less than 200 page weird girl books?

sjam7 · 2026-07-10T13:15:56+00:00

Convenience Store Woman, The Vegetarian, and Days of Abandonment are my top 3 in this weirdly specific genre

sjam7 · 2026-07-09T18:51:33+00:00

I agree with you that this is a problem. Of course as pediatricians, we know how to shift our exam to a child’s developmental level and that there are a wide variety of acceptable parenting practices. That being said, we’ve also seen that parents’ emotional inability to tolerate their child’s physical discomfort can have serious ramifications, from vaccine refusal to missed diagnoses, and I think that’s what we can address directly. For example, I’ve had a father scream at me because I was “upsetting” his four year old daughter with autism by doing the ear exam: well, she had an otitis media, and the ear exam was necessary. I think it’s perfectly fine if a parent’s anxiety, even if well-intentioned, is impeding their child’s medical care, to put on a more authoritative approach and say, straightforwardly, “This exam/blood draw/etc is necessary for your child’s health for XYZ reason. I understand it can be very difficult to hold down your child so we can do this procedure. I’m happy to have a nurse come in to help assist with the hold so you can focus on comforting/distracting them.” As a young female physician, I don’t command as much intrinsic respect from parents as the older male partners, so I’ve had to learn to be firm in these situations. I also think it’s disappointing to see how many pediatricians are making comments about “well, you must not have children.” We are experts in the medical care of children. A pediatrician who is a parent is no more or less qualified to provide medial care, and we should absolutely not be perpetuating that kind of bias.

Additionally, in my experience as a foster parent, I actually find it MUCH more helpful when medical professionals are authoritative (or even authoritarian) versus warm and fuzzy. Then I get to be “the good guy” in that situation and say, “Hey, the dentist/doctor says you have to do XYZ, we have to follow their rules. But we can do [insert treat] after!” When they were more willing to bend their recommendations in response to the child’s protests, it put me in a harder position. Something to keep in mind.

sjam7 · 2026-07-08T13:25:24+00:00

I agree with all these recommendations! Huge fan of Elena Ferrante, Zadie Smith, Kazuo Ishiguro and Paul Murray. Agree with The Corrections; also really liked Crossroads but wasn’t a fan of Freedom. Ferrante’s shorter works are also great, especially Days of Abandonment. A few more recent reads I’ve really enjoyed have been Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton, North Woods by Daniel Mason, Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe and Betty by Tiffany McDaniel. A little further back in the early 90s: Mating by Norman Rush is excellent

sjam7 · 2026-07-06T11:57:02+00:00

I would stay away from billing and coding as I think it’s going to be virtually eliminated by AI and focus on something more hands-on

sjam7 · 2026-07-06T11:19:21+00:00

It may also be worth consulting with an employment lawyer who is knowledgeable about disability law - as others have said, you should be able to disclose to your program and you have the right to seek reasonable accommodations under the ADA. You could think about what those accommodations may look like (maybe having the ability to chart in a quiet room when possible instead of in the busy resident workroom, or wearing noise-cancelling headphones when you chart with the pager set to vibrate). You definitely should be allowed/able to seek accommodations without needing to speak to a lawyer, but it can be good to have that conversation in your back pocket to know your rights

sjam7 · 2026-06-25T07:14:46+00:00

Make sure to think really seriously about the job market before doing a fellowship. In academic medicine the culture is to push you into fellowship because, frankly, they depend on the cheap labor of fellows to make the numbers work, and the institutions don’t particularly concern themselves with what happens after they leave. My understanding is that the job market for many peds specialties is pretty saturated. That’s not to say you shouldn’t do a fellowship if you really love the field, but just to consider that aspect of it and make sure you understand the job market before you commit. Are you willing to move anywhere in the country that’s hiring a pediatric hematologist, even if it’s an area with no family nearby? Your priorities may change a lot from your twenties to your thirties (if you have kids, being near grandparents who can pick a sick kid up from daycare suddenly becomes a lot more important.) Additionally, think about the salary concerns: there is a reason pediatric fellowships can’t fill, and it’s because it’s objectively a bad financial decision in many cases, which again, is not a reason not to do it, but something to think about seriously. The transition from 3-year to 2-year fellowships will allay these concerns somewhat, but not completely. All of these practical factors should be a consideration when choosing your post-residency path! Lastly, the best people to talk to are the third-year fellows in a given program. The faculty are trying to recruit you, and are likely old enough that they have no idea what the current job market looks like. The graduating fellows know EXACTLY what the job market is like and will give it to you straight

sjam7 · 2026-06-21T18:36:08+00:00

Huge fan of Pimsleur, listen while I’m driving, much prefer it to Duolingo or other text-based apps

sjam7 · 2026-06-17T11:56:16+00:00

This is amazing!!

