Peace of Riesee

The Move: 

Ahhhhh, it happened! I have successfully moved from the DC/Maryland/Virginia area to the Bay area! Specifically, I moved to Santa Rosa, California, which is north baby, about an hour north of San Francisco. If you still don't quite know where that is, let me break it down in two words: Wine. Country. Ya girl is living in the heart of wine country surrounded by rolling hills, mountains, vineyards,  wineries, and redwoods everywhere. If anyone were to tell me that I would be living the next 3 years of my life in wine country, I would call them a liar.




With the help of my parents and my little brother, we moved over Memorial Day weekend. For a while I debated between driving to California from Maryland or just flying, and we decided to fly. So on May 21st, I shipped my car out with the trunk packed with my kitchen and bathroom items to Santa Rosa. On May 25th with my 8 checked luggage filled with clothes and documents, we flew out to Oakland then drove up to Santa Rosa. My family was only there for help for really 2.5 days before they had to make it back home, but I really needed them there. My car arrived the night before they left, on May 27th. When they left, I will admit I got incredibly sad and really felt lonely. Luckily my best friend Lydia came from Maryland to spend a few days with me, which helped a ton! But after 3 weeks, I've been settling in well and building a community! In the interim, I've completed switched my residency status to California: new plates, new license, the whole shebang. 




My Home:
It's called  'granny-unit' or 'in-law unit' which is a thing I never quite heard of until I moved to California. It's essentially an apartment over the garage. Many homes are built with this design so they can rent it out. My granny unit was just absolutely perfect as you can see below.




I found a 1 bed/1 bed unit with my own in-unit laundry and under budget! It truly feels like a steal!  Below are some pics of my bedroom, with those of the rest of the house to follow soon! It's located close enough to downtown Santa Rosa with a wonderful mall and a beautiful square. I have 2 Targets within 5 minute drive of me (a weakness), a ton of food places nearby, and only a 10 minute drive to my hospital!

Furnishings and Decor:
I decorated my apartment with pieces from Ashley Furniture, Target, Marshalls, Ross, and Walmart! My best friend, Christiana, created a Pintrest board to help me design my apartment and we both kept adding to it. I was going for a mash up of mid-century modern, minimalism, and traditional. The brand, Project 62 at Target will literally make you drool, I promise. Below I have pictures of my bedroom with another post coming with the full deets of the furnishings and decor of my apartment!



Surrounding area:
Remember, I'm in Wine Country (sonoma county)! Napa valley is only 30 minutes east, the coast is 30 minutes west, and San Francisco and Oakland are only 1 hour south. So, what have been some things I've done?

     - Visited Castello Amorosa Vineyard in Calistoga, Napa Valley






     - Explored Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserves




     - Visited Russian River Brewing Company and taste some of their craft beers (I highly recommend the Pliney the Elder with an A.B.V of 8.0%.

     - Visited Bodega Bay to see the sunset over the Pacific Ocean

     - Ate at the best vegan restaurant in Oakland, Souley Vegan



I start residency on June 20th, but until then I'll just keep enjoying exploring and Netflixing!

With love,

Cherriese

Hey, y'all! Residency interview season is pretty much wrapped up, and I just wanted to share some items or services I found to be bomb during the process. If you're a rising 4th year student, keep some of these things in mind in preparation for applying to residency!


1) Portable Steamer.
Y'all. This. Is. CLUTCH. I am too lazy to iron any clothes at this time in my life. Or ever really. But given I knew my suit and inside top would need to be ironed, I decided to get a portable steamer. It's so awesome because the water heats up in under a minute, and it only takes me 5 minutes to steam out the 3 pieces! You can find a nice portable steamer to get here. Use this promo code (501RMVQA) to get it discounted!

2) Toiletries Bag 
I have a small makeup bag that I use to keep my body essentials: make-up, deodorant, bath gel, facial scrub, toothpaste, etc. That particular bag I do not disturb or remove things from permanently when between interviews at home. Some days I'm rushing home from clinic with only 1.5 hours to pack before rushing for a flight (this has happened more than times than not). It's just super helpful to keep it packed so you don't forget anything!

3) Carry-on Suitcase
While it is incredibly convenient to check a bag and not have to lug it around an airport, you do not want to end up in a situation is lost or delayed. This is one lesson I learned the hard way when I was flying from DC to Melbourne, Australia and when I landed I learned my bags were still in DC. ALWAYS pack the essentials in a carry-on suitcase/overnight weekender to avoid the possibility of not having a suit or fresh underwear the next day. Here are some cute options for a weekend bag (here, here)! And I highly suggest checking out Ross (!!!), Marshall's, or TJ Maxx for quality luggage at a discounted price.

4) Travel Credit Card - Chase Sapphire Reserve or Preferred
No exaggeration, how much I've spent on interviews and applications but using my Chase Sapphire Preferred card will pay for my 4th year vacation. Differences? The Reserve is more elite with a tone more perks: earn 50,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months, 3x points back on travel and dining with 1x on everything else, you can redeem your points for 1.5 cents, global entry/TSA PreCheck fee credit, access to airport lounges. The kicker is that it is a $450 annual fee but you earn a $300 yearly credit. Honestly, it sounds amazing. The Preferred also earns the 50,000 in points, but it is 2x back on travel and dining, points are redeemed for 1.25 centers, and you don't have TSA precheck fee or access to airport lounges, but the annual fee is $95 (waived the first year).

