About

The Basics:

Hi, and welcome to my blog! I’m Rina (NB) and I graduated from Nova Southeastern University- College of Osteopathic Medicine (NSU-COM) in May of 2017. I’m now a third-year family medicine resident at Ventura County Medical Center

What’s with the blog title?:

It pretty much describes what the blog is meant to do- give a second opinion. More specifically, my somewhat biased, kind of sarcastic, but still really honest, how-I-see-it, opinion. If you’re looking for a serious medical blog that discusses things like the pros and cons of the Affordable Care Act, then my blog isn’t for you. I didn’t create this blog with the intention of making it sound like one long admissions essay of why I wanted to be a doctor since I was X years old, or what I think the top 10 problems in America’s healthcare system are. Of course, there will be some serious posts and I suspect that the number of said posts will increase as time goes on, but I mostly want this blog to be 1.) fun (for me and you) and 2.) relatable, at least on some level.

Why even start a blog?:

Part of the reason why I wanted to start this blog was to give the reader an idea of what it’s like being a medical student at an osteopathic medical school. I didn’t know about osteopathic medicine until I started the application process, and I wished at the time that I could see what it was like being a DO student and if/how the experience would differ from attending an MD school. What’s OMM class like? Does it actually work or do anything? What kind of subjects would I be learning? How does a DO school train its students to become ‘holistic’ physicians?

The biggest reason why I started the blog though, is to document my medical career starting with the first day of medical school. I know that one day, I’ll want to go back and see how I was as a medical student, or how I felt starting residency and being responsible for my own patients. Sort of like a blog time capsule.

Now as an resident, I can say that getting here has definitely been a challenge. It hasn’t been easy and there have been times where I’ve questioned if I’m cut out to make it. Undoubtedly, the path towards becoming a practicing physician is difficult and you may read a frustrated blog post from time to time. The reason I do this (other than to vent) is to show you that struggling is totally normal!

If the only thing I wrote about was how I’m super smart (I’m not) and how easy medical school and residency are (they’re not), it probably wouldn’t help anyone out. With that being said, if you’re premed, a current medical student, a resident, or an attending, and have questions or just want to chat,  please don’t hesitate to contact me. The path we chose is difficult enough, and it’s even more difficult when you feel like you’re going through it by yourself.

So I think that’s about it! Thanks for stopping by. Comments and feedback are always welcome! Oh yes, and please support my blog by following. It means a lot!

Disclaimer:

The opinions and views expressed on this blog are solely my own, and are not representative of NSU, UH, VCMC, or any of my other affiliations.

In order to protect the identities of patients, healthcare professionals, and peers, all identifying information has been altered or omitted.

Lastly, despite the semi-misleading blog name, this is actually not a medical advice service. So please don’t actually ask me for a second opinion. Thanks!