Finally after 4 crazy years, I'm Dr. Carina Cheung. Until this day, I still don't really respond when people called my Dr. Cheung. It takes me a bit to go Oh! That's me. It was great to see my Aunt and Uncle whom I haven't seen for years. I got to see my silly cousin and his wife too. It's always great to get to see family.
Everything before graduation went smoothlyg. The financial aid session was mindboggling in that I have too much debt and there are too much info to process to find the best way to pay off the debt. AHHH!! Had a good time catching up with everyone in class. It's been almost 2 years since we've seen each other and it was good times. There are so many new babies. I'm guessing our class now have about 50+ kids. It was great seeing the girls from CMDA and see how our lives are. We had a class party and a white coat bonfire. Too funny.
The only glitch was the my family's flights were delayed and missed their connection but thank the Lord! He made it happen so they can get on the later flight and arrive a couple hours of later than planned.
None of the I'm a doctor mindset hit me until we recite our Hippocratic oath. That's when I realize that I'm really going to be responsible for people's lives now come July 1st. I'm still trying to process that thought. Who knows when I will fully wrap my head around that thought? The one thing that I have no trouble with is that God has made all this happen. Without Him, I would not be where I am today. Now just waiting for my next adventure... Cleveland Clinic ...
Showing posts with label Med School. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Med School. Show all posts
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Uganda
I am excited. Can't wait ... Thurs I'll be embarking on my trip to Uganda doing my last medical school rotation. After that, when I come back, I'll be waiting for my degree and be officially a doctor. No more playing doctor. Wonder what my next adventure will hold.
My adventure in Uganda will on the following blog as it is part of the organization that I'm doing my international rotation with. I don't think I'll try double blogging. Too lazy. Hopefully I won't get into something way over my head. I'll update as much as I can when I'm there, but definitely when I'm back.
INMED Blog - Uganda
I'm glad that I have finally found an apartment in Cleveland, OH before I leave. That's one less thing for me to fuss and cram/stress about when I come back. Now I just have to wait for the final word at my apt complex.
My adventure in Uganda will on the following blog as it is part of the organization that I'm doing my international rotation with. I don't think I'll try double blogging. Too lazy. Hopefully I won't get into something way over my head. I'll update as much as I can when I'm there, but definitely when I'm back.
INMED Blog - Uganda
I'm glad that I have finally found an apartment in Cleveland, OH before I leave. That's one less thing for me to fuss and cram/stress about when I come back. Now I just have to wait for the final word at my apt complex.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Senoritis
It's the home stretch of the end of my med school training. Graduation is 5/15 and my international elective is coming up. I have a hard time motivating myself to get to work. Also, once I get to the hospital, I keeping wanting the day to be over as soon as possible. I'm on Peds EM this month at St Joseph's. It's actually a pretty good rotation and I am glad that I don't have to go in every day. I have a grand total of 15 12hr shifts. During my shifts I was able to get the required reading done for my Uganda rotation and able to chat with other 3rd and 4th years that are rotating at the same time. For most of my shifts, the 4th years take a long lunch breaks about 1.5 - 2 hr long. haha. Anything to shorten our workload.
What a difference between 3rd and 4th year. As a 3rd year, we are doing everything we can to get the good eval and possible letter. We needed to impress our attending and want to see everything that comes in. Now as a 4th, we know what we needed to do to just get by. What an amazing difference.
I have more time to go over and over my ranking list and the order of all the programs.
What a difference between 3rd and 4th year. As a 3rd year, we are doing everything we can to get the good eval and possible letter. We needed to impress our attending and want to see everything that comes in. Now as a 4th, we know what we needed to do to just get by. What an amazing difference.
I have more time to go over and over my ranking list and the order of all the programs.
Friday, November 20, 2009
UW
Loved Seattle. Very much like SF but not too city like. It just turned cold when I got there. I felt that it was even colder than the East Coast. There's even decent public transit. But I'm not sure if West Coast is for me anymore. When I first arrived, I was thinking that it feels strange to be back on the West Coast and I'm not sure if I can fit in anymore with the lifestyle. The sad thing was I've only been away for a little over 3 years.
