aspiringeardoc

[aspiringeardoc]

january 23, 2023

i’m finally starting to study for the mcat! am i starting very late considering my test is in april, absolutely! but i finished my post-bacc classes (yay!), so i have the next few months to just study absolutely everything all day, every day. a horrifying thought, really. but it’s my own fault, so i’ll deal.

i just discovered that anki really is as magical as everyone says, so i’m importing all my quizlet cards to anki in addition to the sets i found online. here’s hoping studying goes well!

[aspiringeardoc]

Survived Day 1 yesterday! Now, just the rest of them to go... 📚📝

[aspiringeardoc]

may 18, 2021

wow, a lot has happened in my life over the past 5 months. here’s a quick summary:

i finished my audiology externship!

i graduated with my AuD!

i started my post-bacc pre-med program!

it doesn't sound like a lot, but it sure felt like it 😅

i also found out that my post-bacc program is probably going to take a little longer than i thought, which means the earliest i can apply for med school is for the application cycle to start med school in fall of 2024. i was a little disappointed to find this out, but it doesn't matter all that much in the long run. i'm on this path, it'll take however long it'll take.

but yeah! i'm super hyped about starting pre-med classes, and i'm looking forward to learning a lot.

[aspiringeardoc]

december 6, 2020

well, it’s official: i’m gonna be (post-bacc) pre-med! i ended up applying to two solid programs and i was accepted into both of them. the decision was really difficult, honestly.

the first program that accepted me is very practical for my circumstances. it’s a good school, the tuition is affordable, and i have a lot of flexibility in what classes to take. 

the second program was my dream program initially. it’s a great school, the requirements for a career changer would definitely give me a wide option of med schools to apply to, and it has linkage into their med school. however, their program is about four times more expensive than the later.

ultimately, it came down to flexibility and cost. 

i accepted at the first program because it’s affordable to someone who already has so much debt, and i have more freedom in my academic plan. basically, i could graduate the program with the minimum med school requirements and that would be sufficient. (i probably won’t because there are other courses offered that are recommended by many med schools but not required, and i think it would be a good idea to take them.) 

the second program would require me to take all of the courses (which, yes, would take about two whole years), but that wouldn’t be as large a problem for me if their tuition wasn’t so steep. that combined with the fact that with linkage, there’s no guarantee of acceptance into their med school right after post-bacc, just made me realize that it wasn’t the right fit for me. i don’t want to limit my options, y’know?

so i’m a little sad that my initial plan didn’t pan out, but i’m excited for what’s to come. there are endless possibilities ahead, and i’m looking forward to them. ✨

[aspiringeardoc]

november 19, 2020

so i had a pretty crappy day. not feeling great, trying not to dwell on it.

but! there was one bright spot that i’m trying to focus on: i got accepted to a post-bacc program! i’m very excited about it, though i’m not certain if i will accept just yet, since i’m still finishing up an application for another place and waiting to hear back from another. but regardless, it’s a HUGE weight off of my shoulders.

so for now, i’m trying to focus on the future, not the present. hopefully that will help.

[aspiringeardoc]

october 17, 2020

this externship is... rough. i knew it was going to be a lot of work, and it is, but it seems like everything is always in chaos at all times. i picked this externship because i knew it was one of the best, and i knew that it would be good for me as a future clinician and for my future career goals, but sometimes i just ask myself why i did this. i know why, and i have to remind myself that i will be a better person, clinician, and eventually physician for it. i’m just having a rough time overall.

but, on a brighter note, i’m applying to post baccalaureate programs! i’m making some good progress, but honestly, the hardest part of applications is writing a good statement of purpose. first i just started writing to get some words down onto the page, but now i’m in the process of a) making it all coherent and b) making it flow well and have A Point to it all.

as for the logistics of the actual programs, i’m worrying a lot about the cost of attendance + all the student loan debt i already have. however, everyone i’ve talked to about this has basically recommended that i not worry too much at this point. their reasoning is that in the end, it won’t be as hard to pay back my student loans, as my income will be Pretty Substantial once i’m an actual physician. i’m trying to remember that whenever i stress myself out.

anyway, progress is being made! i’m powering through, and i’m hoping that things will all work out and be okay in the end.

[aspiringeardoc]

june 6, 2020

whoo boy it’s been a while! there’s been a lot going on in the world since i last posted. since my last post, i did a vestibular rotation which was a ton of fun! then i was at the va for a semester which was also a great experience, except it got cut short by the country closing down due to covid.

but now, i’ve started my fourth year externship! it’s only been a week so far, and things have been... chaotic, to say the least. it’s going to be exhausting and a lot of hard work, but i know the experience is going to be incredible. if i can, i’m going to try to be a little more active in posting here, but we’ll see, i guess.

anyway, take care of yourselves! 

