“One of the things that I keep going back to over and over again is how do we sensitize clinicians to the patient’s cultural worlds so that we can better understand what’s normal for them and what’s abnormal for them, because only once we’ve done that can we then start to tailor our treatments plans to help our patients in the ways they need in order to lead the lives they want.”

 — Asian American Mental Health - YouTube project from 4th year psychiatry resident at Columbia

“You don’t train someone for all of those years of medical school and residency, particularly people who want to help others optimize their physical and psychological health, and then have them run a claims-processing operation for insurance companies.”

 — Malcolm Gladwell, from Forbes’ "Tell People What it’s Really Like to be a Physician"

It was really hard picking one section to quote because I loved almost every line of this article. <3 Malcolm Gladwell. Is he married?? Lol, joking.

On applying to elective opportunities like global health

I really found this inspiring. I love that she found motivation from her grandma. Go grandmas!

I’ll be honest- I didn’t think I had a smidgen of a chance of becoming a Global Health Corps fellow. I had two reactions upon reading the position descriptions and mission statement of GHC. 1) Unprecedented excitement. I knew this was the opportunity I had been looking for, the next step in my career and the chance to actually apply my college education and internship experience into the real world of public health – basically my dream. The combination of fieldwork and professional development, but with an emphasis on fostering a community of leaders dedicated to achieving global health equity, seemed almost too good to be true. This led to thought number 2) Self-doubt. Although on paper I felt qualified for the position I was interested in, and I definitely had the passion and commitment GHC was looking for, I lacked confidence in my ability to persuade the GHC and mothers2mothers teams that I could be the one. Intimidated is an understatement for how I felt while perusing the GHC website. I didn’t have a Masters degree, wasn’t a doctor treating thousands of people on my own, and hadn’t established an NGO at the age of 18. Was I good enough to be one of those smiling faces? Nah, definitely not. Yet, I couldn’t get GHC off my mind. I had to at least make an attempt.

I will admit that I am the Queen of procrastination. I couldn’t bring myself to actually sit down and complete the application. I had the essay topics written on napkins that I tacked over my bed, hoping that I’d get some inspiration in the middle of the night and magically produce acceptance worthy essays. Obviously that did not happen. A week before the application was due, I hadn’t written one word. At this point in time, I had just graduated from George Washington University with an undergraduate degree and was working and traveling around Indonesia. I had a scheduled Skype date with my parents, and as a special surprise, my 92 year-old Grandma joined as well. I excitedly told my family about the GHC application, but as quickly as I lit up about the job posting at mothers2mothers, I followed with a negative remark along the lines of  “I’ll never get it-there’s no point blah blah blah woe is me.” My Grandma abruptly shut me up, told me if I didn’t apply she’d disown me, and proceeded to detail all of the reasons why I would be an exceptional candidate. She wouldn’t sign off of Skype until I virtually pinky promised her that I’d apply no matter what. There was something compelling about my Grandma screaming into the computer because she thought being halfway across the world implied that I wouldn’t be able to hear her. Her point came across loud and clear. I signed off after taking an award winning screenshot (see below), went for a surf, and mulled over my options. I could a) not apply, lie to my Grandma, and feel guilty for the rest of my life (this is dramatic but entirely true), b) apply, not become a fellow, but know that I at least gave it a shot, or, c) apply, BECOME A FELLOW, and be one step closer towards pursuing my dreams.  A few interviews and one acceptance email later, I became one of the 90 chosen as part of the 2012-2013 GHC fellow class.

Low vitamin D and pregnancy risks

And this just after seeing my preceptor order vitamin D levels on her patients that confuse her because she’s so sure, she rants, that low vitamin D is the culprit whenever something is going on that you otherwise can’t explain…and now this. :)

In the news: Low vitamin D and pregnancy risks (NYTimes)

Bedside manners

5 Simple Habits Can Help Doctors Connect With Patients http://n.pr/1aNFntJ

1. Introducing yourself
2. Explaining your role in the patient’s care
3. Sitting down (done only 9% of the time! Not surprised.)
4. Touching (hand shake, a simple touch on the shoulder)
5. Asking open ended questions

One of my surgical attending is intimidating and intense on service, but then says things like this

"I don’t care about what grade you get on this rotation. I just hope that throughout your 3rd year, you remember why you’re here and approach all your patients with compassion. Treat your patients like your family. You’re getting up at 3am to go to the hospital because that patient is your mom… It can get tough, there’s going to be bad parts to every rotation, but don’t let that bring you down, don’t let that stay with you. Take the best parts of everyone you meet, appreciate them, let those stick with you, and develop your own style from there."

He’s totally and completely my attending crush/role model forever xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo.

Random stuff from the middle of surgery in the middle of winter

• Something I’ve learned recently: seniors including attendings, fellows, and residents are not necessarily right and if you have a different thought, you should speak up for yourself (nicely but still persistent) for the patient’s sake and for your own sake.
• The more I go through 3rd year, the less sure I am about what I want to go into. There has to be a balance between doing what you like and the lifestyle you desire. I like surgery, but I hate the lifestyle of most attendings I see and the patient populations I’ve encountered. But today, I was made aware of the nice lifestyles and the healthier populations that some specialized surgeons encounter (e.g. breast oncology surgeons, endocrine surgeons). I also love that it’s not just about the surgery, but to be a good breast oncology/endocrine surgeon, you need to be strong in clinical medicine—deciding when to cut/not to cut, when to biopsy/not biopsy, what alternatives could be better, and working well with multiple specialties. I want to follow a breast oncology surgeon for a day before my surgery rotation is over.
• I used to go to sleep as a child dreaming about the awesome life I’ll lead when I grow up. Now that I’m relatively “grown up,” I dream less and think about what’s important less. I’ve been pretty unhappy recently, being on surgery rotation in the middle of winter notwithstanding. I hope to find that child inside of me again.
• I’m excited to finally find a Chinese speaking drama that’s enjoyable to watch (我的自由年代). I can finally improve my Chinese in a fun way…I can now watch the most recent episode over and over obsessively while waiting for next week’s episode without feeling guilty hehe.
• Remember that when life is hard, when it feels like you’re just suffering all the time and not enjoying enough, remember why you’re going through this for, why you’re here—remember your long term goal. Remember your dream.