/calls. Even though I didn’t respond within normal-person timeframes, seeing these and knowing that my friends were thinking about me energized me to complete my next task. There are a number of rough days that I had that were made bearable by the kind and encouraging texts that I got from my friends (I guess this has to do with my Words of Affirmation love language). The texts contained scripture, encouraging words, or simple messages of love and changed the tone of my entire day.
Understanding if “something comes up”– I frequently tried to estimate when I would be leaving the hospital and was quickly reminded of why I was not a math major. I was COMPLETELY WRONG. I said things like, “Oh at 5 pm we can go grab coffee,” and then I wouldn’t leave the hospital till 9 pm because “something came up”. Real things would come up, too! If a patient was dying, I couldn’t just say, “Oh you guys got this? I have a coffee date with someone, see you tomorrow!”
This one really bothered me because I valued the time that I got to spend with my friends/family and it was sad when I had to cancel plans with them. Because of the wonderful friends I have, they were understanding and we would just take a raincheck.
Coming with me to random medical school functions that have nothing to do with you. I wanted to take part in everything that my medical school had to offer, so I had to attend at least SOME of the parties for students. My husband was a champion for this one. He was at EVERYTHING. He loved being there and was always engaged. This meant the world to me and was another way for us to spend quality time together.
Make adjustments to align our schedules. Once my friends got the hang of what the medical students were doing and when, we worked our schedules accordingly to fit each other in. For instance, on some rotations, lunch is from 12-1. Rome would sometimes come and pick me up from the hospital as soon as I was released for lunch and we would go somewhere and spend time with each other and eat. Another time, during my preclinical years, a friend of mine came up to the hospital and we grabbed some food in the hospital. We adjusted our schedules so we could meet up and spend some time catching up with each other.
Honestly, if you are taking the time to read this post and think through how best you can support and be there for your friend/significant other during a time that is arguably the hardest in their life, you are already a step in the right direction. Anything you do from here will be greatly appreciated by them, even if they don’t verbalize it.
Love you guys!
Lise