The Waiting Game

Now that the step is over, I’m playing the waiting game… waiting to schedule my rotations and waiting to start clinicals.  I feel like this entire semester has been a semester of anxiety: I’ve been anxious while studying, anxious during the test, anxious after the test, anxious waiting  for scores, and just when I think I get a brief moment of relief after getting my scores, I’m anxious again as ever, starting this entirely new phase in my med school career. But nevertheless, I’m pretty excited and looking forward to it.

It’s strange not needing to study again for a while. In the meantime, to get my anxiety off, and to pass the time, I’ve taken up a few activities:

1. Brushing up on my Spanish

As I am aiming to rotate in Miami, I feel it is a good investment of my time to brush up on my Spanish, as many patients here speak Spanish as their first language. In fact, Miami is unique among the major cities in the United States in that the majority of its residents speak another language besides English at home. While most everyone can speak English, 67% also speak Spanish and 5% speak Haitian Creole. Only 25% of the residents of Miami speak only English as their first language. Therefore, it’s a bonus if I am competent in Spanish.

I have taken Spanish in middle and high school, and while growing up, my parents understood the benefits of starting language education early, and hired local college students to teach my brothers and I Spanish several times a week for many years, starting when I was young. Ever since high school, I had the opportunities of traveling and using Spanish in countries like Mexico, Guatemala, and Puerto Rico, and I also volunteered in a pediatric clinic where the majority of patients were Spanish speakers, and so I had never really forgotten Spanish.

I’d like to go beyond simple conversational Spanish since I will be conducting entire interviews as well as educating patients, and to do this, I would need better fluency. On the island, I’ve participated in Latino Medical Student Association’s Medical Spanish Workshops where I’ve practiced conducting entire interviews in Spanish (which was quite challenging for me). I’ve also been reading a few blogs in Spanish as well as using Spanish whenever I can here in Miami. I also downloaded this app on iPad that helps me in medical Spanish.

2. Studying

Following advice from some of my friends who are already in clinicals, I’ve bought a few books that would come handy during my clinical years:

• Step-Up to Medicine (Step-Up Series) — This is the book that I hear “everyone” is using to prepare for the internal medicine shelf. I hear that it is also very useful for other fields as well.

• Step-Up to USMLE Step 2 (Step-Up Series) — oh my goodness… studying for Step 2 already?? Many people have told me while First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 was awesome in preparing you for Step 1, First Aid’s Step II prep book doesn’t nearly do the same job. It seems like the book that more people  prefer is Step Up to Step 2. Like First Aid, it’s well organized and comes with a lot of mnemonics and charts, but it also seems like it has more practical detail, which is what is more important in clinicals.

• USMLE World Step 2 — like USMLE World for Step 1, this is a question bank that will help me prepare for my shelves and Step 2. For Step 1, I made the mistake of starting too late on doing questions. This time, I’m going to start early on questions, so I can go through them at least once.

• Rapid Interpretation of EKG’s, Sixth Edition — We’ve been learning about EKG’s for a long… there was the EKG workshop that AMSA puts on every semester. There was Dr. Lewis’s lectures from Physio I during second semester. And then more EKG during Path, ICM, and Step studying. Although during our first two years of med school we have had a lot of exposure to EKG’s, it still takes me some time and effort to interpret an EKG. What I want is to develop a “rapid interpretation” of EKG’s, as the title of the book says. Apparently this book is very helpful in solidifying your practical knowledge of using EKG’s in the clinical setting.

• Pocket Medicine: The Massachusetts General Hospital Handbook of Internal Medicine (Pocket Notebook Series) — This is a handy little spiral-bound pocket guide with info that you can look up on the spot during your clinicals. Again, this is something that “everyone” tells me to get.

3. Wedding Planning

Although Irene and I legally got married in the courthouse earlier this semester, we’re having a traditional ceremony and celebration with close friends, family, and relatives from abroad. I’ve been in charge with making the website, finding a photographer, finding hotels for our guests, and more. Planning can be hectic, but it can be fun too, and I’m glad that I’ve been blessed with having a “break” to work on the wedding with Irene.

4. Piano

When I was on the island, I’ve always said there were two things I missed. One is, of course, Irene, and the second is my piano. It’s finally great to be back with Irene again. When I went home to Georgia this past Thanksgiving, I also finally got to see my digital piano again. After some struggle, we managed to fit it in Irene’s car and brought it back down to Miami, so I can play it whenever I want to. Most of the time, I like to improv and play by ear, but sometimes, I also like learning new pieces. Currently, the pieces I am working on right now are:

• Prokofiev’s “Diabolique Suggestions” —  I played this Prokofiev piece when I was in high school. The piece sounds hideous to the ears but I find it so fun to play that I’ve decided to re-learn it.

• Liszt’s “Un Sospiro” — This is a piece I half-learned before I came to med school. Now, I’m picking off where I ended and trying to learn the rest. This piece is absolutely beautiful and with all the hand crossing-overs in this piece, it’s also fun to play.

Cheers,

Benji

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