What You Need for Residency | Dr. Rachel Southard

[Music] do not be deceived by this face of makeup because your girl has worked over 70 hours every day this week whoa if that doesn't tell you how tired I am then I don't know what does I have worked at least 72 hours for the last I don't even know for sure 5 weeks and I just worked a 25 hour shift yes Yer to this morning slept an hour on that shift but I'm happy to be here because I'm here I'm at home I'm not in the hospital for once in my life you guys residency is it's a whirlwind and I hope that you have got a seat belt that will secure you to your seat because mhm you guys I want your transition into residency to be as smooth and seamless as possible because if you at least try to make it as seamless as possible it's only going to be a little less painful but it's a huge shock to the system and nothing can truly prepare you for residency I figured that giving you a laundry list of quote unquote Essentials might be helpful for you I've actually been getting a lot of questions about I'm starting residency what should I get what should I buy and I don't want you to go out and buy a bunch of things because I did that I bought a bunch of things that I thought would be useful but I didn't end up using half of the things I also asked a bunch of residents on Instagram to give their input on what they find are useful items to have as a resident what this video is not going to tell you to do is to study do not study do not worry about step three don't worry about level three don't worry about studying for the residency you don't need to do that please please please please please pleas please enjoy the little bit of time and freedom that you have left please you will be regretting it if you sat inside and studied go have fun enjoy yourselves because the clock is ticking where you're not going to be able to do so much of that anymore by the way I'll try to have everything linked down below so you can check out those items that I'm recommending throughout this video the most frequent response on here pens everyone's like you should have a bunch of pens you should have good pens multicolored pens and I completely agree do not invest in a expensive set of pens because you might lose these pens people might steal these pens but I found a really nice set of pens on Amazon that I've actually gifted to other residents and they love them and everyone who uses my pen they are obsessed and I'm like don't steal that that's mine they're very inexpensive they write really nice and also they're pretty aesthetically pleasing which I appreciate the next most common thing listed on this list are water bottles and a lot of people are saying you need to have a good water bottle I completely agree I completely agree you can be a Stanley gal and have a Stanley I do not bring this to work typically this was gifted to me and I actually kind of understand the hype but it's just too bulky there's too much going on here too much real estate to be lugging around back and forth water break having a good water bottle that will encourage you to drink water that you can carry around really easily this one is from L and um I really like this one but get yourself a nice water bottle that will promote hydration you do have night shifts or 24 hours in your residency program which I don't know I feel like all do I don't know about the 24 but definitely all have some sort of Night Shift involved bringing your own fuzzy blanket to the hospital when we do have an opportunity to sleep on the shift I sleep so much better when I have my own own personal blanket with me it is somewhat of a hassle to bring it to and from your shift but I feel like it makes the world of a difference for sleeping at the hospital and I feel more rested when I have my own personal belongings with me and so trying to emulate my own bed as much as possible while sleeping at the hospital helps next on the list would be a backpack or bag of some sort that is nice and sturdy to take to and from the hospital obviously mine is from calpac I just find this one really sturdy and comfortable and it will sit upright like wherever I put it and I can clean it with a wipe like a purple top wipes to just clean it if it gets weird and nasty if I put it on the floor that's that another item recommended by others and even myself is having an Apple Watch I know some of y'all have not converted to the better side of the mobile phone industry AKA y'all still use an Android what are you doing but get an iPhone switch to Apple if you haven't made the switch just do it no shade on anyone who uses Android I feel like it speaks for itself but having a smartwatch watch of any kind is just really helpful because you've got a life outside of the hospital sometimes emergencies happen with your family or whatever it is and they're trying to contact you if you don't have your phone readily available you can at least look at your watch and know whether this is an Urgent Message that you need to respond to or whatever it is or if anyone's texting you messaging you tiger connecting you you can see it and it's helpful I don't know it's just standard you need a watch and I feel like a smart watch is the best way to go um because of the text message phone call feature that you can have on the watch the next thing on the list having a good eye mask and