First Impressions: Medelita Ionic Scrub Jacket Review

I'm a little bit over a week into my surgery rotation and it's been such a different experience! I was in family medicine for 8 weeks, and so being in the OR and in the surgery clinic has been such a different environment. One of my most favorite thing about it is the team work - each and every individual plays a vital role in the outcome of the patient. Anyway, I digress - today what I really wanted to share with you all is the Medelita Ionic Jacket! Which by the way,  I wish I can wear into the OR. 

This will be a "first impression" review since I haven't gotten a chance to actually wear this out to the hospital. I did wear it around the house with my workout clothes to lounge in. Hope you all enjoy this review!

Color choices: there are only two options available, navy blue or black. While the choices seem underwhelming, it's the two colors that are very versatile to wear within different hospitals. After all, this is meant to be a scrub jacket.

Style: I love the athletic style of this jacket, hence why I was wearing it with my workout clothes! It's got a sleek look to it, all the pockets you can ever ask for, and also a vent in the back to keep you cool. Also, the back is slightly longer to cover the tush if that's something that you like! As I mentioned, it's got A LOT of pockets so you're sure to have a place for your snacks, phone, pens, and whatever else you keep on hand. 

Fit: Now, while the shoulder area fit me just fine, i found the length to be a little long. I know that this specific jacket was made to be long, but I'm only 5'2" so I think it's a little longer on me. This was not a big problem for me though! It's not body-hugging either, meaning the fit is looser on me. I guess different overall fit for different body types, but you'll see down below how it lays on my frame. (I got the XS for reference).

Quality: Last but not least, the quality. When I first took it out of the packaging, the material seemed high-quality and that it'll keep me warm once I do get to wear it around the hospital (which I'm excited to wear it for!). When I did wear it to lounge around in, it kept me warm because I tend to get cold easily. As far as a material, it is a little stretchy, and it's supposed to dry fast just in case you spill anything on it ;) 

For more information about the Medelita Ionic Scrub Jacket, click HERE. To get 15% off your purchase, you can use the code "LIFEINTHEMEDLANE1" on check out! (And we can twin ;D).

xo,
Dorothy

The Five Things I learned During Board-Study Time for the COMLEX

I know, I know. This post has been long overdue. Partially because I was trying to decide how I wanted to write about my experience and partially because I've been super busy in my rotations so far. With that said, this post is not exactly about what type of resources I used or how I studied. Rather, this post is more about what I learned throughout the process of board studying - about myself, my journey and the process of studying for this board exam. I hope you take away something meaningful from this post and that you find it helpful! If ya'll are interested in a specific post regarding how I studied - what worked and what did not work, let me know and I'll do a follow-up post to this one! 

#1 Self-Care
Something that tends to go to the wayside when stress comes around is self-care. With the hustle and bustle of studying, I tend to get a one-track mind. What I mean is that I tend to only think of the specific task at hand and I neglect to eat healthy or exercise or just relax. Studying for the boards is a long process. Depending on each individual, the time that they take to study varies anywhere from 1 month to half a year. With this amount of time, self-care becomes important because you don't want to end up feeling awful, or sick, or just unhealthy in general. You know that feeling when you've been eating bad and not exercising and you just feel like crap? Yeah. A lot of that happened during this time, for me. That's when I knew that I couldn't let my health go to the wayside during this time. This doesn't just go for physical health. It also goes for mental and spiritual health. I had to make sure that I took care of all aspects because that helped ensure my sanity and success in the process. 

#2 Stay Grounded
Don't get carried away by the competition. You'll hear about people's goal score, or their dream program, or how their study methods are better than what you're doing. DON'T WORRY and stand your ground. Avoid getting caught up in comparison and saying "they're better, and smarter than me", or even the opposite "oh I'm so much smarter than them". Let's just be honest, I'm more part of the first camp. I found myself from time to time comparing myself to other people and feeling inferior. I'm not naturally smart - I really have to work hard and put in the hours to learn things. I had to stay grounded and true to myself and not try to do what other people are doing, or think that I'm less than them. I just had to think positive and do my thing. 

