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Diane

From Half-assed Medical Student To Worldclass Cardiologist

449 posts in this topic

Amazing things that happened in the last few days:

  • Yesterday I ran my first 10 km!!!! :D:D^_^ Precisely 10,94 km in 55 minutes, 1 second per km faster than the last time too!!! B|
  • While running I almost got hit by a car.. I really could be in an intensive care unit right now... The theory that accidents like that are a sign that there's something wrong is still valid.. I think that this time the message could be that I need to be more focused on studying and on my goals.. On one hand there's the realization I had about my values and how they actually correlate to my current priorities: passion comes before professionalism and this could explain how religiously committed I am to running versus studying: I am bothered by not being able to run when I plan to but when it's time to study there's always something more urgent to do first... On the other hand I am very very easily distracted..
  • Today I spent 10 good minutes on my desk... xD I waste time in many many ways but it's rare that I give myself a real break. I just sat on my desk for 10 minutes but it really felt like a little vacation, a luxury even.. ^_^
  • This evening I sang in a choir!! :x^_^ Talking about Cardiologists being VIPs, apparently all the other voices have to follow the lead of the sopranos and I am one, of course!!! xD
  • I ate a very delicious shawarma, with lamb and pecorino. I usually don't like pecorino but this shawarma was simply delicious!!!

Ways could have made the last few days even better:

  • Studying more.

Ways I got closer to becoming a wordclass Cardiologist:

  • Studying.

What I learned:

  • You can always run a little bit harder. Eddie Pinero ^_^:x

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Amazing things that happened today:

  • This song

It came to my mind while I was coming back home after another wonderful day.. I ended up dancing by myself in my room... :x^_^ I loved the cover by the Passenger too!!

  • I'm really in my element here in Sardinia, from every possible point of view!! I just have to pay attention not to get too comfortable..
  • I had a great dinner at the University Cafeteria.. I'm really living the life I want to live someday, just in miniature!! ^_^
  • This is what I currently see when I open google chrome from my phone.. As you can see I also go on medscape quite frequently!! xD

Screenshot_2016-12-01-22-41-12_1.jpg

There's actually a beautiful relationship between me and medscape.. When I subscribed to it they also asked the expected graduation date and I had written 2014 and since then I've been called Doctor on that site and anytime I wrote medscape on my browser they automatically redirected me to the Cardiology section.... :x:x:x

Ways I could have made today even better:

  • Studying and working out.

Ways I got closer to becoming a wordclass Cardiologist:

  • Being conscious of the fact that Sardinia is not my final destination...

What I learned:

  • A flame can be a fragile thing and if you don't keep it lit it will die. Eddie Pinero

 

Edited by Diane

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Amazing things that happened in the last few days:

  • It's December!! :D In contrast with last year I'm not happy about this  because it means that I'm getting out of a bad year.. I feel that a great year is about to end and an even better one is waiting around the corner!! ^_^
  • Yesterday one of the girls who live at my dorm left me a delicious piece of cake!! I don't buy sweets for myself so it's always a treat when I get some!! :D
  • Yesterday I forgot my keys at work but then found them!! Also one of my white coats got lost and then found.. :)
  • Today was a good day at work. Little by little I'm becoming the person I want to be!! 

Ways I could have made the last few days even better:

  • Being more focused on studying.

Ways I got closer to becoming a wordclass Cardiologist:

  • Studying.
  • Being assertive.

What I learned:

  • Being a doctor is hard... I'm grateful for Leo's video about confusion.. In the last few days I confronted a lot of ethical questions, knowing that sometimes it's ok not to know or not having THE answer rereally helped me..

http://www.upworthy.com/this-comic-from-the-oatmeal-illustrates-how-were-missing-the-mark-on-happiness?c=ufb1

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Amazing things that happened today:

  • I went to church. I would still define myself as agnostic right now but I enjoy going to church, especially during Advent to see the evolution from here to Christmas day.. After all I love preparing and organizing, I could spend all of my life just doing that.. I read that it might be a form of unconscious self-cure for anxiety.. Consciousness really is a cure-all: I am now much more loving and understanding towards my past (and present) self.. :x
  • I studied and rested.
  • I might be a newbie but my intuition is already near to the top!! B| I smiled when Leo said that one's life purpose should include raising consciousness in others and that it can be done in every possible field one chooses to master... Just a few weeks ago I updated my life purpose statement to "To do plenty of research and public speaking to make people healthier through consciousness AND become a world-class Cardiologist". :)

Ways I could have made today even better:

  • Running.