UW is great but I felt it was a little too intense. I would say it was a little more intense than any of my other anes rotation. There's lectures to go early in the morning and pbld once a week in the afternoon. The attendings there were from all over the world so it was sort of fun guessing where they are from. The attendings really like to teach and they do pimp a bit but nothing crazy. The residents there seem to be happy but definitely busy and some of them look tired. I ended up interviewing there before I left. I was told by the last year's chief that sometimes the people who rotated there seem to fall through the crack so he helped me talk to about giving an interview before I leave.
My fav part was that a couple of residents talked about their international trips that counted as an elective as CA3 and that the faculty help them set it up. It all seems to be good but my gut is telling me that it's not my perfect fit. I would be perfectly happy here but I just felt that there are more out there.
UW is great but I felt it was a little too intense. I would say it was a little more intense than any of my other anes rotation. There's lectures to go early in the morning and pbld once a week in the afternoon. The attendings there were from all over the world so it was sort of fun guessing where they are from. The attendings really like to teach and they do pimp a bit but nothing crazy. The residents there seem to be happy but definitely busy and some of them look tired. I ended up interviewing there before I left. I was told by the last year's chief that sometimes the people who rotated there seem to fall through the crack so he helped me talk to about giving an interview before I leave.
My fav part was that a couple of residents talked about their international trips that counted as an elective as CA3 and that the faculty help them set it up. It all seems to be good but my gut is telling me that it's not my perfect fit. I would be perfectly happy here but I just felt that there are more out there.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
TJU
Spent a month at TJU in Philly. Loved the area, totally wouldn't mind living there. Lots to do and see and my fav, public transit. Totally no need for cars but parking is super duper expensive.
Jefferson is a good solid program for the residents but really doesn't care for the students. I didn't really know what to expect and by the end of month, the other girls and I ended up trying to see when we can leave and not to show up. The residents seem very happy and love what they are doing there. They claimed that it's the most benign program in the city despite their increasing case loads. The lectures are on Tues and Thurs early am and Wed afternoon for boards prep. Grand rounds is on Thurs morn after lecture.
Faculty will teach only if you ask questions but the relationship between faculty and residents seem to be open and friendly. Everyone knows each other and get along well. They also got lots of toys to play with. Attendings semem to be open about what and when to use or try what. They also sent more than half of the residents to ASA, mostly on presentations. More than happy to work with the residents to get papers/presentations out.
Jefferson is a good solid program for the residents but really doesn't care for the students. I didn't really know what to expect and by the end of month, the other girls and I ended up trying to see when we can leave and not to show up. The residents seem very happy and love what they are doing there. They claimed that it's the most benign program in the city despite their increasing case loads. The lectures are on Tues and Thurs early am and Wed afternoon for boards prep. Grand rounds is on Thurs morn after lecture.
Faculty will teach only if you ask questions but the relationship between faculty and residents seem to be open and friendly. Everyone knows each other and get along well. They also got lots of toys to play with. Attendings semem to be open about what and when to use or try what. They also sent more than half of the residents to ASA, mostly on presentations. More than happy to work with the residents to get papers/presentations out.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Cleveland Clinic
SICU ... completed ... next Thomas Jefferson Univ (anesthesiology).
All I can say, the Clinic is amazing. I had a great time there and it's one of my top programs right now. The residents there are great, very laid back, not too stress. The attendings love to teach and very resident friendly.
The caseloads are huge but then it's the clinic so it gets a ton of zebras cases. Residents definitely finish there with solid abilities in handling pretty much any type of cases. There's no lack for any type of cases. Their call schedule seems decent even in the SICU. SICU depends on the number of residents there for the month. The craziest week was Q3-4.
Didactic was good. Nothing really spectacular. 1 hr/week for each class, going over the relative topic and 1 hr/ week for every one. The rest is rotation dependent. SICU has lectures Mon and Tues for 1 hr and journal club on Wed. Otherwise, it's a lot of your own initiative and learn on your own.
The only thing I really had an issue with was the size. I keep getting lost around the clinic even by the end of the month. The clinic covers about 4 block square all connected and some more on the periphery. It almost felt like a mini medical city.
I've surprised myself in really liking it and enjoying it. I was kinda uncertain about it being in the midwest and knowing that I'm not really a midwest kind of a gal. So this has gone up on my list.
All I can say, the Clinic is amazing. I had a great time there and it's one of my top programs right now. The residents there are great, very laid back, not too stress. The attendings love to teach and very resident friendly.
The caseloads are huge but then it's the clinic so it gets a ton of zebras cases. Residents definitely finish there with solid abilities in handling pretty much any type of cases. There's no lack for any type of cases. Their call schedule seems decent even in the SICU. SICU depends on the number of residents there for the month. The craziest week was Q3-4.
