Residency Is Busy. Here’s 10 Tools To Amplify Your Time.
Having the right tools can completely change your experience as a medical student or resident.
Medical school and residency are busy times. The more time that can be spent on meaningful tasks (studying for a big exam) or activities we intrinsically enjoy (spending time with family and friends, etc) the better this experience will be. Collectively, the tools below have given me more time to study and perform well as a student, and more time to spend enjoying some of my other passions.
These tools have made a big difference in my residency experience, and I wish I would have leveraged them earlier in my medical career.
Grocery Delivery
Residency is busy and finding time to keep a fridge full of good food can be a challenge. In my opinion, wellness can be improved by spending more time on activities we find meaningful, and occasionally find ways to delegate activities that are not. Instead of spending time grocery shopping, I'll use that time to call an old friend or work on a fun project. Although it might cost a few extra dollars, the time I save, and the result of a full fridge has been worth every penny. Personally, I use Shipt, but there are a number of different options out there (Instacart, Walmart, etc).
Mealbox
Mealbox: Eating quality food at the hospital during long days (aka on CCM, OB/GYN, etc) can also be tough to navigate. I found this local chef in Omaha who delivers a week's worth of healthy meals for those especially busy weeks. Website link: Mealbox. (I'm not getting paid for any of this, I just have been using it for a while and I love it).
Notion
Notion: Most of the information we learn in medicine isn't immediately actionable - We learn something, and then hope we can recall it later (often days, weeks, or even months later) when we encounter a similar patient case. This is true for our Rosh Review, textbook reading, even Case Conferences and Simulation labs. How can we store these key learning pearls in a place where we can reference them when needed? Notion is a tool that can help solve this.
Notion is a knowledge-management tool (basically Evernote on steroids) that can help keep pearls of knowledge captured years ago be available to you within a few seconds when you need it. While the program has a slight learning curve, it can be pretty powerful.
It also has no-code building blocks to create information dashboards/databases, and API's to connect with other apps. I enjoy creating and sharing Notion templates and would be happy to meet with anyone who might be interested in learning more about it. Link: Notion
IFTTT App
IFTTT App: The app IFTTT (If-This-Then-That) offers no-code solutions to link apps together, and also make quick keys for repetitive actions or repeated calls. I've used it to make home screen shortcuts for calling consults on off-service rotations (see image) so that a consult can be made with a single tap from your home screen. This works great on trauma to make quick calls to Ortho or Neurosurgery while in the trauma bay.
Wireless Headphones
Wireless Headphones (Airpods, etc): This one has made my workflow so much smoother when responding to pages on off-service rotations. Although it sounds simple, having your hands free to put in orders/write notes while on a call has made making these calls feel a heck of a lot easier. Airpods are common, but any kind of wireless headphones will help you stay hands-free.
Headspace App
Headspace App: The app Headspace provides me with more energy and mental clarity than any “Bang” energy drink, and only takes 2-3 minutes. Whenever I have a busy day and need a quick refresh, I’ll pop my headphones in and listen to a track for two minutes. Zero expectations… All you have to do is sit back, relax, and listen. I’ve never had the thought, “Yeah, that wasn’t worth it” after listening to one.
DDxOf App
DDxOf App: This app is created by Tom Fadial, an Emergency Medicine physician and the Educational Technology and Innovation Officer at the McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center. Patients don’t walk into the Emergency Department and tell us they are having acute mesenteric ischemia - They say their stomach hurts. Although our textbooks give us information based on disease, this app matches how we evaluate patients in real life - by symptom or exam finding. I’ve found extraordinarily helpful from time to time on shift.
Night-Shift Blackout Curtains
Blackout Curtains: This one has made a monumental difference in both my time and energy. At first I was doubtful, but after giving them a try there was a noticeable difference in the amount of time it would me to fall asleep, and the number of times I wake up during the day.
These curtains have saved me about an hour of time each day (between falling asleep and waking up) and have noticed a big difference with how rested I feel coming into a night shift. My only regret is that I wish I would've bought some earlier.
Microphone (For At-Home Note Dictation)
Microphone (for home Dragon dictation): I wish I would’ve bought this sooner. Having a microphone at home to use dragon to complete a few notes while staying comfy at home (or out in the sun outside) has been awesome. There are a variety of mics available out there, this is the one I use (I think the colors are fun, also use it for video/podcasts projects, and it picks up sound extraordinarily well and makes less errors than the Dragon mics) but there are a ton of options out there even around $30 or so.
A Go-To Spot To Do Notes Outside
A place to do notes outside: Studies out there that show how a little sunlight, fresh air, and green (plants, trees, etc) has on our mood, energy, and creativity. I’ve timed myself doing my notes inside an outside, and I always get them done quicker when I work outside in some fresh air. Not only that, I feel refreshed when I come back inside and move onto the next task.
If you don’t have a spot, a cheap reclining lawn chair on Amazon did the trick for me. I got this little zero gravity chair to use on my apartment balcony and I love the thing. Give it a try ☀️