#3 Surround Yourself with Positive People
I cannot stress how important this was. During my study period, I regularly met up with a group of girls and prayed together, talked about our stresses, and even lend a shoulder to cry on (should out to my girls). This was the best thing I literally did because it helped me stay grounded (as I mentioned above) and remember what I'm really doing this for. I was reminded that I'm in medical school to become a future doctor that will serve others. Doing this truly helped me to keep things in perspective and remember my true purpose. If you ever feel like you're losing sight of your goals and dreams, just remember your "why". 

#4 Trust the Process
It was so easy to get caught up in the studying, and doing this or doing that to fine tune your study method. But honestly, just trust the process. Sometimes things will click right away and sometimes it doesn't. Just because it didn't click right away doesn't mean you have to change the method right away! Trust that what you're doing is what YOU need to be doing. Otherwise, you will waste time and energy trying to work and re-work your schedule, study method, and what have you. This is not the time to do it (unless you REALLY REALLY NEED TO meaning, you've evaluated, taken practice tests, talked with your academic advisor, etc). 

#5 Do You
Now THIS is what got to me a lot. You will find that you will talk to you peers and you'll come across a few people who will swear up and down by THEIR method and how only THEIR method works. This is simply NOT TRUE. Everyone has a different style of learning which means different study materials/resources will work for different people. I couldn't tell you the perfect combination of these materials, and I couldn't tell you that they're perfect either, but all I can tell you is that what I did worked for me and for what I needed. Try your best to not get influenced or caught up by what others are doing during this time, and take everything with a grain of salt. As I mentioned earlier, trust the process and that everything will work out as it needs to!

Best wishes to all those who will be taking any type of exams soon <3

xo,

Dorothy Faye

Guest Post | Yangswearabouts Experience as a Third Year Medical Student

Happy Wednesday everyone! As many of you know, I'm almost 2 months into my third year of medical school. It's insane how fast time flies. Today, I wanted to share with you an insight from one of my fellow medical school bloggers (and she's a fashion blogger too!) who is finishing up her third year in medical school! She's sharing her experience of what third year was like for her, and later on I hope to do the same and share with you my thoughts once third year is over. This is a post that I'm very excited about because I want to know what to look forward to as I continue in my third year and also learn some tips for rocking third year!

So, without further ado here is Yang's experience as a third year medical student.

"Third year was much better than the first two years of medical school, but it didn’t come without its own challenges. I took for granted how much study time we had in the pre-clinical years and really wish I hadn’t. Sure, there was a lot of material but we literally had the entire day to to study! Coming home from the hospital/clinic after trying to absorb everything in your environment while being on your feet all day, and then trying to force yourself to review material was a different kind of exhaustion. Not only that, I had to adjust how I studied. For example, instead of focusing specifically on appendicitis and its presentation and treatment, I tried to work backwards and create a differential diagnosis for abdominal pain. It was tough but really worth it, especially when the attendings ask you for your opinion on treatment.

On a more personal note, third year was a little bit more lonely because our school has rotations at different hospitals and I was unlucky and had to move for every rotation. It made it a little harder to keep in touch with everyone and really showed me how important it is for me to have my support system nearby.

That being said, I loved third year. Witnessing the application of what we’ve been studying and (semi)understanding what the medical team is discussing is amazing! It’s essentially seeing what you’ve been studying for the last two years brought to life, which is pretty incredible. I think that’s what surprised me the most-that I entered third year with a pretty decent understanding of the more common pathologies.

It’s hard to say what a typical day was like because it differed for each rotation. Sometimes I was in an office and seeing patients on my own, other times I would be rounding with the whole team. But I think the key to success, no matter what scenario you’re in, is to make the most of everything and take initiative. Think of it this way: you are paying to be there. You need to make sure you get your money’s worth! There will be times when people are too busy to teach or even notice that you’ve finished your work. Take the initiative and ask if there’s anything else you can do for them. Read more about the management of your patient’s condition. If your resident is busy doing notes, ask another resident if you can tag along. Ask the nurses (if they’re not too busy) if you can learn IVs. I’m pretty soft spoken and it can be hard for me to ask, but I’ve found that most people are very willing to teach! It’s just a matter of making it known that you want to learn from them.