[aspiringeardoc]

september 30, 2019

just popping in to say that i got the externship position that i wanted! i’m super excited for it, it’s gonna be great! i don’t plan on saying where it is, since audiology is small and i am a little paranoid. but let me tell you, it’s So Good and i’m So Hyped!

[aspiringeardoc]

drew out a circle of willis diagram to study from since we did a little vascularization lecture this week in my vestibular class!

1. vertebral artery 2. posterior inferior cerebellar artery 3. basilar artery 4. anterior inferior cerebellar artery 5. superior cerebellar artery 6. posterior cerebral artery 7. posterior communicating artery 8. middle cerebral artery 9. interior carotid artery 10. anterior cerebral artery 11. anterior communicating artery. 12. anterior spinal artery

[aspiringeardoc]

august 27, 2019

tiny tiny post but i had my first day at my semester internship and we’re gonna be doing a lot of vestibular stuff, so that’s cool!!! i’m hoping i’ll find this a little more interesting, since there’s a lot of anatomy and physiology that contributes to the function of the vestibular system. and maybe that’ll satiate my I Can’t Wait Two Years To Apply To Post-Bac For Med School Pre-Reqs feelings.

[aspiringeardoc]

august 22, 2019

today, i shadowed a pediatric otolaryngologist who had a focus on patients with hearing loss, and i’m pretty certain i just found my dream job. it’s weird, because i definitely don’t want to do peds in audiology, but peds for ENT sounds so good to me. i think it’s because in audiology, you have to get the kids to cooperate with you in order to assess their hearing, but in ENT, the most cooperation you need from a kid is for them to sit still long enough for you to examine their ears, nose, and/or throat. i’m not entirely sure, though, since i only shadowed for a day.

anyway, it was such a cool experience, and i think it really solidified my desire to go to med school. i just saw so many cool things there and i learned a lot.

like, sensorineural hearing loss can fluctuate if a person has a shunt that is blocked up.

that’s likely because of intracranial pressure that builds up and compresses the temporal lobe

so the degree of SNHL varies depending on the intracranial pressure

tympanoplasties can use cartilage as grafts, and that changes the compliance of the tympanic membrane

so you get flat tymps

tympanoplasties can be indicated with severe retraction of the TM

because retraction pockets can increase the likelihood for cholesteatoma to form

yes, CMV and connexin 26 are the most common causes of hearing loss in children

source: i saw so many patients with CMV

even in the ENT side of things, interactions with patients and families of patients with hearing loss involves A LOT of counseling

additionally, i already knew this from class, but kids that are implanted with CIs earlier have far better outcomes than kids that are implanted later. it was just fascinating to see this in person, since i saw a very young child who would be implanted as soon as it could safely be done (after about 9 months old) and an older child that had been implanted when they were older (3+ years old).

overall, it was a really good day. i liked the atmosphere at the hospital, i liked the work that was done, and i liked the interactions with patients. i really think that is what i want to do, so! here’s hoping i follow through.

[aspiringeardoc]

so i made this blog a couple months ago, but i have yet to really do... anything with it. i kept thinking “oh, i’ll start that Healthcare Professional Journey Blog that i made soon” and then i kept forgetting to do do that. so, here i am!

i figured today would be a good day to start, as i shadowed a pediatric ear, nose, and throat doctor today, and it was such a good experience. i seriously think that this is my dream job. the doctor i shadowed is an otolaryngologist who does surgeries and non-surgical appointments, and he focuses on patients with hearing loss (at least for today). i’ll get to that in my next post, since this is really just a very casual intro.

if you (the presumable audience that doesn’t exist) don’t know yet (which you wouldn’t because i’ve done Literally Nothing with this blog yet), i’m currently in school to be an audiologist. i’m starting my third of four years of graduate school, and about a year ago, i started thinking that i wanted to do more that was beyond the scope of audiology. 

don’t get me wrong, i love audiology and i think it is a very important part of healthcare that is overlooked a lot of the time. however, i just personally want to do more. (it also helps that i’ve always been an academically-oriented person and i love going to school!)

people who i’ve told about this, which is like everyone at this point, think i’m a little bit Wild for wanting to continue school for even longer than i already have, but they’re all very supportive, which is great! 

so that’s where i’m at right now. third year audiology grad student who is thinking about (95% certain about) going to medical school. in the meantime, i’ll probably talk about the Au.D. experience, and we’ll eventually see where my life goes.