Didactic was good. Nothing really spectacular. 1 hr/week for each class, going over the relative topic and 1 hr/ week for every one. The rest is rotation dependent. SICU has lectures Mon and Tues for 1 hr and journal club on Wed. Otherwise, it's a lot of your own initiative and learn on your own.
The only thing I really had an issue with was the size. I keep getting lost around the clinic even by the end of the month. The clinic covers about 4 block square all connected and some more on the periphery. It almost felt like a mini medical city.
I've surprised myself in really liking it and enjoying it. I was kinda uncertain about it being in the midwest and knowing that I'm not really a midwest kind of a gal. So this has gone up on my list.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Passed !!
PE ... passed
Officially done with boards and can graduate with a DO degree and not have to worry about step 3 for another year or so.
Officially done with boards and can graduate with a DO degree and not have to worry about step 3 for another year or so.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
West Side Market
Per my good friend Kirstin, I had to visit the West Side Market. It's an indoor farmers market. The fresh produce is on the perimeter and the inner block was the meat, bakery, seafood and ready made food stalls. It's absolutely wonderful. There's so much that I didn't know where to start. I ended up roaming around and repeated some of the stops that I have made. They gots lots of good Italian food and pastries. They all looked to die for. There's an awesome gyro stall and the regular gyro was huge. It was enough for my lunch/dinner. There are even some Asian fruits that I would only expect to have in the Asian market. I'm very impressed by them.
It's definitely an experience and would love to go again if I'm back.
It's definitely an experience and would love to go again if I'm back.
Sunday, September 06, 2009
Home Away from Home
Chinese Cleveland Church. That's where I went to church today. It's also where I realized that I will always have a home no matter where I go because my home with God. It really gave me a warm feeling while I was sitting at the pew.
The sermon was good and very applicable despite the pastor being a little monotone. I don't mind it at all because it was a good reminder of what my purpose in life was. The people was great as well. I was immediately drawn in with the medical people, whether docs, res or med students.
I totally don't mind making this my home if I come to Cleveland.
The sermon was good and very applicable despite the pastor being a little monotone. I don't mind it at all because it was a good reminder of what my purpose in life was. The people was great as well. I was immediately drawn in with the medical people, whether docs, res or med students.
I totally don't mind making this my home if I come to Cleveland.
Friday, August 28, 2009
UTSW
Today, officially done with my anesthesia rotation at UTSW. The month have flown by and it was a really good experience. There was definitely a lot of getting to meet the right people and showcasing myself so that I won't look like an idiot. I definitely felt like I had to be on my toes a bit even though the attendings didn't pimp as much as I thought they would.
Overall, the program is very solid. The residents definitely get to do a lot and see a variety of cases. They rotate through 5 different hospital throughout Dallas and get to see how each hospital run the anesthesia department. I get the impression that once finish, the residents are very well clinically trained. Research wise, I know it's there but I just didn't get the feeling that it's heavily emphasized. Perhaps they just don't showcase that aspect to the students.
The didactic portion is good. It's mostly online and they expect the residents read the short blurp on the topic of the day and read up the case of the week and discuss them with the attendings. There's weekly conference and other lectures depending on the service the residents are on. The program is definitely more self motivated and less structured on lectures.
I would totally come here in a heart beat. The staff is great and there's really good relationship among the residents and the staff.
Overall, the program is very solid. The residents definitely get to do a lot and see a variety of cases. They rotate through 5 different hospital throughout Dallas and get to see how each hospital run the anesthesia department. I get the impression that once finish, the residents are very well clinically trained. Research wise, I know it's there but I just didn't get the feeling that it's heavily emphasized. Perhaps they just don't showcase that aspect to the students.
The didactic portion is good. It's mostly online and they expect the residents read the short blurp on the topic of the day and read up the case of the week and discuss them with the attendings. There's weekly conference and other lectures depending on the service the residents are on. The program is definitely more self motivated and less structured on lectures.
I would totally come here in a heart beat. The staff is great and there's really good relationship among the residents and the staff.
Monday, August 17, 2009
JFK
Saturday, Wei and I went to JFK museum in Dallas, basically to see the history of JFK's assasination. The museum was full of the his life and family stories and his political career up to his assasination and the aftermath. I felt that the museum did a really good job in transforming the building where the shots were fired into a walk through history showing what happened at the time and how the case was pieced together by the technology of the time.