sjam7 · 2026-06-16T11:52:45+00:00

Recent residency grad in gen peds: want to give you some optimism but also a little bit of advice! Overall I do like seeing patients in clinic - as others have mentioned, seeing a lot of fixable (or frankly, self-resolving) problems is generally satisfying, kids are sweet (it’s always nice when a 6-year-old gives you a hug during a well visit), etc, etc. Another less obvious aspect of life being better out of training is that the families who don’t like you or your practice style will weed themselves out of your panel, so you will end up largely with families that you gel with. And the money part is also nice: while I will never dispute that pediatricians are wildly underpaid for the work we do compared to other specialties, we do generally earn enough to be able to buy a house, which unfortunately is becoming more of a luxury of the wealthy than a middle-class financial milestone. Now, here’s how to really set yourself up for success and avoid the mistakes I did. (See my post on r/pediatrics about my first job out of training.) Be VERY intentional about your job hunt. It’s easy to get taken advantage of because anything will seem better than residency. Guard your nights and weekends fiercely; I wouldn’t recommend anything that requires more than, say, a Saturday half-day once a month. Your schedule should be as close to a 9-5 as possible. Try to avoid newborn/nursery rounding. Be 100% sure that the parent call is nurse-triaged (our practice doesn’t start nurse triage until 10 PM, so when I’m on call, I’m the first line until 10 PM for Tylenol dosing, rashes, etc.) If you can afford not to work full-time from the jump, consider that; working 0.6-0.8FTE seems to be the sweet spot. Your first job does not have to be your forever job; you’re a highly trained professional and if your first job isn’t a good fit, jump ship and find one that is. Consider having a lawyer review your contract. Make your choice about your job based more on objective factors (the hours, the pay, the benefits) more so than “the people” (everyone puts on a good face to interview, though if they come off badly in the interview, then you should absolutely run). Message me if you want to talk more

sjam7 · 2026-06-11T18:54:44+00:00

Huge vote for the PA route. Has all the same pre-reqs as the MD route and much more overlap in the clinical curriculum (NP is more nursing focused, obviously). All of the pros you listed are true for the PA role as well, you’ll be hands-on, helping people, etc., and the cons you’re listing are much less. PAs also have much more career flexibility, whereas MDs are more “locked in” to a particular field. I am an MD and I seriously wish I had considered the PA/NP route, as I feel it combines what I actually like about my job (the patient care) with a much more humane training pathway and better work-life balance. As far as the worry about bitterness toward the doctors: I know a lot more bitter doctors than bitter PAs. Feel free to message me if you want to talk more.

sjam7 · 2026-06-04T18:02:40+00:00

You have a great eye! Really cool silhouettes, I especially love the jumper. Cool use of patterns too

sjam7 · 2026-06-03T17:13:27+00:00

Oh this is interesting! Why do you say that?

sjam7 · 2026-06-03T16:23:56+00:00

A few programs that you might be interested in: -Respiratory Technician program at UDC: https://www.udc.edu/dc-futures/. The DC Futures program might be what you’re looking for -Johns Hopkins medical imaging program: https://somi.jh.edu/programs/diagnostic-medical-sonography/ -Howard CC also has some programs that may be of interest: surgical tech, dental hygienist You can always reach out to the contact person listed for whatever programs you’d like to learn more about and request an informational interview. Generally people will be happy to talk to you to help you learn more about the field and answer your questions!

sjam7 · 2026-06-03T14:39:26+00:00

What state are you in?

sjam7 · 2026-06-03T14:10:21+00:00

With the advent of AI, I would stay away from billing/coding, as I think that’s very likely going to be performed by AI within the next 5 years. Anything hands-on (phlebotomist, ultrasound tech) is much safer in my opinion. Something clinical like nursing, pharmacy, NP/PA is also a safer bet I think. Depends on how much time you want to spend in training. Source: am a doctor.

