Weekend Review: USMLE flashcards, brownies, & Big Little Lies

Happy April! We've been getting wet snow all week, so it doesn't feel like spring quite yet. Next week is forecasted to be warm and sunny, which I'm thankful for, as I returned my parking placard yesterday and will be walking to the nearby hospital (where my next rotation takes place) for the next month. I can't say adios to general surgery quite yet though -- I'm on call on Saturday, so will be officially done around 10 am on Sunday :-) Here are some things that I've enjoyed this week:

1. a day off -- Residents in Alberta get Good Friday off and I'm so glad to have the chance to sleep in past 4:15 am, prepare some meals that are not canned tuna or grilled cheese, and get some studying done. While I'm a little jealous that my BC resident friends get both Good Friday and Easter Monday off, one day off is better than nothing!

   

   a slow morning with coffee, blueberry muffin oats, and sunshine :)

2. study time -- The past few days have been easy ones for my general surgery team, as discharging patients + not being on admissions = short inpatient list! Yesterday us residents were done rounding at 6:30 am and had a full 3 hours to kill before we had to meet up with our staff. I've been trying to use breaks like these to get in some USMLE studying (well, after spending a good hour couple hours getting coffee and socializing). I've discovered that flipping through a deck of Study Stack flashcards is perfect for when you don't want to think too hard.

   

   (http://www.studystack.com/USMLE)

3. brownies -- Because my batch of peanut butter chocolate chip oatmeal cookies has been disappearing at an alarming rate (and because I need to take advantage of my last couple days of I-can-eat-all-the-junk-food-because-I'm-on-surgery), I mixed up a box of Duncan Hines brownies last night...and accidentally ate a quarter of them.
   
4. reading -- I've really been enjoying reading a little every day. Today I started Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty and hope it's as good as I've heard!

   

   (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19486412-big-little-lies)

5. schedule -- This week I was emailed my schedule for next year! In second year I'll be primarily on-service, but I'll still have three months of electives -- I ended up getting thoracic surgery, gyne oncology, and inpatient ward oncology, all of which I'm happy with!

What was great in your week?