I thought it was interesting in how the city preserved the "X" that marks the spot where JFK was shot. The city paints it every year to keep it visible from the 6th floor of the museum. Then the museum keeps the same box arrangement where the assasin was. It really give the sense of you being there and being able to piece together yourself what happened.
The aftermath was also talked about as well. I don't remember much but what sticks out was the fact that not only the people loved and mourned JFK but even the politics afterwards were still following what he dreamt of. It was just amazing to me that a president was so loved that he made an incredible impact during his interrupted reign.
It was through the museum that I get know some history of Parkland Memorial Hospital, place where I'm rotating through. I'm glad that I visited the museum, now I can put a place in mind regarding this incredibly sad history of US.
I thought it was interesting in how the city preserved the "X" that marks the spot where JFK was shot. The city paints it every year to keep it visible from the 6th floor of the museum. Then the museum keeps the same box arrangement where the assasin was. It really give the sense of you being there and being able to piece together yourself what happened.
The aftermath was also talked about as well. I don't remember much but what sticks out was the fact that not only the people loved and mourned JFK but even the politics afterwards were still following what he dreamt of. It was just amazing to me that a president was so loved that he made an incredible impact during his interrupted reign.
It was through the museum that I get know some history of Parkland Memorial Hospital, place where I'm rotating through. I'm glad that I visited the museum, now I can put a place in mind regarding this incredibly sad history of US.
Monday, August 10, 2009
18 mos break of Boards!!!
Got my scores back and now just waiting for my PE scores.
CK - 217/89
CE - 524/84
Funny thing happened, my scores flipped flop from step 1. I actually did better in USMLE than COMLEX. That tells you something about COMLEX. Slightly disappointed with COMLEX but from studentdoctor forum, it seems like most people dropped on CE. I didn't have too big of a drop but I was hoping to be about the same or higher. Oh well. I did hope to break the 220s on the CK but any improvement from Step 1 I'll take. I think by the end of my studying time, I just got really tired and just want to get it over with. What's done is done. Now I can only hope for the best for the match.
Now I get to have a break from boards until step 3 during my PGY 1 year. Yea!!
CK - 217/89
CE - 524/84
Funny thing happened, my scores flipped flop from step 1. I actually did better in USMLE than COMLEX. That tells you something about COMLEX. Slightly disappointed with COMLEX but from studentdoctor forum, it seems like most people dropped on CE. I didn't have too big of a drop but I was hoping to be about the same or higher. Oh well. I did hope to break the 220s on the CK but any improvement from Step 1 I'll take. I think by the end of my studying time, I just got really tired and just want to get it over with. What's done is done. Now I can only hope for the best for the match.
Now I get to have a break from boards until step 3 during my PGY 1 year. Yea!!
Friday, August 07, 2009
Jorg's Vienna Cafe & Dallas
First week in UTSW Anesthesia -- complete.
Anyways, I'm staying with my cousin Wei in Plano, TX about 25min from Dallas. Plano is an old and new suburban city. Wei lives near the old downtown area. The Vienna Cafe was spotted on my way home and Wei also saw it too. So we decided to try it and see. I have never had any Austrian / German food so this is a first for me. For Wei, this is to compare to what he had when was living in Germany.
The food was ok to me since I didn't realize that Austrian food mostly consist of "wurst" (sausage), suaerkraut, and cold potato salad. The sausage part wasn't bad, it's just a little too much meat for me. The sauerkraut is good. The interesting part is the potato salad. It's not a salad where there's potato chunks, it's more like mashed potatoes but with dressing. All I can say is interesting. Wei said that it's actually very close, but not as good as the real thing. This is a maybe try again category.
Dallas in general is hot. I'm not used to the 100's degree since I have left Sacramento more than 7 yrs ago. I'm still trying to get use to the heat. Anyways, the rotation is set up like radiology rotation where it starts early but ends by noon after the lecture. People interested in Anesthesia stay later. We rotate through 2 hospitals, Parkland Memorial and Zale University. The residents rotate through 5 hospitals throughout Dallas as UTSW is the only anesthesia program in Dallas. So far, it seems like there's pretty good system set up where the residents do their own learning on the own time and there are short reading for each day to trigger more in-depth discussion with the attendings. The attendings are very willing to teach. There's definitely heavy case loads but there seems to relief from the CRNA around 3-4pm unless there are just too many cases going on. Calls seem to be Q4d. So far so good.