I highly suggest applying for either one of these cards half-way through your 3rd year because you can pay for Step 2 CS and CK (pretty but $2,000 right there) on the card and be halfway to earning 50,000 points. And as you progress through your 3rd year, you will accrue more points to use for travel. Also, these points transfer one-to-one to most airlines travel rewards (though don't do that; just use the card to book travel and earn points from both your rewards company and card)! You can find the full details of the cards here.

5) TSA PreCheck
Let me tell you. After I almost missed my flight leaving Oakland back to the East Coast, I promptly signed up for TSA PreCheck. Honestly, I don't know why I haven't done it before. I was always lowkey glaring at the people that waltzed through security. It entails going through a designated Fasttrack line for those that have PreCheck and your own security scanners (where you don't even have to take off your shoes, hats, or laptop out of your bag!). Amazingly, it's for only $85, and it lasts for 5 years. Check it out here.

6) Professional Padfolio
It looks super professional and you have a place to compile all of your notes. Personally, I didn't want a black one because I felt it was a bit too boring. I got the Blue Sky Professional Padfolio in a beautiful blue color; it's linked here. It was awesome because each sheet had a date, so I was able to indicate the date of each interview, write notes during the interview day, then compile my thoughts right after.

7) Portable Power Bank
We can't have dying phones at the most inconvenient times out here! I always have 2 portable battery packs on me in case I forget to charge one. It'll help you stay accessible throughout the day without being confined to use your phone while connected to a wall outlet or computer USB port.

8) Google Calendar and Google Calendar App
Will all of the interview correspondence you recieve for just one program, it can be hard to keep track. Imagine getting a ton of information for 15+ interviews. That can become confusing with missing information quickly. What I found helpful was using Google Calendar to compile all of the necessary information for each program in one place.

For example, if I were interviewing at a program on Nov 15th with a pre-interview dinner, I would put it on the calendar the hotel information, precise times for the dinner and when to report for the interview, add the appropriate locations, add notes, and add emergency contact information from the program coordinator to provide all of the necessary information without having to scrounge around in your email. Then download the Google Calendar app, if you don't already have it, then easily use it to navigate to a location or to quickly check information.


I hope you find some of this information helpful. Definitely leave a comment about what you found helpful on the trail or any questions you may have!

- Cherriese

Just a little humor above lol. It's that season that 3rd years are stressing out about applying for aways, forming their 4th year schedules, thinking about Step 2. It's even more stressful because unless you're on the accelerated -pre-clinical curriculum offered at numerous medical schools, you haven't even finished all of your core rotations to even make a definitive decision on a specialty! But that is okay, I promise. Please don't stress even more and add more grey hairs to your head!

Below are some tips to help you pick a specialty. These helped me on my path to choosing a specialty. Just remember to overall be true to yourself. You do not want to be stuck in a specialty because you chose it for the wrong reasons.

1. First and foremost, keep an open mind. Some people come into medical school thinking they know what they want to do and they completely switch. It's okay to have preferences and ideas, but give each rotation a full chance. I never thought I would love OB and end up in Family Medicine!

Friday, October 20th, was my last day of the surgery rotation! It didn't quite fly by like medicine did, but when I tell you I learned so much, saw insane situations, and participated in way more than I thought I would, it would be an understatement. I learned that I love suturing and actually participating in the surgery. When I wasn't in the OR, I was studying using the following:

Growing up through life, I wouldn't say that I had confidence or that I had low self-esteem. I was in this limbo of knowing who I was without really feeling proud or confident, if that makes any sense. It was a state of just being who I was and no one really questioning or making me feel down about myself. Could you call it a state of invisibility? I don't know, honestly. But that was me, and I was fine with it.

It wasn't until I hit medical school that I questioned who I truly was. Whatever image I had of myself was honestly crushed. In medical school, I've encountered failure, judgement, peripheral doubt, and questioning of my own intelligence. Any confidence or sense of being was destroyed and consistently kept down.

My first year wasn't as bad. It was a huge adjustment: living on my own, transitioning into full adulthood, ending a five and a half year relationship, in a new school environment, in graduate school/work environment, and learning how to learn again. While I didn't take any time off between undergrad and starting medical school, it was still a huge adjustment. It was essentially learning how to be a self-reliant adult and how to be a doctor at the same time. That transition wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It was moreso the academic portion.

I struggled academically, which hit me mentally. Imagine going from a student that graduated summa cum laude in undergrad that entered your med school class with the highest GPA to a student was just struggling to keep their head above water. It hits you in the core. Personally, I was always able to succeed academically if I put in enough effort. But here, no matter how much effort I put in, how many hours I studied, no matter how much I consulted the academic support office, nothing changed. That deeply hurt. It was like whatever hard work I put in was meaningless or trivial.