if you've got lashes like I do you can get ones that are more like cups and they don't mess up your eyelashes um just a small little thing but having a good eye mask I think they've done studies where people get better sleep with eye masks on so that's definitely a must and then also having blackout curtains in your room because you know after a night shift how are you going to sleep when the sun's blaring in through your window so blackout curtains are an absolute must and yeah yeah the next thing on this list is not physical but if you know me and you've seen my videos or you've seen my journey through depression video then you knew that this was coming but having something available to you to be able to help and support your mental health is an absolute must and of course one of these things might be your support network your group of people your core people that you've hopefully established by now in your life that are available to you whether that's your close friend your family your partner that you can talk to uh when you're having a hard hard time sometimes that's not always available to us sometimes we feel like we don't want to burden these loved ones in our lives um and sometimes they just they they don't know how to give the advice to you that's okay that's not their fault something that I have found helpful is having a therapist and so this video is actually sponsored by better help I know talking to a therapist can be a weird concept you're like who is this person they don't know me but all of a sudden I'm unloading all my personal emotions out here and I'm crying in front of this person who doesn't even know me that honestly is the best part about it and another wonderful part about it that you have to remember is that these people are trained to listen to you they're trained to process your words and your problems and respond appropriately and give you advice that is helpful beneficial that can help you think grow change your perspective whatever it is and I love my support people so much but sometimes they they can't they don't know how to respond because they are not trained to do this that's not their job and I cannot expect that of them you have to talk about how you're feeling you can't just sweep it under the rug because it's going to still be there so that's why I find that having a therapist is really really really helpful better help connects you with a licensed therapist that can be available to you to listen to you and give you helpful unbiased advice um and the first thing you have to do is just go to their website go to betterhelp.com Rachel sou and you answer a few questions they link you with a professional and they do it rather quickly um they match you within about 48 Hours um and then you have someone to talk to that has years of experience um and they've also been helping people with similar struggles like yours in residency you don't have a lot of time you don't have that time to drive to a therapist office and you know work in a time in their schedule that also fits your schedule it's practically impossible but what's really great about better help is that it's so convenient because you can be on your phone your tablet your computer you can message phone call video check at a therapist and have your little session let better help connect you with a therapist who can support you all from the comfort of your home all you have to do is go to betterhelp.com Rachel soued or choose U Rachel sou my Channel at checkouts and you can enjoy a special discount for your first month the next category on this list would be apparel so shoes it's a huge thing everyone listed on this list I guess the type of shoe that you wear will kind of be dictated by if you're in the operating room or not obgym we got the best of both worlds where we have a lot of surgical things then we have Clinic time I personally don't really wear running shoes at the hospital because often times we end up with blood or amniotic fluid everywhere um we end up in the o or doing something you know with bodily fluids I tend to not wear tennis shoes because they get stained but um when I have worn tennis shoes for the few times that I do what was that sentence um these on clouds I really like these a lot they're super comfortable easy to slip on and off they're really lightweight but I don't wear them a lot I see people in the hospital wearing hokea if you're interested in not getting a sneaker and you want a different kind of shoe I 100% recommend ceros I have a link down below um I think it the code is Dr Rachel but um keros are so cute you guys have seen it if you've seen my videos or um my Instagram they're the pink little clog they have different colors and they have different styles I love these they feel good they don't slip off they're lightweight they're easy easy easy to clean my back doesn't feel bad after wearing it when you're standing them in them all day I highly recommend a calzuro or a dance go those feel really nice as well and then birken stocks let me show you my Birkin stocks since you're in the hospital for residency I feel like it's really important to have a shoe that you wear to the hospital and then you change once you get there because I personally do not want to track my little feet all over this world in shoes that have been inside the hospital because there's a lot of stuff in