Anyways, I'm staying with my cousin Wei in Plano, TX about 25min from Dallas. Plano is an old and new suburban city. Wei lives near the old downtown area. The Vienna Cafe was spotted on my way home and Wei also saw it too. So we decided to try it and see. I have never had any Austrian / German food so this is a first for me. For Wei, this is to compare to what he had when was living in Germany.
The food was ok to me since I didn't realize that Austrian food mostly consist of "wurst" (sausage), suaerkraut, and cold potato salad. The sausage part wasn't bad, it's just a little too much meat for me. The sauerkraut is good. The interesting part is the potato salad. It's not a salad where there's potato chunks, it's more like mashed potatoes but with dressing. All I can say is interesting. Wei said that it's actually very close, but not as good as the real thing. This is a maybe try again category.
Dallas in general is hot. I'm not used to the 100's degree since I have left Sacramento more than 7 yrs ago. I'm still trying to get use to the heat. Anyways, the rotation is set up like radiology rotation where it starts early but ends by noon after the lecture. People interested in Anesthesia stay later. We rotate through 2 hospitals, Parkland Memorial and Zale University. The residents rotate through 5 hospitals throughout Dallas as UTSW is the only anesthesia program in Dallas. So far, it seems like there's pretty good system set up where the residents do their own learning on the own time and there are short reading for each day to trigger more in-depth discussion with the attendings. The attendings are very willing to teach. There's definitely heavy case loads but there seems to relief from the CRNA around 3-4pm unless there are just too many cases going on. Calls seem to be Q4d. So far so good.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Step 2 Studying
I allotted about 5 weeks for the studying. I started halfway through my ER rotation at Morristown Memorial where I was required to do only 11 shifts. So I did majority of them in the beginning and left with 5 for the last half, which left me quite a bit of time to read. I finished reading Crush Step 2 during the time. After the rotation, I started Nephrology for 2 weeks which was only half days at St Michael's Medical Center. During the 2 weeks, I did USMLEWorld, any where from 2-3 sections a day during the weekdays and on the weekends around 3-4 sections a day. For those 2 weeks, I finished about 75% of USMLEWorld. I then took 2 weeks off to finish studying and take COMLEX CE on 7/7, USMLE and COMLEX Step 2 on 7/11 and 7/16. By the time I took USMLE, I finished 90% of USMLEWorld. I then signed up for COMBANK for the last 5 days before COMLEX Step 2. For COMBANK, I had less than 100 questions left by the time I took COMLEX Step 2.
I didn't really studied hardcore until my Nephrology rotation, starting the qbanks. As I was doing the qbanks, I would go over the right and worng answers and add the information that I didn't remember to Crush. Then for about 2 hrs before bed time, I would re-read Crush. I think by the end, I have read Crush twice. Overall, I would say, I spent about 3 weeks in studying.
The materials I used:
Boards and Wards (throughout the year)
Step Up Medicine (throughout the year)
Crush Step 2
USMLEWorld
COMBANK
COMLEX Review: Clinical Anatomy and OMM
Statistics:
Comprehensive Core Shelf: 66% (before starting to study)
USMLEWorld: started 40% and ended with 56 to 65%, overall avg 54%
NBME 2008 free questions: 80% (I think. I don't remember exact score)
COMBANK: started 60% and ended with 74%, overall avg 68%
Now, wait and see how the studying compares to score.
I didn't really studied hardcore until my Nephrology rotation, starting the qbanks. As I was doing the qbanks, I would go over the right and worng answers and add the information that I didn't remember to Crush. Then for about 2 hrs before bed time, I would re-read Crush. I think by the end, I have read Crush twice. Overall, I would say, I spent about 3 weeks in studying.
The materials I used:
Boards and Wards (throughout the year)
Step Up Medicine (throughout the year)
Crush Step 2
USMLEWorld
COMBANK
COMLEX Review: Clinical Anatomy and OMM
Statistics:
Comprehensive Core Shelf: 66% (before starting to study)
USMLEWorld: started 40% and ended with 56 to 65%, overall avg 54%
NBME 2008 free questions: 80% (I think. I don't remember exact score)
COMBANK: started 60% and ended with 74%, overall avg 68%
Now, wait and see how the studying compares to score.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Step 2 CE
Finally done ... hopefully won't have to worry about the next step for another 12-18 months or so.