As I’m ending my third year now, I think I can safely say it was the best year so far. I learned a ton both professionally and personally, formed new relationships, found my specialty of interest, and really, truly realized that medicine was the right choice for me."

I hope you were able to take something away from Yang's experience as a third year, almost fourth year medical student. I know I definitely did! If you want to follow along on Yang's journey, you can follow her at @yangswearabouts on the 'gram ;).

XO, Dorothy

DIY MATCHA: How I Make My Own Matcha Drinks At Home | PANATEAxLITML

I've gotten TONS of questions on how I make my matcha at home, and I don't blame ya'll one bit because I post ALL THE TIME about my matcha craze! If you don't know what MATCHA is, it's basically finely ground up green tea leaves (not just the regular kind, the really really good kind) and it's got A TON of health benefits to it. I've been drinking matcha for a couple of years now, and I absolutely love the taste of it & how it doesn't give me that coffee-crash. (I drink coffee from time to time too, don't get me wrong! But, I don't live off of coffee anymore - at least not right now and I hope to keep it that way). If you want to find out more about the health benefits of and what makes matcha different, click HERE. 

Today, I'll show you guys how to make matcha in TWO different ways. The first will be the traditional way, made with just hot water and a bamboo whisk. The second will be my go to recipe, which is the matcha latte. So, keep on reading to find out how YOU can make your own matcha drink at home! 

At Home Instant Matcha 

This is probably THE EASIEST matcha recipe EVER, which takes DIY Matcha on a whole new level. 

What you need:
- 1 PANATEA Instant Matcha Packet
- 12 oz Water
- 1 cup ice

What to do:
- Once you have the 12 oz water in a cup, add 1 packet of the PANATEA Instant Matcha Packet 
- Then, just add the ice, and VOILA! You've got yourself an iced matcha!

DIY Matcha Latte 

This recipe is my GO-TO. RIDE-OR-DIE. TRIED-AND-TRUE. Y'all ready for my DIY matcha latte recipe?!

Here's what you need:
- 1 tsp PANATEA Ceremonial Grade Matcha
- 2 Tbsps Water
- 1 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk (or milk of your choice)
- Optional: Bamboo Matcha Whisk

What to do:
- Heat up the water (but not to boiling)
- Place in a bowl and add the 1 tsp of Matcha
- Whisk away OR place the water and Matcha in the blender and blend
- Heat the almond milk or milk of your choice (but again, not to boiling) 
- Add the warm milk into the blender and blend again. (again, you can skip all the separate steps and just blend the water, milk and matcha in the blender) 
- Pour the yummy goodness into your favorite cup
- Optional: sprinkle extra Matcha on top! 
 

I'm loving the options of being able to make a quick matcha, but also being able to make it into a morning ritual and sipping slowly on that warm creamy matcha latte! What would your choice be: Are you an on-the-go person who likes iced matcha? Or are you a slow-down type of person and enjoys the ritual of making your morning matcha latte? 

These are the best ways I've found to make my DIY matcha drinks and I thank PANATEA for graciously sending me a few samples of their matcha to try out! If you'd like to try too, you can use the code "DOROTHY15" for 15% off your first order!

Hope you loved this post so Matcha ;)

xoxo, Dorothy

Workout With Me Wednesday - Boards Edition Featuring Pranamat

If you have been following my blog, you've seen my #WWMW series. Check them out by clicking here. Today, I'd like to share with you guys how I changed up my workout routine and how I modified it to still fit a workout into my schedule!

Usually, I go to the gym four to five times a week and I lift and do some cardio (and I mean minimal). Throughout my board studying time, I found that if I did that amount and type of working out, I got way too tired and too sore and didn't make time to recover. So what did I do to change it up?