It was just clear to me that I wasn't smart enough to be a doctor. Someone like me can't take care of patients. My colleagues I'm sure could see my incompetence (in fact some didn't talk to me since it seemed I wasn't "worthy enough"). My school administrators could definitely see how I struggled. And my confidence started to decline. In daily small groups, I never spoke. When discussing material, I wouldn't contribute because I didn't want to lead anyone astray. When a question was posed, I wouldn't answer because I was probably wrong. My internal doubt soon manifested as I spoke: tripping over my words, stuttering, speaking quietly. At a certain point, I couldn't even fake any confidence. So I stayed quiet. My motto was, "No one knows what you don't know if you don't speak."

So, first year ended and I was blessed enough to do my research in Boston. There was a summer program I applied for and actually was accepted. I cried so hard for days. Someone actually thought I had potential? They saw something in me? They believed that little me could actually be someone? Granted, I have my friends and family that always believed that, but it also meant something that people I didn't even know thought the same thing.

There, we had one-on-one meetings with the program director. In that meeting I broke down and admitted my lack of confidence. How could someone like me actually be smart enough to be a doctor? Was I hard working enough? Was there actual potential? Did I scam my way into medicine? Can people see through my facade? Looking at the program director, it sure seemed like he wasn't ready for someone to be crying in his office lol. He provided me with tissues, assured me of my intelligence, and gave me the greatest advice: "Confidence comes from preparation."

Confidence comes from preparation. One would be able to appropriately manage tasks and learning if there is a level of preparation, which I knew I had a problem with. So I started my journey of making myself prepared for my second year of school. That included purchasing a calendar to map out my year, purchasing all of the equipment needed for my clinical medicine course, and purchasing the study materials in preparation for my classes and Step 1. That's how I entered second year; ready to conquer and excel. Unfortunately, I did anything else but that.

I put more of myself into school. Utilized what seemed to be more fitting resources, discussed test taking strategies, incorporated more repetition, and went into exams with confidence. But the results I got back were failure and struggle. Whatever confidence I had left was ultimately crushed. Preparation for me led to even more failure. When I talked to an advisor about what to do, she told me to scale back on my activities to focus more on school. That meant giving up volunteering at my local animal shelter and taking a hiatus in the a cappella group I was in to spend more time studying. Essentially, it was giving up the things that made my life balanced and made me 'me' to further give more of myself to school. I was losing myself just to stay afloat. Does that sound feasible?

To make matters worse, at one point through all of this, I came down with appendicitis which further threw me behind in school. It felt like the punches kept coming without a break. There was no light at the end of the tunnel and I was being sucked further into darkness, depression, hopelessness, and invisibility. I was no longer me. There was nothing for me to define myself as or any foundation left to build upon. Medical school had stripped me of who I was.

Before all of this, my personality was described as someone that exuded kindness and joy. During all of this, my peers only saw stress and sadness. They noticed the fear and anxiety. Inside, I felt like someone that didn't deserve to be there. I no longer believed in myself or believed that I had any potential to finish this track. What hurt even more was that I wanted to mentor fellow students, but what could I mentor them on if I couldn't even keep my own path in order?

Despite my lack of confidence or belief in myself, my friends and family became my confidence and further supported in me. They encouraged me, supported me, provided me with resources. My friends in school and from college would show me the silver lining, help me with studying, and listened as I cried. Heck, at one point I stopped checking my final grades since that only fueled my fears. They hugged me, tried to keep my spirit up, and became the filling for the shell of the human being I was. Their residence in my soul helped cultivate who I truly was again. They helped to define who I was, what my passions were, and what my goals were. They provided me with the true perspective of this path and of my purpose. They were the reason I survived second year. They were the reason I lived.

When I clicked submit for my final exam of second year and saw that I had passed, I left, gathered my stuff, and beamed the brightest smile a person can muster. And I cried. I cried for relief of the fear I had about my future, cried from how grateful I was for my support system, and cried from the joy of surviving the hardest year of my life. It was because of them, I knew that WE would surviving studying and passing step as well, which WE did. And now here we are in the second month of 3rd year. This can be one of the hardest but most enjoyable years of medical school. For me, this year is worth everything that happened. I'm happy to wake up at 5 in the morning, happy to be in at 6:30, happy to have patients to take care off, and grateful to be provided the privilege to do all of it.

Where I am in terms of my confidence now? Definitely not 100%, but it's improving. My program director's message of preparation rings in my head everyday. I prepare myself with the knowledge of evidence based medicine to translate it into my daily assessment and plans for my patients. I carefully prepare my mind with my patient's record to be their best advocate. And each morning I prepare my heart and soul to connect with a fellow human being to guide them on their journey of healing.

Yes, everyday I truly do doubt myself and my abilities, but I have some outstanding classmates who support me (some who even admire me, which is just ridiculous to me), exceptional mentors and teachers to guide my thinking and decisions, and amazing family and friends to continue to support this journey. I personally don't see myself as a role model, but as a model of someone that persisted through the valleys. And I think I can make out the mountain tops.