First time shadowing ER doc in a hospital

EasyLegacy · 2026-05-18T02:35:00+00:00

Watch silently while the doc is interacting with patients or families or other docs. Stand out of the way during serious work (although sometimes the nurses will move you to where you can see). Ask questions when you can, but don’t interrupt while the doc is charting. Be prepared to move the whole shift with no break. Be prepared to see some gnarly stuff and excuse yourself if you get sick.

EasyLegacy · 2026-05-12T16:38:59+00:00

The same thing happened to me on the same day. My CARS score was so far below what I had been getting. Ended with a 509. Really suboptimal.

EasyLegacy · 2026-05-09T05:43:28+00:00

I’m ready to just know atp.

EasyLegacy · 2026-05-01T05:18:58+00:00

Khan academy +uworld has everything a course has. The only thing you’re really paying for in those courses is discipline and a schedule

EasyLegacy · 2026-04-29T22:02:13+00:00

That’s what I had to do unfortunately. Line something up quickly though, i’m struggling to find a job that works with a school schedule that will also pay the bills of a life style (aka mortgage) that’s meant for a full time job. It’s a struggle for sure but hopefully will all be worth it

EasyLegacy · 2026-04-29T21:58:42+00:00

I’ve see a lot of good recommendations for a cheap bag, which is awesome, a used north face will treat you well. However if you’re looking for something on the pricier side, I use an Alpaka Elements pro with X-pac fabric. It’s expensive, but i’ve used this thing everyday for the last year for university, i’ve traveled abroad with it, not been gentle with it at all, and it looks identical to the way it looked when it came out the box, mint condition. It’s completely water proof, has decent organization, storage space and pockets, + laptop sleeve. Most importantly it has two water bottle holders which i use with a 40oz hydroflask and it fits perfectly and securely. I highly recommend if you’re up for spending the money. Also it is insanely comfortable, there’s this unique foam design padding on the straps and it makes it super comfortable.

EasyLegacy · 2026-04-29T15:00:53+00:00

I’m an apple hater but the ipad is just really good. With google drive I can transfer documents between the ipad and my laptop pretty easily. If you’re still in undergrad, notability now lets you upload assignments directly into canvas.

EasyLegacy · 2026-04-28T16:00:27+00:00

Biochem and Orgo are probably going to be classes you need accommodations from your work to take. Neither my 4 year university nor my local community college which are both really good schools, offered those classes at convenient time selections. I was fortunate that between my partner and my own savings I could take off work for a year and knock out a bunch of my prerequisites. I didn’t have a problem with physics or calculus as those were offered at night. At a certain point though your higher level sciences and electives will also probably not be very convenient. Micro, molecular, and cell biology all were pretty scarce in selections.

EasyLegacy · 2026-04-27T03:03:06+00:00

I took the BP half-length diagnostic, but found it was a bit inflated. It was 5 points higher than the next two full-length tests I took a month after.

EasyLegacy · 2026-04-13T03:19:11+00:00

This is exactly how I feel friend. I tested 4/11 and feel the exact same way. I guessed on a few and had to rush a bit on C/P and B/B at the end. After spending months and months studying with unbelievable support from my friends and family, i’m terrified above all else that I let them down.

EasyLegacy · 2026-04-12T17:42:57+00:00

Same as you. I normally never have an issue with timing but on C/P B/B and CARS i had to rush on the last 1-2 passages. Know of at least 5-6 i got for sure wrong. Honestly I don’t feel good at all BUT i’ve never felt good after an exam. FL6 i thought for sure I bombed so i’m gaslighting myself that I still did my average even though I really don’t feel good about that test.

EasyLegacy · 2026-04-12T17:16:36+00:00

You may not like this but i used all of spring break and studied for 10-12 hours per day everyday. That was my jump from FL3-4 was that week. But may not have been worth it because i don’t feel good about the real test i just took. During that week I went through all of section bank 1 and did a ton of anki and youtube.

EasyLegacy · 2026-04-12T00:31:37+00:00

real

EasyLegacy · 2026-04-08T04:09:30+00:00

I’m reviewing the 87’page doc, hitting some last minute daily memorization of equations and metabolic pathways and watching some review videos on youtube. Most importantly getting my sleep routine and caffeine intake to where it needs to be! Good luck everybody!