1. I did more cardio. SAY WHAT?! If you know me, I don't like cardio. But I know it's needed. So, what I did sometimes was I got on the treadmill, and either watched some videos (Sketchy, DIT, Pathoma) or did some questions, or flashcards. 

2. I did more yoga. I actually really love yoga and have failed to incorporate it into my workout routine, which led to slower recovery. I'm notoriously bad at giving myself adequate time to stretch and rehab my muscles, so I'm definitely glad that I incorporated more yoga during this time (and will be doing more of it from now on). My favorite to do is Yoga With Adriene on the good 'ol YouTube. She has so many different options, as well as different lengths of videos. So if I only have time for a quick yoga sesh, I go for a 10-15 minute one! Also, this was one of my favorites to do: 10-minute Yoga For Self-Care 

3. HIIT Sessions. So I did these a few times during board-study period and WOWZA. If you want to sweat, get your HR up, and get some endorphins flowing DO THIS. I just made it up as I went really but here's a quick sequence I did. 
- Warm up speed walk on treadmill (5 mins)
- Kettlebell swings - 15 reps
- Air squats - 15 reps
- Knee Tucks on Bosu ball - 15 reps
- Alternating toe taps (plank formation, with feet on Bosu ball, alternate taps OFF the Bosu ball) - 15 reps each side
REPEAT this for 3 times, with 1 min rest in between. 

4. Recovery with Pranamat. What is Pranamat? It's a acupressure massage mat that has these things that look like lotus flowers but are actually little spike-y massage stimulators. These help circulation and muscle aches, pains and tension. I loved using this when I come home from a whole day of studying and laying on it. I started out by using it on my bed since it takes some getting used to (be careful of the spikes and lay down gently!). Once you're on it, you will feel heat build up on your back if you're laying on it. It simple feels like all the tension just melts away! During board studying time, it helped me unwind at the end of the day especially since my back would start to hurt after sitting for most of the day. Also, if I was feeling sore from my workouts, it helped with recovery too! I would sit on it as well to relieve any aches or tension on my tush, haha! If you want to find out more about Pranamat you can click here, and if you'd like to purchase one, use LIFEINTHEMEDLANE10 to get 10% off your order!

Having to modify my workout routine was definitely challenging in a sense that I felt like I wasn't doing "as much" as I normally do, but it was still important to listen to my body and what it needed at the time. Also, something I've learned during this time was the important to giving your body and muscles time to recover, by having rest days, incorporating yoga, and using tools such Pranamat to help aid in the recovery process! Board studying time is already stressful as it is, so it's important to take care of your mind and body too!

I hope y'all found this useful, and remember to still get in some workout time - no matter what that looks like - despite the busy schedule you may have!

xoxo, Dorothy 

*Thank you Pranamat for letting me try this product out!

Skincare Review: Odacite Skincare - A Natural Skincare Brand | UPDATE

Backround

Long time, no blog everyone! I hope you are all doing so well. I've missed blogging so much and have lots of goodies to share with you soon & this review is something I've been very excited about. A few months ago, I got in touch with one of my favorite skincare brands and they have graciously sent me a few products to try, including one of my skincare STAPLES! 

UPDATE - scroll to the end, to get 10% off your purchase on Odacite.com!

If you haven't heard of Odacite before, it is a California-based, all natural, vegan, cruelty-free skincare brand that caters to multiple different skin types and issues. I found out about them through my purchase of their concentrated serums and my favorite to this day which is the Black Cumin and Cajeput serum (you'll see more about it below). Ever since then, I was hooked. It's one of the things that has helped me keep my acne in check. 

