#medblr love

[girlwithrituals]

GLOW UP GUIDE FOR 2025⠀

READ: On average, it takes more than 2 months before a new behavior becomes automatic — 66 days to be exact. And considering that 2025 is precisely these many days away, why not start with our glow up plan already?

Physical Glow Up-

BODY

— 5-10K steps a day.

— 7-8 hours of sleep.

— workout everyday for 1 hr atleast- yoga/stretching/pilates/cardio. a workout may take one hour, but your mood will be boosted for the next 12 hours.

— posture training.

— sunlight exposure after waking up for at least 10 minutes.

NUTRITION

— 2-3 liters of water every day.

— limit your caffeine intake.

— avoid sugars as much as you can.

— high protein diet, pre and probiotics.

— more fruits and veggies (+ green smoothies if you like).

— no junk/processed food/trans fat.

— no eating after 8 pm.

SKINCARE

— be clear on your skin type (oily, dry, combination, sensitive).

— once you're clear, use these accordingly- cleanser, toner, targeted serum, eye cream, moisturizer, sunscreen (≥50 spf).

— keep your bedding clean as well.

— no picking of skin on your lips, cuticle etc.

— gua sha to help improve blood circulation and lessen toxins.

— cold therapy may take three to five minutes of being uncomfortable, but your energy levels will be boosted for the rest of the day.

— remove makeup before you go to bed.

BODY CARE

— shower every day.

— exfoliate 2x a week.

— use body lotion (shea butter/aloe vera gel/coconut oil).

HAIR CARE

— wash hair 2-3x a week

— oil your scalp 2x a week, at least 3 hours before shampoo.

— hair mask 1x per week.

— never brush wet hair.

— use silk pillow case.

HYGIENE

— brush your teeth 2x a day, clean tongue and the roof of the mouth daily.

— floss daily.

— cut your nails 1x a week, never remove the cuticles.

— glycolic acid under arm for odor and discoloration.

— never use soap on your coochie.

Mental Glow Up-

MINDSET

— set clear goals- define and breakdown your aspirations.

— start your mornings with positive affirmations.

— surround yourself with uplifting content and people.

— be shamelessly selfish to your career and mental health, remove anyone or anything that doesn't align with your priorities and wellbeing.

— boost your brain health by these 4 neuroscience tools:

difficult first: start your day with the most difficult task (cortisol and dopamine are high in the body meaning that your body/mind is primed to work).

rest your eyes: introduce a micro-pause after learning by resting/closing your eyes - will help retain information better.

tomorrow's worries: write tomorrow's to-do list before bed as it is proven to be effective in helping you fall asleep.

find time to play: engage in low-stake play. can be anything you find fun but where the outcome doesn't matter (induces neuroplasticity + reduces stress).

MIND

— meditation might take as low as ten minutes, but your focus will be improved for the rest of the day.

— no social media after waking up and at least an hour before bed.

— keep aside 1 hr of time to read daily! reading a new book may take five hours, but you will keep the knowledge forever.

— journaling, gratitude.

— digital detox once a week or for 12 hours.

— limit unnecessary screentime, unfollow or cut off people you don't want to see.

JOURNALING

— choose a regular time each day to journal, making it a part of your routine.

— find a quiet, comfortable place free from distractions. light a candle if you want.

— allow your thoughts to flow without censoring or editing.

— write about your feelings and emotions to understand them better. write about things you are thankful for to boost your mood. write about your short-term and long-term goals. identify what triggers certain emotions or reactions

— set a timer for 5-10 minutes and write continuously during that time.

— reflect on both positive experiences and challenges.

— make lists, journal your thoughts on these questions.

— journal at night to clear your mind before bedtime, because emotions and thoughts lose their power once we acknowledge them.

— a gratitude practice may take five minutes, but your mindset will be shifted for the rest of the day.

AFFIRMATIONS

— customise affirmations to your needs.

Personal Life-

WEEKLY TASKS

— initiate small changes: begin with small, manageable tasks such as making your bed or cleaning your room every sunday.

— celebrate your success: reward yourself when you achieve your goals or have a consistently productive week. consider treats like buying flowers for yourself or watching your favorite show.

DAILY WORK

— set achievable goals: establish realistic goals for the day, week, or month ahead.

— track your progress.

— organise your work space, declutter your shelves etc.

— embrace the power of lists: keep a list of tasks to be done and their deadlines. this way, you start each day with a clear plan. to make it visually appealing and motivating, consider using productivity apps like evernote, habit tracker, or notion.

PRODUCTIVITY TIPS

— wake up early.

— plan ahead everything, do scheduling. you can use:

google calendar / notion / tasks .

— if the task takes less than 2 minutes to finish, do it immediately.

— countdown rule, if you are procrastinating, count 1-2-3-4-5 and jump.