Ways I got closer to becoming a wordclass Cardiologist:

  • Studying!! :D

What I learned:

  • First they question you, then they ask you how you did it. Franck Nicolas
  • The vision is more important than the how: if you have a strong enough vision and you're committed to it, the how will take care of itself. Leo Gura

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@Dragallur yes, I meditate 25 minutes per day (so that I'm sure I do at least 20... xD). Last month I finished the third month of meditating with the techniques in the video "how to meditate deeper" and now I more or less use the do nothing technique. My present goal is just not to miss one day of meditation for a year. The good thing is that now meditating has become even more important than studying. I can sleep well even if I don't study for a day but I really couldn't stand finishing a day without meditating. It's kind of become part of me. Maybe that's the reason I don't talk about it, it's not special nor "amazing", it just is. ^_^

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Amazing things that happened today:

I didn't almost not run but I did almost not go out with some colleagues for trivial reasons.. And it was a great night in the end!! 

  • I stayed calm at work in a situation that in the past would have totally upset me.. I was so calm I took the time to have lunch... xD
  • I received a lot of compliments for my earrings dragonfly-shaped earrings!! I will never wear them at work again as they're not practical but it was nice!! 

Ways I could have made today even better:

  • Running, again.. 

Ways I got closer to becoming a wordclass Cardiologist:

  • Going to a mini lesson on percarditis!! :D

What I learned:

  • Not to take things personally.

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Amazing things that happened today:

  • It was a good day of vacation!! Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of the town I live in so today was a holiday. I reeeally pampered myself!! Tomorrow I won't be going to work too as I decided to take a day to do some commissions I couldn't otherwise do and the day after tomorrow will be a holiday again.. They should also say that sometimes things can also be easy and pleasant, not every single step towards one's life purpose is hard and painful.. Or maybe I'm just learning to love the drudgery as between one cuddle and the other I also did my morning routine, studied and did some chores.. I'm becoming more and more aware of how abnormal my life is.. My colleagues wake up at 7 to be at work at 8 while my alarm clock is set at 4.30am and drinking a latte for breakfast is almost a luxury (I even posted on facebook the picture of my latte with rusk bread and honey: normally I drink a protein shake, two spoon of olive oil and one of honey, I didn't do the maths but I think it's a complete meal and it takes me less that 5 minutes to prepare and eat it..). Sometimes all this bothers me, fortunately it doesn't usually take too much for me to remember my whys.. :) 
  • Here is another "abnormality": the neon lamp in my room is not working so until they change it I'll just have a bedside lamp as lighting and I love it!! It creates such a cozy ambient!! It also reminds me of Burundi in some ways... :x I was about to write that there certainly is some masochism in all this but in the end the true pain is in the "easy and comfortable" life... I hope I'll rember it the next time I find myself envying 7am people..
  • I ate with someone else both at lunch and and dinner. Not that I don't enjoy eating by myself but being a holiday it was quite unusual as I didn't even go out (the majority of the other girls at my dorm are university students and they usually go home in the weekends and in holidays..). I also found a shopping mate for when I will allow myself to do some shopping!! xD Someday I won't have to force myself to do the right thing, can't wait!! :D

Ways I could have made today even better:

  • Running!!

Ways I got closer to becoming a wordclass Cardiologist:

  • Studying!! :D Hopefully from tomorrow I'll be finally doing (interpreting) an ECG per day!! 

What I learned:

  • To trust my intuition, even if I don't see anybody around me doing what I do the way I do it..

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Amazing things that happened today:

  • Everything is Illumenated (Dexter 5x06)!! :D
  • The cobbler I had brought to my beautiful ballerinas didn't want anything for the work.
  • I ran!!! It's becoming more and more "normal", it used to be the first thing I wrote.. ^_^

Ways I could have made today even better:

  • Waking up earlier.