So here is a breakdown of the products I was sent:

Synergie[4] Immediate Skin Perfecting Beauty Masque

The masks I tend to use have an exfoliating, grainy texture once washing it off. This is different. The powder formula is SO fine, in fact SO VERY FINE! I was a little hesitant on how much "exfoliating power" it has. Now, this mask claims to do A LOT of things. Just reading the name of the product makes me feel like it's going to perfect all my skin care issues. So what exactly does it claim to do?
It claims to:
- DETOX and PURIFY PORES via the clay and activated charcoal ingredients. 
- Act as a PEEL via the enzyme and fruit acids.
- BRIGHTEN and EVEN OUT SKINTONES via the vitamin C and enzymes
- FIRM the skin via the vitamin C and probiotcs

So how exactly did the Synergie[4] Immediate Skin Perfecting Beauty Masque work on my skin?

The masks I've used previously tend to have a lot of exfoliating properties on top of the skin-detoxifying properties. This mask is different in that the powder formula is SO VERY FINE, so I was a little worried that there would not be much exfoliation. Granted, this is NOT an exfoliating product but usually I end up getting some exfoliation out of my masks. The way I made #MySkinCocktail is by activating the mask with water, and adding a couple of drops of the Black Cumin and Cajeput Concentrated Serum.  I ended up putting on a thick layer on my face so it did take longer than normal to dry. Once it was completely dry, I washed it all off and my initial thought was "my face feels so smooth and not dry!" That was the first time I've felt that my skin was not dry after a mask, and was all about it. Now, I don't think my skin was "immediately perfected" as the name states it would do, but using it a handful of times now, I noticed my pores have been more detoxified than ever and my skin seems brighter. I can't wait to see how it will improve my skin over time. There are multiple ways to whip up your skincare cocktail: you can mix it with apple cider vinegar, yogurt, even honey! The package comes with an insert that outlines different recipes based on your skincare needs, so make sure to check that out! 

Next up: Rose + Neroli Hydra-Vitalizing Treatment Mist

This is not your average toner. I actually stopped buying toners because I felt like they didn't really do anything for me, and I made my own (purified water with drops of tea tree oil) which worked fine but nothing exciting. This treatment mist claims to balance skin and minimize the appearance of pores. I love that this can actually be used by itself in place of lotion/moisturizer, but I'm way too into my skincare to skip those steps, haha! This product can also be used to refresh through out the day, and also as a setting spray after make up! I haven't used it throughout the day or after make up, but I mainly use it as my step after cleansing! As far as the pore minimizing effect, I can't say that it was super drastic and I couldn't tell as much as I can tell the hydration factor of this treatment mist. Also, the gorgeous smell of the neroli and rose doesn't hurt either ;) I can literally spray this mist on my face all day long but I'm trying to make it last as long as I can! Definitely going to try their other treatment mists!  

Last but not least: Black Cumin + Cajeput Concentrated Serum

Okay. THIS is H A N D S D O W N my favorite! I've tried so many different things for my acne that has dried my skin and made it worse, but this - no dryness, no irritation. Now, my skin has come a longggggg waaaaay. I still get my breakouts especially that time of the month or when stress levels are through the roof (also when I'm not eating very clean, shh!). I used this everyday, morning and night and tend to concentrate on the areas where I breakout which is my T-zone, and especially my chin. It's a gentle way to battle those breakouts, but not less effective! There are other serums from Odacite that addresses breakouts, clogged pores, and scarring, so make sure to check them out! And not just for acne, but also for other skincare concerns too like dullness, redness, hyperpigmentation, wrinkles, and more! As mentioned earlier, I added a couple of drops to the Synergie[4] Immediate Skin Perfecting Beauty Masque to add extra oomph to the detoxing and purifying properties of the mask.  

Last thoughts

I'm so happy I got the chance to try two new products, and a tried and true one from Odacite. I've never experienced any irritation or problems with these products and it's awesome because my skin is usually picky when I put a new product on it. Again, the products are not miracle workers by any means (at least for me), but I know they will do wonders for my skin over time. I'll be definitely purchasing these products again once I've run out! I love skincare products that are natural and clean, but still provide results and Odacite is definitely a top on my skincare fave list!

Shop these favorites below! 

xoxo, Dorothy Faye

UPDATE:
Use code "LIFEINTHEMEDLANE" at check out to get 10% off your purchase at Odacite.com

*Thank you to Odacite for sending the this gift!