— start slow, don't rush and try to do everything at one time.

— follow a proper routine, use app locks based on screentime.

— pomodoro technique, 25 min work, and 5 min break.

— schedule longer break times as well e.g 30 min nap.

[nerdgirlnarrates]

Even though it's been months since I switched from neurosurgery to internal medicine, I still have a hard time not being angry about the training culture and particularly the sexism of neurosurgery. It wasn't the whole reason I switched, but truthfully it was a significant part of my decision.

I quickly got worn out by constantly being questioned over my family plans. Within minutes of meeting me, attendings and residents felt comfortable lecturing me on the difficulties of having children as a neurosurgeon. One attending even suggested I should ask my co-residents' permission before getting pregnant so as not to inconvenience them. I do not have children and have never indicated if I plan to have any. Truthfully, I do want children, but I would absolutely have foregone that to be a neurosurgeon. I wanted to be a neurosurgeon more than anything. But I was never asked: it was simply assumed that I would want to be a mother first. Purely because I'm a woman, my ambitions were constantly undermined, assumed to be lesser than those of my male peers. Women must want families, therefore women must be less committed. It was inconceivable that I might put my career first. It was impossible to disprove this assumption: what could I have done to demonstrate my commitment more than what I had already done by leading the interest group, taking a research year, doing a sub-I? My interest in neurosurgery would never be viewed the same way my male peers' was, no matter what I did. I would never be viewed as a neurosurgeon in the same way my male peers would be, because I, first and foremost, would be a mother. It turns out women don't even need to have children to be a mother: it is what you essentially are. You can't be allowed to pursue things that might interfere with your potential motherhood.

Furthermore, you are not trusted to know your own ambitions or what might interfere with your motherhood. I am an adult woman who has gone to medical school: I am well aware of what is required in reproduction, pregnancy, and residency, as much as one can be without experiencing it firsthand. And yet, it was always assumed that I had somehow shown up to a neurosurgery sub-I totally ignorant of the demands of the career and of pregnancy. I needed to be enlightened: always by men, often by childless men. Apparently, it was implausible that I could evaluate the situation on my own and come to a decision. I also couldn't be trusted to know what I wanted: if I said I wanted to be a neurosurgeon more than a mother, I was immediately reassured I could still have a family (an interesting flip from the dire warnings issued not five minutes earlier in the conversation). People could not understand my point, which was that I didn't care. I couldn't mean that, because women are fundamentally mothers. I needed to be guided back to my true role.

Because everyone was so confident in their sexist assumptions that I was less committed, I was not offered the same training, guidance, or opportunities as the men. I didn't have projects thrown my way, I didn't get check-ins or advice on my application process, I didn't get opportunities in the OR that my male peers got, I didn't get taught. I once went two whole days on my sub-I without anyone saying a word to me. I would come to work, avoid the senior resident I was warned hated trainees, figure out which OR to go to on my own, scrub in, watch a surgery in complete silence without even the opportunity to cut a knot, then move to the next surgery. How could I possibly become a surgeon in that environment? And this is all to say nothing of the rape jokes, the advice that the best way for a woman to match is to be as hot as possible, listening to my attending advise the male med students on how to get laid, etc.

At a certain point, it became clear it would be incredibly difficult for me to become a neurosurgeon. I wouldn't get research or leadership opportunities, I wouldn't get teaching or feedback, I wouldn't get mentorship, and I wouldn't get respect. I would have to fight tooth and nail for every single piece of my training, and the prospect was just exhausting. Especially when I also really enjoyed internal medicine, where absolutely none of this was happening and I even had attendings telling me I would be good at it (something that didn't happen in neurosurgery until I quit).

I've been told I should get over this, but I don't know how to. I don't know how to stop being mad about how thoroughly sidelined I was for being female. I don't know how to stop being bitter that my intelligence, commitment, and work ethic meant so much less because I'm a woman. I know I made the right decision to switch to internal medicine, and it probably would have been the right decision even if there weren't all these issues with the culture of neurosurgery, but I'm still so angry about how it happened.

[likeshestoleit]

Procrastinating work on my research project with some late night baking ✨

[ley-med]

While I love scary stories as much as the next person, and sometimes it would be nice to think there is more to this existence than just plain everyday life, I don't believe in ghosts.

Apart from science (or the lack of it), I can't believe in ghosts, because I simply cannot afford to have the comfort of death taken away from me. Witnessing gruesome deaths day after day, I need to believe my patients find peace in death after all the suffering they had been through. And I need to believe that someday, that peace will be waiting for me on the other side

[emgoesmed]

8/8/2024

Got out of work early 🥳 so I headed one of my favorite local cafes to work on my PowerPoint presentation, an overview of ANCA-associated vasculitides. It ended up going pretty well even though I was nervous. Looking forward to having the whole weekend off!