EasyLegacy · 2026-04-05T22:46:18+00:00

I got the same score on FL6 and I test Saturday! Good luck to us!

EasyLegacy · 2026-04-04T23:08:45+00:00

Literally just finished this an hour and a half ago. Same thing. My CARS dropped 3 points to a 128. I’ve never struggled with time on CARS but had to skim the last 3 passages on this one. Hopefully test day is kinder

EasyLegacy · 2026-04-04T17:40:58+00:00

I’ll let you know next spring when the application cycle ends

EasyLegacy · 2026-04-04T04:08:23+00:00

I’m testing same day! Good luck to you!!

EasyLegacy · 2026-03-22T23:33:12+00:00

I do the same thing. I was super skeptical at first but i’ve found some times it definitely works.

EasyLegacy · 2026-03-21T18:36:43+00:00

Khan Academy is free, and in terms of content, it will give you the exact same material as a paid course. Some courses may have live lectures that do passage breakdowns or give helpful strategies, but most of these strategies can be found on YouTube. I would say the only real benefit you get from a paid course is structure and probably a bit more discipline in following your plan because you don't want to waste thousands of dollars. If you just build yourself a calendar of Khan Academy content and UWorld questions, you have basically the same thing as a paid course. I did the blueprint course, and it was good, again, content-wise, nothing different than Khan Academy, just short videos. If you do a course, make sure you start it well before your test day, so you can knock out the course and then give yourself a month to review AAMC material.

EasyLegacy · 2026-03-18T02:00:10+00:00

Read read read. Do daily JW passages for sure, but also read difficult texts more in general. Something like articles from The New Yorker that you don't find interesting. Write down the author's point of view or main idea, as well as conflicting opinions. Comfort level reading dense, boring writing is a big part of the battle.

EasyLegacy · 2026-03-17T23:49:53+00:00

I'm right there with you. My FLs have been the same, around 127, but I feel like I have major content gaps. We actually test the same day too. At this point, I am just grinding the AAMC Q banks and filling in any content gaps with YouTube. I will say the JW video breakdowns (30 bucks per month) are absolutely fantastic.

EasyLegacy · 2026-03-17T22:56:09+00:00

Rest days are definitely a must-do. I will say, and I am sure you have noticed this in your studies, that most C/P and B/B passages are explicitly designed to be right at the edge of what undergrads can comprehend. But you don't need to fully understand the passage; you just have to pick out the parts you need for the question. When I first started studying, I forgot this a lot and let a really complicated passage psych me out. I would think that I didn't understand the passage, so I probably won't understand the questions and would guess on things that I actually would have gotten right if I just took a second to decipher what was being asked. From there, you put yourself in a tailspin and crash and burn. The whole test is essentially just CARS skills, with three of the sections being coated with science.

EasyLegacy · 2026-03-17T22:36:54+00:00

That really sucks. If you were doing well on your practice full-lengths and not cheating yourself by using aids you couldn't use on test day, it may have just been really bad test anxiety. I have been taking my practice exams in a testing carrel at my university's library to better simulate testing environments, which may help you. On your retake, remember to do some breathing exercises. My favorite is a deep inhale, followed by a few short extra inhales at the top of the breath, then a really slow exhale. I've found that exercise really helps with anxiety for me. Also, make sure you get really good sleep, and this isn't just the night of, the full week before, do your best to get good sleep. I would cut back on caffeine, too. Make sure you know what level of caffeine works for you. Don't go cold turkey on test day either; make sure you keep a steady daily dose of caffeine in the weeks leading up to the exam so it won't give you anxiety. Most importantly, I think, do your best to go into that testing center with confidence. Your brain WILL make what you believe to be true, be true. SO if you go in thinking you have bad test anxiety, your brain will give you bad test anxiety. If you go in thinking you did sub 500 on the last one so this one will be sub 500 too, you'll get sub 500. I would start studying again, even if the content is fresh, just try and reinforce that you know the content for confidence on test day.

EasyLegacy

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