The day started at 8am and I finished around 4:30pm. I finished the test about 30 min early. I could have finished early but I needed more time for the afternoon session since I tend to have a harder time in the afternoon.
Anyways, the test is so frustrating. I don't what is it about COMLEX that gets everyone I know very frustrated. This year is the medical ethics and law. There were so many of them that I don't really know how to answer them. The frustrating thing about the questions is that they gave minimal information and expects you to figure out what they want and answer the questions. I find the individual questions harder to figure out and answer. The linked questions felt more reasonable, may be because they let you go back and forth within the linked questions. The diagnosis for those questions were easier to distinguish.
There were definitely quite a bit of OB, not as much peds as I was expecting. Definitely there were questions about management and the next diagnostic steps. The OMM were not as crazy as Step 1, maybe they figured out it's better to test the practical aspect of OMM instead of the obscurities. I felt that Boards and Wards was very helpful in that aspect. I used the COMLEX Review: Clinical Anatomy and OMM for the OMM portion of the test. It's the same book that I used for Step 1. This book also has the sections for each individual specialty as well. COMBANK was helpful in that it helps me in changing my thinking from USMLE to COMLEX.
Again, I'm now hoping for the best and hope that the score is better than my Step 1.
The prep post to come after my trip to SF for a family weekend.
The day started at 8am and I finished around 4:30pm. I finished the test about 30 min early. I could have finished early but I needed more time for the afternoon session since I tend to have a harder time in the afternoon.
Anyways, the test is so frustrating. I don't what is it about COMLEX that gets everyone I know very frustrated. This year is the medical ethics and law. There were so many of them that I don't really know how to answer them. The frustrating thing about the questions is that they gave minimal information and expects you to figure out what they want and answer the questions. I find the individual questions harder to figure out and answer. The linked questions felt more reasonable, may be because they let you go back and forth within the linked questions. The diagnosis for those questions were easier to distinguish.
There were definitely quite a bit of OB, not as much peds as I was expecting. Definitely there were questions about management and the next diagnostic steps. The OMM were not as crazy as Step 1, maybe they figured out it's better to test the practical aspect of OMM instead of the obscurities. I felt that Boards and Wards was very helpful in that aspect. I used the COMLEX Review: Clinical Anatomy and OMM for the OMM portion of the test. It's the same book that I used for Step 1. This book also has the sections for each individual specialty as well. COMBANK was helpful in that it helps me in changing my thinking from USMLE to COMLEX.
Again, I'm now hoping for the best and hope that the score is better than my Step 1.
The prep post to come after my trip to SF for a family weekend.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Step 2 CK
Just took CK ... boy was that draining. It was a long test and definitely test your stamina on top of medical knowledge. The questions were detailed and the format very similar to the USMLE World. I truly think that UW is golden. I felt that there were quite a few repeats but I really don't remember. I'm so tired that by the last 2 sections, I was so tempted to just go through it and just be done but I forced myself to checked all the flagged questions and keep my concentration.
I can't really say which area was more focused on, just that they are fairly well distributed. I can't say which was easier, UW or CK. I felt that on some section CK was super hard and others were much easier. There are definitely a few questions that tested like Step 1, asking the pharmacokinetics of drugs and microbiology. There might be others but I don't remember now. I truly think that the computer has an algorithm where depending on the percent correct on previous section, it will pull together a certain level of question for the next section. I could totally be paranoid but the dificulty really varied.
Now, I'll just have to wait for the score to come back. I'm really hoping for 220s but anything above my Step 1, I'll take. I totally panicked and stressed out about 3 days before the test, knowing that I really need to score well in order to compensate somewhat for Step 1 and to apply for anesthesiology. So I'm hoping for the best now.
I can't really say which area was more focused on, just that they are fairly well distributed. I can't say which was easier, UW or CK. I felt that on some section CK was super hard and others were much easier. There are definitely a few questions that tested like Step 1, asking the pharmacokinetics of drugs and microbiology. There might be others but I don't remember now. I truly think that the computer has an algorithm where depending on the percent correct on previous section, it will pull together a certain level of question for the next section. I could totally be paranoid but the dificulty really varied.
Now, I'll just have to wait for the score to come back. I'm really hoping for 220s but anything above my Step 1, I'll take. I totally panicked and stressed out about 3 days before the test, knowing that I really need to score well in order to compensate somewhat for Step 1 and to apply for anesthesiology. So I'm hoping for the best now.
