TGIF, hot off the press, #3 is here! Thank you for your feedback. The newsletter will continue to evolve based on your recommendations. Experiences from Boston are here to stay. Most of you preferred the main article to be shorter (thank god), and the OMFS world will keep its current structure and length. Book/show/gear are also a success, so I’ll keep those.

So without any further ado, let’s get started!

“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.” -Theodore Roosevelt

Table of contents

1. The Boston Experience

2. Main Article - Time Management

3. OMFS World

4. Stuff (Book, Show, Gear)

The Boston Experience

Let’s talk about food.

🍔I find that maintaining a healthy diet here is expensive and challenging. I can have an unhealthy lunch for 5$, versus at least 15$ for the healthy option. To my surprise, even in the hospital’s cafeteria, a place you would expect to advocate well-being, healthy choices are rare. And if you don’t make it in time for lunch? In this case, you are left with only two options: Fried chicken (5$) and a massive slice of pizza (3$). Of course, there are many reasons why healthy food is more expensive than unhealthy food, such as less time and effort to produce it and its long shelf life. I believe that this is something that officials should address, but it seems that it will not happen soon.

🧀Another thing that I still haven’t figured out is how to find low-fat options in the supermarket. Let’s say I want to get a low-fat cheese, something around 2-5% fat. Often, the fat percentage is not presented; instead, you get an obscure % of the daily value. If you’re willing to make an effort and calculate the total % of fat, you will have to divide the grams of fats under “daily value” by the weight of 1 serving. I was shocked that the cheese lowest in fat had 22% of fat in it! There is no way people will be able to maintain a healthy diet this way.

So in the meantime, I limit my food selection to those which present the fat contents in percentage. Let’s see how it goes.

No musical instruments, love this bit:

Main Article - Time Management

As I mentioned in the beginning, our main article will be shorter. I may add special issues in the future that are longer and will serve those who want to dive into a given topic.

⏰If you’ve ever found yourself with a never-ending to-do list, you’re not alone. Time management is one of the most difficult things to master. But there are some simple steps to ensure you’re using your time as efficiently as possible. At times, I found myself juggling being a full-time MD student, OMFS attending, establishing my OMFS private practice, guiding two research graduate students, writing research grant proposals, preparing for my fellowship, and studying for the USMLE. So how do I do it? To keep it short, I will give you three main tips for time management:

📆First, I never use a checklist. A checklist is simply a list of tasks that need to be completed without deadlines. I always use deadlines! The deadlines include a date (always) and a time (usually). In other words, every task is put on my schedule with its deadline and not on a checklist. If I’m pressed for time, I use Siri to schedule it (“Hey Siri, remind me in 3 days to start working on the draft”). This may seem obvious, but it’s important to define your deadline immediately. If you wait until the last minute, you’ll be more likely to procrastinate. And when it comes to time management, procrastination is your enemy. Moreover, putting your tasks immediately on your schedule allows you to relax and not be constantly occupied with trying to remember your tasks.

2️⃣Second, the 2-minute rule (credit to David Alan, see book section). Although I stumbled upon this rule only lately, I’ve been practically using it for over a decade. This rule is simple: if a task will take less than two minutes to complete, do it right then and there instead of putting it off. This simple rule can help prevent procrastination and keep you on track. It will also dramatically shrink your task list and help you delegate your work instead of letting it pile up on your desk - more on that next week (prioritization).