there and I don't know it's no different from being outside but still it's like hospital and you see the stuff that's on the floor in there sometimes and you know that you've walked through it and I don't know it it stresses out my brain so I wear biren socks to the hospital these are like my favorite ever they are so comfortable this is just a little I don't know slip-on clog thing I really like them another type of shoe that I see a lot are Crocs and that was actually mentioned um in some of these responses here a lot of people like Crocs and I see a lot of nurses wearing Crocs they do appear comfy but if you are in a surgical field I don't recommend the ones that have the holes in the top because they're just going to Simply seep through into your socks and that is not enjoyable trust the next thing would be having a warm jacket at the hospital is pretty cold and so you need a good jacket some people recommend a fleece jacket um or just some sort of zip up jacket not really a pullover crew neck type gal because being on L&D like I would have to take that whole thing off when I need to go to a delivery so having a zip up jacket um is pretty helpful Janu has great jackets um Patagonia North Face another thing people mentioned and I kind of wore these the beginning of the year but then I stopped wearing them because my legs would get too hot and itchy um but compression stockings I really should wear them because I'm going to have some really bad veins later on in life that's my own problem but having some compression stockings I know they sell some on Amazon bombas has really nice ones kind of expensive but you're going to wear these a lot you guys so I would just invest in something that's going to last for quite a bit another important thing in the apparel category would be a nice pair of Scrubs you can't just wear the hospital scrubs all the time they're so not comfortable and especially if you're in clinic get a nice pair of Scrubs you won't regret it um you just look more put together and believe it or not how we present ourselves to patients really reflects how you take care of yourself and then that translates to how you will take care of somebody else looking nice and not ragged and run through and completely exhausted while you are interacting with patients is pretty important and so I love Johnny scrubs that's all that I wear if I'm not wearing my crunchy Hospital distributed scrubs it's an absolute must um this is a limited edition color that they have but I freaking love these scrubs they are beautiful soft flexible comfy it's a must check them out the next few items are more toiletry based so having eye drops don't get the red eye Visine ones or whatever get like an eye lubricating eye drop having a good chapstick reliable chapstick having multiple chapsticks because you might lose some um having hand lotion that's really hydrating is important because your hands obviously get super dry after using the hospital hand sanitizer all over the place so love having some hand lotion having a little deodorant having a toothbrush toothpaste with you at all times some people might find that excessive but I literally spend so much time at the hospital that that's really important for me to feel good and feel clean and if I need to refresh in any way next thing on here having a little personal Pharmacy in your backpack there's been so many times where I've been again at the hospital and I've got a massive migraine I've got gird I have whatever it is so the things that I like to carry in my backpack are U my allergy medicine Tylenol ibuprofen like the combo I like to carry Tiger Bomb for my muscles aches and pains um especially operating those C-sections often times Kink my neck Tums Pepto-Bismol definitely need those things it's a it's an absolute must to have little Pharmacy in your backpack anyways I hope that this was helpful for you guys I know it's not like a huge list but but it is a a solid list of Essentials you do not need to buy a bunch of random things you're not going to end up using it these are things that I personally find super helpful and a lot of other residents on the internet also find very helpful so trust us you know we're already here in this position and we just want you to be successful and comfortable and prepared don't worry about studying just get these little tiny Essentials get excited um enjoy the time that you have now before starting residency because like I said it just goes away it just really just goes away um that is it for this video if you guys have any comments questions concerns other recommendations for Essentials you find really helpful please leave it in the comments section down below and again I always love reading your guys' comments and interacting with you guys it makes my whole day so I love you all so much if you are starting residency good luck you've got this please please please your mental health yourself comes first do not forget that until next time take care of yourselves be kind to yourselves continue to work hard and all the good stuff okay bye

Channel: Dr. Rachel Southard, DO

Views: 21,857

Keywords: medical school, medical student, med student, premed, rachel southard, med school, herd, residency, physician, OBGYN, surgeon, surgery, med, essentials, list

Id: riUBmC-gRGM

Length: 14min 44sec (884 seconds)

Published: Sat May 18 2024