In this video: "Osmosis Review | A study resource for Canadian Medical Students" I am going to review my experiences using Osmosis to help me study for my ICC clerkship final exams at UBC medical school. Osmosis is a study resource that has been invaluable to optimizing my learning during medical school. A feature I really appreciate about it, is that it makes medical education more accessible. The vast majority of their first-class resources are available completely free on their YouTube channel, but Osmosis Prime has more extensive resources if you want to delve further into the material or would like more support during your studying. I would recommend Osmosis to any Canadian Medical student. 

I just want to make it clear that I have no financial incentive or payment received from Osmosis. It is a company I am in awe of, and I have used their resources since my first year of medical school at UBC to help with my studying. Preparing for my final exam for my ICC clerkship was challenging, so I contacted Osmosis to see if I could try out their excellent service temporarily and would make a review video on my experience. Here is more information about Osmosis: 

If you can’t sustain it, it’s not worth it. 

Pavan Mehat

In this video: “Reflections on my Third Year of Medical School” I reflect on my experiences as a Canadian Medical Student going through the integrated community clerkship program during my third year of medical school at the University of British Columbia (UBC) Medical School. It was such a pleasure and adventure to take part in the integrated community clerkship as I had to relocate from Vancouver to Chilliwack. The third year of medical school as a Canadian medical school is the most challenging, but also the most growth and jam packed with learning especially during the integrated community clerkship program. The reason there is such a metamorphosis during the third year of medical school is because of the transition from medicine being theoretical and occurring to textbooks to directly experiencing and taking part in the real world of clinical medicine. You work extremely hard during your third year of medical school but it is also the most enjoyable year so far, as you experience first hand the transition from a Canadian Medical student into a budding baby physician. 

If you can’t sustain it, it’s not worth it. 

Pavan Mehat

I was inspired to make this blog post after finishing a hospital on call shift as part of my Chilliwack ICC Clerkship program at UBC Medical School. I talked about this briefly in my video above, but I wanted to expand on one salient point I discussed. We as humans, like any other animal, are hardwired to decrease suffering. Yes it would be nice if we just ate rabbit food for the majority of the day to stay lean and fit. However, since we have recourse to enjoy pizza, and hamburgers ( I have never met someone who didn't enjoy these foods), we will not needlessly suffer. I can't even count the multitude of times I have sworn I was never going to eat pizza or another burger again only to find it on the plate for my next meal! 

Willpower is excellent and it is an absolutely essential ingredient in the early stages of promoting positive behaviour change. But if we rely on will power for long term sustainable change we will falter. We need to emphasize skill power over will power. 

What is skill power you may ask? It is the use of appropriate planning and organization to make change easy and automatic and therefore sustainable. Focus on the word appropriate. This doesn't mean you control every aspect of your meal prep and know exactly what you are going to eat. However, what I find extremely helpful is having 1-2 flex meals that you can always lean on when you are really hungry, tired, rushed for time, or a combination of all the above. 

In the video above I discussed my initial experience (spoiler alert I loved it!) at the Float House Abbotsford.  However, since I had the pleasure of enjoying my third float session, I wanted to reflect on my experience of incorporating regular flotation sessions into my routine as a third year medical student clerk at UBC. 

The simplest way I would describe flotation therapy is mindfulness or meditation on steroids. The combination of the near elimination of sensory input and the length of time are a very powerful combination that expedite learning and relaxation. In an ideal world I would do floats every two weeks but that is not realistic given my current demanding schedule. Nevertheless each float is better than the last.