Ways I got closer to becoming a wordclass Cardiologist:

  • Studying.

What I learned:

  • To fulfill the 10000 hours rule and master the field of Cardiology by the next 10 years I need to focus on it for at least 3 hours/day. The only thing is that I don't know how to count the time in the Internal Medicine ward.. We'll see..

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18 hours ago, Diane said:

To fulfill the 10000 hours rule and master the field of Cardiology by the next 10 years I need to focus on it for at least 3 hours/day. The only thing is that I don't know how to count the time in the Internal Medicine ward.. We'll see..

Do not be attached to this rule. From what I have read it may as well be very wrong. Nice general guide line but there are too many factors that you can not keep track of.


When it rains, it pours like hell.
-Insomnium

My blog: dragallur.wordpress.com

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@Dragallur Ah, ok, thank you!! And what about the "what is measured is managed" mantra?! I think I'll take it as yet another paradox to embrace... :D

P.S.: I've just discovered that you're only 16, AMAZING!!! :o:)

Edited by Diane

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Amazing things that happened in the last two days:

  • I attracted a walk!! :D The past few times I went out with my colleagues I really wanted to also take a walk around town and yesterday afternoon one of them just asked me that, it was fun!!
  • I "rediscovered" the music on my mp3 player, I had forgotten about it.. It's like a beautiful little gift from my past self to the one I am now, thank you dear!! ^_^
  • This forum makes me feel home.. For the first time since I came here in Sardinia today I felt some nostalgia for what I left behind.. I realized that I'm not seeing my BFF anytime soon... I guess it took me so much because even when I was at home we mostly texted and saw each other just once a week.. I miss her and she misses me too but it's ok..

Ways I could have made the last two days even better:

  • Being more focused on studying.. I confined myself in a convent to avoid distractions but in the three days off I had for one reason or another I spent most of the time doing everything but studying.. It's definitely not about the external conditions, sometimes I forget the basics.. :$

Ways I got closer to becoming a wordclass Cardiologist:

  • Studying and loving every second of it!! ^_^

What I learned:

  • The importance of keeping up with my routines, writing this journal in particular, it really helps me recalibrate when I go off balance..

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8 hours ago, Diane said:

@Dragallur Ah, ok, thank you!! And what about the "what is measured is managed" mantra?! I think I'll take it as yet another paradox to embrace... :D

I actually never heard that saying :D I guess you can keep rough track of what you have done in one week to know if you are working enough. Short "re-remembering" could be enough, matters how much value you put on what, who knows if what I am saying is anywhere near the truth:D!


When it rains, it pours like hell.
-Insomnium

My blog: dragallur.wordpress.com

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@Dragallur 

Amazing things that happened today:

Ways I could have made today even better:
Ways I got closer to becoming a wordclass Cardiologist:
What I learned:

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30 minutes ago, Diane said:

@Dragallur 

Amazing things that happened today:

Ways I could have made today even better:
Ways I got closer to becoming a wordclass Cardiologist:
What I learned:

I guess you "mentioning me" and writing empty post was just a publishing mistake.. or is this some kind of enlightenment joke? :D


When it rains, it pours like hell.
-Insomnium

My blog: dragallur.wordpress.com

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@Dragallur I'm not actualized enough to start making enlightenment jokes.. xD I fell asleep while trying to edit the post after erroneously publishing it... I meant to tell you that I'll try and see what works best with measuring my progress, I guess that as with any other thing everyone has his/her own style, it's just a matter of finding it..

 

Amazing things that happened today:

 

I walk pretty fast, especially in the morning while rushing to work, but today I found someone faster than me, we made a mini race and she "won".. It was nice!! :D

  • I ran with one of my colleagues today!! She said that she used to run 15 to 30 km, wonderful!! ^_^ She's actually the reason I stepped up my runs from 5 to 10 km each.. :)
  • I'm not perfect but I'm learning to be a little bit tougher every day.. In Italian they say "to make a virtue out of necessity".. When I was at home, and especially when I was still engaged, there always was someone who could do for me what I didn't want/was too tired to do.. Now if something doesn't get done it just stays there waiting..

Ways I could have made today even better:

  • Studying.