[savgogh]

27.03.2024 | Last day of being posted in General Surgery. It was overwhelming but I'll miss the rush. I think I've finally gotten the hang of fourth year. Medicine next! (please be good to me).

🎧 _mar le temps des fleurs - Pomme

[heardatmedschool]

“You can never have too many pens.”

[elena-rundriguez]

Have you all seen the second best hospital in the galaxy? The show is sci-fi set in a futuristic alien hospital. It’s so funny it’s like tuca and bertie meets better off ted with lgbtq characters. There’s a rich hospital funded by a food company and their surgical tools have ad breaks for the company’s product. The psychiatrist is literally an empath. Keke Palmer and Stephanie Hsu are in it. It’s incredible. I really hope there’s a season 2

[pleasespellchimerical]

How come we have vaccines for animals for some diseases, but not human vaccines for the same disease?

Thinking like lyme, EEE, etc.

[girlwithrituals]

HOW TO STAY UNBOTHERED!

1. Never say more than necessary.

2. Don't allow your emotions to overpower your intelligence.

3. Lower your expectations from others.

4. Let your success do the talking.

5. 10 people 10 different opinions. Stop pleasing.

6. Remember your haters are your fans.

7. Don't be afraid to say "NO".

9. Know your truth and be okay with someone else not believing you.

10. Stop taking things personally.

• Let go of control: You can't control others' actions or words, just your reactions.

• Humor: Learn to laugh things off when appropriate.

• Set boundaries: Limit contact with negativity and prioritize supportive people.

• Communicate clearly: Ask for clarification Instead of assuming negativity

• Shift your perspective: Consider the source and if their comment reflects on them more than you.

• Focus on what you can control: Improve your own communication and self-care.

• Thicken your skin: Build strong self-worth and know your value.

11. Healthy detachment.

• Let people be who they want to be, then decide if you want them in your life.

• Trust that rejection is always redirection to something bigger and better.

• Some people are only meant to help you grow, not be in your life forever.

• What if everything is falling apart to come together in a way you can't guess?

• Focus only on what you can control.

[nerdgirlnarrates]

Had to explain to my parents last night that women don’t pee out of their vaginas. And then they just didn’t believe me!!! My mother kept saying that she knows she only has two holes (?????????) until my dad made everyone move on.

[sanskari-kanya]

Rating my professors

Dr. Nini : 5/5

Sweetest, softest, pookiest ever. She is the only reason I actually made my peace with Anatomy. She also gave me extra credits last semester. Always smiles when i see her even if she’s not teaching me this sem. She has a pet bunny whose photos she used to show us regularly.

Dr. George : 0/5

His accent is beyond human comprehension. Looks like the lite version of Chris Evans. Fucked up my credits last semester. I hate physiology thanks to him. Refuses to give ppts or materials too. For some reason i see him everywhere; elevators, supermarkets, cafeteria literally everywhere. Was gonna give him 2/5 but I did surprisingly well on today’s physiology test :)

Update : In front of everyone, he said don’t bother becoming a doctor if you can’t study (I couldn’t answer a question) He loses all the points and my respect goodbye

Dr. Ana : 5/5

Literally a Barbie. Blue eyes, straight blonde hair, internal medicine residency, cracked USMLE and a good fashion sense; what more does a 🎀 girl 🎀 need? The sheer fear of letting her down when she takes my weekly viva makes me study her subject a little too much of determination. Give it a few more months, she’s gonna be my girl crush.

Dr. Natia : 3/5

Homegirl has no value of time. She comes after 4:30 for a 4 pm lecture. Awkward way of teaching Radiology but I must be a clown to judge a radiologist with 10 years of experience. I wonder why she deducted 0.2 from my credits (i bunked)

I’ll leave the rest for part 2 because y’all may or may not be interested in my yapping.

[ley-med]

When I volunteered to teach med students who have a rotation in our hospital, I was really scared I wouldn't be able to talk consequently for 1,5 hours, and I would be left there with the students in an uncomfortable hour of silence before I could let them go home... Now that I had my first practical, I can safely say my worries in this regard were unwarranted.

Apparently, it's really, really hard to speak only for 1,5 hours about a topic I'm really passionate about

[snowandstarlight]

working this weekend prevented me from actually going out and enjoying the fall so: pumpkin chocolate chunk oatmeal cookies!

[likeshestoleit]

I just went up to the front desk at the library so embarrassed because I was LATE LATE in returning a book and just wanted to know what fees I needed to pay and make sure everything was okay and the lovely human was just like

“Did you enjoy the book? Okay perfect! Then you don’t need to do anything except go get another one!”

And now I’m crying

[azacello]

First term of third year is over, and these are the sacraments