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
COMLEX PE
Just finished with PE, drove into Philly the day before and back right after the test. Day started early around 7:30am and ended around 3pm. Test really starts at 8am but they wanted us there 30min before just for paperwork, ID pic and orientation. The real test didn't start until 9am. All that waiting time. ::sigh:: it's NBOME. Definitely take the AM session if you are used to the EST but think about the PM session if from the PST. I have been in NJ for the past year so it was no big deal but another guy from my class has been in AZ for OMS III was complaining about being a bit jet lagged. Take your pick.
The whole day consist of seeing 12 patients and writing each of the SOAP notes. The schedule is break into groups of 4 and then lunch/break. They provide decent lunch and have vegetarian option as well. So I was surprised, totally did not expect that. I was good in the beginning in the sense that I was fairly thorough for every case. But about halfway through, I was starting to get tired so my time with the patient were shorter and shorter. I think by the end of the day, I was probably with the patient somewhere between 5-8mins, just enough to get the information to write the notes and diagnosis.
Each of the patient encounters includes history, physical, answering the patient questions and giving tentative diagnosis and what to expect. There are a couple that requires OMM. So it wasn't what I expected where I have to do OMM for every patient. The cases are very common and can be easily picked up.
The most ridiculously part of the day is that the whole day is run by a voice over the intercom. "Begin encounter ..." "You have 2 minutes remaining..." Also you can get up if you finished the notes early. I actually like the setup. You have 23 min for both the patient encounter and the notes but a max of 14 min with patient. Our school's standardized patients and OMS testing closely mock the test. So I felt fairly prepared. The only thing I can say is that it is long and definitely need stamina.
The whole day consist of seeing 12 patients and writing each of the SOAP notes. The schedule is break into groups of 4 and then lunch/break. They provide decent lunch and have vegetarian option as well. So I was surprised, totally did not expect that. I was good in the beginning in the sense that I was fairly thorough for every case. But about halfway through, I was starting to get tired so my time with the patient were shorter and shorter. I think by the end of the day, I was probably with the patient somewhere between 5-8mins, just enough to get the information to write the notes and diagnosis.
Each of the patient encounters includes history, physical, answering the patient questions and giving tentative diagnosis and what to expect. There are a couple that requires OMM. So it wasn't what I expected where I have to do OMM for every patient. The cases are very common and can be easily picked up.
The most ridiculously part of the day is that the whole day is run by a voice over the intercom. "Begin encounter ..." "You have 2 minutes remaining..." Also you can get up if you finished the notes early. I actually like the setup. You have 23 min for both the patient encounter and the notes but a max of 14 min with patient. Our school's standardized patients and OMS testing closely mock the test. So I felt fairly prepared. The only thing I can say is that it is long and definitely need stamina.
Sunday, June 07, 2009
4th year updates
ER at Morristown 5/25 - 6/21
Renal at SMMC 6/22 - 7/5
Clinical Pharm 7/20 - 8/2
Anesth at UT Southwestern, Dallas, TX 8/3 - 8/30
SICU at CCF, Cleveland, OH 8/31 - 9/27
Anesth at Thomas Jefferson, Philly, PA 9/28 - 10/25
Anesth at UW, Seattle, WA 10/26 - 11/22
Neuro at SMMC 11/23 - 12/20
Rest .... TBD
Renal at SMMC 6/22 - 7/5
Clinical Pharm 7/20 - 8/2
Anesth at UT Southwestern, Dallas, TX 8/3 - 8/30
SICU at CCF, Cleveland, OH 8/31 - 9/27
Anesth at Thomas Jefferson, Philly, PA 9/28 - 10/25
Anesth at UW, Seattle, WA 10/26 - 11/22
Neuro at SMMC 11/23 - 12/20
Rest .... TBD
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Family Medicine 3
I just finish my 1st week of the super easy and chill family medicine. It is also my last rotation of my 3rd year. I only go in for about 2-3 hours a day and see about 4-5 patients. The drs. there were literally treating me as a 4th year even though I'm still technically a 3rd year. It's a little scary as how I'm going to get more responsibility as 4th year is coming up. They definitely expect that I know what the patient has and have an inkling in how to treat. I'm glad in a way because I get to see what 4th year is like without being one yet.
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