The Plumber and the Plastic Surgeon

A cautionary tale, or mathematical parable? I recently experienced an inexcusable judgmental moment, one that could be a learning opportunity for all of us, unless you’re not as ignorant as I was. As you’ve probably guessed, it all started with a toilet problem. The details do not beg elaboration. I hired a plumber to install a new 1.8 gpf porcelain throne. Sometimes I …

The Big Picture: Why I Write MiM

Physician/bloggers. There are a lot of them. I made a list of my favorites. Personal finance bloggers. There are probably more of them than there are personal finance books. I included my favorites on the list. And lifestyle bloggers…well you don’t need any qualifications to write about how you live your life, so there are even more of them. Their …

December 2017: Fake patient exams, sea turtle smoothies, and bourbon with wheat

Professional I took an online class for elective credit while preparing for the USMLE Step 2 exams, both computer-based Clinical Knowledge and awkward Clinical Skills test that pairs you with 12 real-live-fake patients. I chose to use only one resource for each: UWorld for the computer exam (but who doesn’t?), and First Aid’s Step 2 Clinical Skills for the exercise …

Why you should earn money in professional school, and how to get $510 for free

Way back in dental school, I once served on an admissions panel where prospective students and their concerned, hopeful parents could ask current attendees about the school’s particulars. In one of these sessions, four or five questions into a discussion on finding housing on campus and why having a new facility means the world to us (it didn’t, really), a bespectacled elderly gentleman raised his hand to …

My Lightning Strike Moment

Or, My Yard Explains Your Financial Situation and Exercise Routine Something had to be done. A meteorogically impossible series of intense floods and prolonged droughts had plaqued my intern year in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Fresh out of dental school and spending 80 hours a week puzzling over fluid orders and how to use my expensive stethoscope, I’d neglected that …