🚎Thirdly, the “third-spacing” of time. I paraphrased this term from the medical world (third-spacing of fluids). What do I mean by that? Well, imagine your time is divided into time that you devote to work/study (“first spacing”), your leisure time (“second spacing”), and the rest of the time in between (“third spacing”). What do you do “in-between”? You commute, walk between meetings or classes, wait for the elevator, etc. Most of us don’t see this time as something we can use. But If you’re always using every spare moment, you may find that your spare moments start to add up. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not advising you to use every spare moment to work! You can use every spare moment for leisure (listening to music, an audiobook or a podcast, reading a book on the train). As for me, with my current schedule, I use most of my “third-spaced” time between 4:20 am to 5 pm to study for my fellowship and my USMLE step 3. I get around 4 to 5 hours (!) of this “in-between” time daily. Of course, it always helps to have your study/work/leisure material at hand, with minimal friction (i.e., make sure you can start reading/listening in a matter of seconds. Otherwise, it wouldn’t work). Smartphones, tablets, E-readers, and Bluetooth headphones are excellent means to achieve that. Try for yourself!

Toyota, too bad they stopped making these…

OMFS World

As always, those who are not interested in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, feel free to skip to the next orange headline.

👩‍🎓For the student - If you are a student who wants to become a surgeon, there are certain things you can do to increase your exposure to this fascinating field. First, join the resident on-call team at your hospital. This will expose you to emergency department patients and inpatients after hours. Second, see patients in the operating room as often as possible. This will help you learn surgical techniques and develop a good bedside manner. Finally, be sure to shadow senior surgeons or two during their rounds in the ward. This will give you an inside look at what surgeons do daily and how they interact with patients.

🥼For the OMFS resident - First and foremost, always document your cases. This means taking pictures of the procedures you perform. Secondly, invest in a good camera. This will allow you to capture high-quality images and footage of your surgeries and follow-up (see my camera gear recommendations in the first issue). Lastly, get into the habit of documenting your cases early on in your residency. This way, you’ll be used to the process and won’t have to scramble to do it later. Documenting cases must follow the rules and regulations of your designated hospital. If consent is required, I find that the vast majority of patients will agree and will even want to see the images and understand the details. This will help you bond with your patients and make them feel a part of the process, not just influenced by it.

🩺For the non-MD OMFS - A stethoscope is an essential tool for doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals. It allows them to diagnose various conditions, and as a non-MD OMFS resident, this will be a substantial gap between you and your MD peers. To know how to use a stethoscope, there are a few things you need to do. First, you must learn to identify the sounds made by the lungs and heart. This can be done by studying recordings of these sounds or by watching YouTube classes on the topic. Once you know what to listen for, practice using your stethoscope on yourself and others, then your patients. It took me a few hundred patients before I felt confident in my abilities, but practice makes perfect.

Stuff

📚Book I read - Getting Thing’s Done by David Allen - This book is the holy bible of time management and is suitable for all professions. At times it may get very technical, but it provides readers with excellent tools they need to get things done effectively (not just efficiently - more on that in the book).

📺Show I watched - Gaga - Five Foot Two - A behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to be a successful musician. Lady Gaga is one of the most popular musicians in the world, and she is known for her unique style and persona. I think that this is the first time that viewers can see the real person behind the “Gaga” brand.

💻Gear I use - MacBook Pro M1 2021 - I’ve been a Windows user over the years. Although I’m among the first to have the original iPad (thanks to my dear wife), I remained loyal to the Windows system since the Apple laptops had too many limitations. However, about two years ago, I lost a grant proposal that I worked on for 15 hours. I almost completed my final proofread, and suddenly Windows quit and started a one and half hour update. Afterward, it rebooted and opened the so-called “auto-saved” version. This version was a blank white page. At this moment, I decided I would not use a Windows machine again. Luckily, around that time, Apple released their M1 MacBook lineup, and the rest is history. It has never failed me, even once. I open the lid, and 2-3 seconds afterwords I can start working. Minimum friction, maximum performance, and I don’t need to worry about updates, battery running out, etc. I think that the M1/M2 lineup of apple, with prices as low as 900$ for their M1, makes the Windows-based computers obsolete.

Epilogue

That’s it for this week. Please continue to send me comments, it helps me to fine-tune the newsletter and make it better for you each week.

I will now leave for the airport to pick up my family and bring them to our apartment in Boston. Haven’t seen them for more than 2 months!

Until next week,

Shay