Ways I got closer to becoming a wordclass Cardiologist:

  • No one in particular.. :|

What I learned:

  • I need to reengineer my mind so that I waste the least time possible.. 

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Ok, there must be something wrong with my phone.. I wrote a super long post and all I see is a video.. Fortunately nobody's life depended from that, I'll just surrender to the fact that today is not the right day to write..

@Dragallur I fell asleep while editing that post after erroneously publishing it.. :$ I meant to tell you that I'll try and see what works best with measuring my progress, I guess that as with everything else everyone has his/her own style, it's just a matter of finding it!! :) 

Edited by Diane

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@Diane Hang on let me use my telepathic powers...:) OK I believe what you wrote was:


@Dragallur I'm not actualized enough to start making enlightenment jokes.. xD I fell asleep while trying to edit the post after erroneously publishing it... I meant to tell you that I'll try and see what works best with measuring my progress, I guess that as with any other thing everyone has his/her own style, it's just a matter of finding it..

Amazing things that happened today:
 I walk pretty fast, especially in the morning while rushing to work, but today I found someone faster than me, we made a mini race and she "won".. It was nice!! :D I ran with one of my colleagues today!! She said that she used to run 15 to 30 km, wonderful!! ^_^ She's actually the reason I stepped up my runs from 5 to 10 km each.. :) I'm not perfect but I'm learning to be a little bit tougher every day.. In Italian they say "to make a virtue out of necessity".. When I was at home, and especially when I was still engaged, there always was someone who could do for me what I didn't want/was too tired to do.. Now if something doesn't get done it just stays there waiting..

Ways I could have made today even better:
Studying.

Ways I got closer to becoming a wordclass Cardiologist:
No one in particular.. :| What I learned: I need to reengineer my mind so that I waste the least time possible..

Edited by Vercingetorix

"A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are made for"    - John A. Shedd

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Let's see what happens this time...

 

@Vercingetorix WOW!! Thank you so much!! No more enlightenment or similars for me, all I want is telepathy!!! :D

 

Amazing things that happened in the last few days (I've been taking notes...:)):

  • I finished the 90 days of affirmation+contemplation of my life purpose statement!!!! I'm very proud of that, I didn't miss a single day in spite of all the events that happened.. Now I meditate 30 minutes a day, hopefully I'll soon get to 1 hour..
  • P_20161211_132841_1.jpg:x:x:x I'm not saying that my life was ugly before but this year has been simply extraordinary!!! :x:x:x The café was closed when I noticed it, as soon as I can I'll go there and ask them why they choose such a lovely name for their place, in French even!!! <3 <3 <3 ^_^
  • Then I wrote "making people conscious".. While contemplating my life purpose statement in the form of "making people healthier through consciousness" the first thing I always thought about was that I need to be conscious myself first.. Now the problem is: how do I make people conscious of what I already managed to be conscious about?? Words don't always work and sometimes it would be insulting/disrespectful or at least I feel it would be.. In particular I'm talking about people, and especially patients, with anxiety/depression.. Most of the times they're poorly treated, if at all, and I so much would like to go there and start talking about the benefits of meditation, affirmation etc... Someday I'll get there though!! I already have something to start on :)
  • Talking about consciousness...

Today I got a bit angry at work and it really destabilized me.. Thankfully I already knew the concept of equanimity and I found this video.. He has such a calming voice!!! I listened to this podcast and another specifically about anger, I think I was smiling the whole time!! :x Why don't they also talk about "happy attacks" in medicine books?!?! And what about seeing oneself as a mountain, with thoughts and feelings being the clouds and rivers that pass by?!? Simply adorable!!! In my list on Evernote I wrote "life is a dance" referring to all this, and God knows if I love dancing, even if I'm not the best dancer ever...

  • I also wrote: "Cardiology love affair".. It's really as if Internal Medicine was my comfortable and certain relationship while Cardiology remains the apparently unattainable prince charming.. But the shoe will fit in the end!!! B|

Ways I could have made the last few days even better:

  • Working out/running.
  • Studying more.

Ways I got closer to becoming a wordclass Cardiologist:

  • Studying. 

What I learned:

  • I need to step up the game and toughen up a little bit!!

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