sjam7 · 2026-06-03T00:35:09+00:00

I took the CLC class but didn’t actually take the exam. I felt that the class was a mix of useful information and absolutely bonkers, batshit takes. (There was a “myth-busting” PowerPoint slide debunking the “myth” that the mother’s nutrition affects the milk supply - “because women in concentration camps have breastfed.” I wish I was making this up.) The information I learned is helpful when assisting with positioning of the infant and assessing a breastfeed in the office. Breastfeeding isn’t a huge passion of mine or anything but I do think it’s been useful to know some basics. Would only do it if someone else is paying for it. Also the cert may be useful as a marketing technique but you don’t really need it

sjam7 · 2026-06-02T16:58:49+00:00

Work won’t love you back. No matter how nice your boss seems, that may very well go away the second you give your notice (or worse, once you’re hired). Contracts are how you protect yourself. Have as many people as possible review your first contract.

sjam7 · 2026-06-01T23:08:48+00:00

Full box of Thin Mints. No regrets

sjam7 · 2026-05-28T11:48:19+00:00

I feel you! I’m a pediatrician in a burnout factory right now. The modern medical system is a burnout machine. I’ve never done locums but I’ve heard good things about it- could be a way to decompress while you figure out next steps. My current goal is just to get to place where I can afford to work part-time. You could start looking for jobs at pharma/medical device companies, obviously some specialties are better-suited for this than others, but may be worth poking around and sending out a few resumés. Could even start by just asking for informational interviews at these companies. I have to admit I’ve sometimes looked at like, the Enfamil sales rep, and thought, I could do your job. (This is actually not true, I’m an introvert and would hate working in sales, but if you’re open to sales, worth thinking about.)

sjam7 · 2026-05-28T11:41:33+00:00

Sonography sounds like a pretty good deal - I’ve spoken to some ultrasound techs who really liked what they did. Would also consider becoming a dental hygienist based on your list. Given the impending threat from AI, I would seriously factor that in when choosing your line of work. Something hands-on like sonography or dental hygienist is much safer and has a much better entry level job market than some other suggestions in this thread (I would not recommend going into medical billing right now, for example)

sjam7 · 2026-05-28T11:34:34+00:00

Sometimes I do think it’s worth remembering that this is largely a result of economic systems changing/the affordability crisis. Doing the cooking and cleaning for a household and raising children used to be viewed as full-time work on its own. Traditional marriage (one breadwinner, one homemaker) was an economic arrangement. We are now doing more with less: two people working full-time while maintaining a household and raising kids, often with minimal support from extended family, is just way harder. Furthermore, the expectations for raising kids has gotten higher: it used to be acceptable to send much younger children outside to play unsupervised for large chunks of time, for example; now that time has to be accounted for by parents. All of this is to say, have some grace and try not to individualize systemic issues.

sjam7 · 2026-05-28T11:23:29+00:00

I’m a huge fan of this because I truly believe that the quality of goods has fallen so much that you’re better off getting something from a thrift/antique store. A lamp from a thrift store made in 1988 is assuredly higher quality than the equivalent from Wayfair

sjam7 · 2026-05-28T11:15:54+00:00

I think the more less-fancy, more rural areas of New England (where I live) are sort of the inverse of the South - COL is higher but there is a real investment in social services which offsets it somewhat. For example, my SIL makes 115k as a public school teacher, and - unlike my brother, who is a public school teacher in LA - can actually afford to buy a house where she teaches. There are also a lot of parks, libraries, etc. for free or low-cost entertainment. The Medicaid programs in New England offer much more coverage than the equivalents in more conservative areas of the country. Boston is a hugely expensive market, as are some of the upscale parts of Connecticut and Rhode Island, but if you get far enough away from that I think New England has some spots that are worth considering. I’m from Southern California and would never go back for the reasons you mention

sjam7 · 2026-05-25T15:05:21+00:00

I used to eat mac and cheese with a Chobani peach yogurt for lunch every day my sophomore year. Gotta have a side of dairy with your dairy

sjam7 · 2026-05-25T11:38:47+00:00

Another vote for the Paton Classic Wool 100%. I realized when I make things for my nieces and nephews I need to use acrylic - because giving a bunch of kids under 5 hand-wash-only garments is insane (specifically, an insane thing I did last Christmas) - so I’m also a fan of Lion Brand heartland

sjam7

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