The Doctor’s Bag

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One of the most recognizable symbols of the healthcare profession is the stethoscope. On its own, it can give healthcare practitioners many clues about the workings of the heart, lungs, and abdomen, but there are many other tools that play a role in the successful diagnosis of a patient.

Some of these tools, together, make up the doctor’s bag.

In May, I received an exciting email from my medical school listing out the recommended components of my very first doctor’s bag! As the excitement of having my own medical equipment wore off, I began to grow very conscious of the price tag of the items in that doctor’s bag… My school (and many other medical schools) have practice labs where you can borrow the doctor’s bag equipment while on-campus, but I will be commuting about 30-40 minutes to school everyday. It is important to me to be able to practice while I’m at home so that I don’t have to drive out to campus on the weekends just to get some practice with these tools.

The items recommended for my doctor’s bag were as follows:

  • Littmann Cardiology IV Stethoscope – $200
  • Stethoscope Case – $15
  • ‘Buck’ Neurological Reflex Hammer – $8
  • Sphygmomanometer (Welch Allyn Classic Hand Aneroid Family Practice Kit with 4 Cuff Sizes) – $250
  • Oto/Ophtalmoscope – $600
  • Snellen Eye Chart – $5
  • Light Source (Penlight) – $12
  • 128 Hz and 512 Hz Tuning Forks – $12
  • Ruler – $3
  • Bag – ?????

Adding the cost of all of these items together makes for a doctor’s bag worth about $1,100. WOW.

After seeing the price tag, I decided not to purchase or ask for my own ophthalmoscope. In the future, should I become interested in ophthalmology, I may consider getting my own… But for now, I’d rather save the $600.

Thankfully, my best friend’s dad had already gifted me my stethoscope, so there were just a few items left to purchase. (Click here to learn more about his surprising us!)

Admiring my brand new Caribbean Blue Littmann Cardiology IV Stethoscope courtesy of Dr. Prine!

Because this email was sent out quickly after my graduation, I decided to create an Amazon Wish List with all of my doctor’s bag items and ask for my friends and family to help me purchase the items as graduation/start of medical school gifts! The Amazon Wish List worked– friends and family (my angels on Earth) came together and gifted me with all the items except the sphygmomanometer.

So, I was left with two purchases… The sphygmomanometer and a bag. I am still shopping around for the bag, but I have purchased the Welch Allyn Sphygmomanometer kit! How did I pay for it? Stay tuned to find out!

Gathering the Tools

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The day I was admitted into medical school is a day I’ll always remember. The admissions office tried calling me, but I didn’t recognize the number. Plus, I was on my 15-minute lunch break, so I didn’t answer. (Food comes first, right?!) Seconds after the call dropped, I received an email and this time, I recognized the source. Of course, I was in the library, so I ran out of the quiet area and rushed downstairs to find my friends and share the good news with them! I was officially going to become a doctor!!

The day was full of good vibes– not only did I get into medical school, but my best friend Jen had also been admitted to veterinary school 3 hours earlier. It felt great to share such an exciting day with her– we spent a good chunk of our college career within a 5-minute distance radius of each other, so it was serendipity that we would get acceptance letters on the same day.

Later in the week, Jen’s boyfriend invited me to a surprise dinner party for Jen! Her parents were going to be driving up to our university (they live about 10 hours away) and taking us out to a formal dinner. I hadn’t met Jen’s parents in person yet, but her mom and I had texted and called each other previously. I was so excited! I made sure to bring a small jar of maple syrup for Jen’s mom as a thank you and began waiting for the day to come.

Once I met her parents, my excitement kept growing. Jen is pretty clever, so she knew something was happening that weekend in Pensacola, but we could have never predicted what happened next: her dad (a physician) surprised the both of us with our first stethoscopes! I’ve always dreamed of this moment… I had spent many a late night looking at all of the color options and models.

Jen and Leonie by the Pensacola Bay wearing their new Caribbean Blue stethoscopes.
Showing off our matching stethoscopes!

Jen’s dad got us matching stethoscopes: the Littmann Cardiology IV in Caribbean Blue. It’s perfect. It’s the exact model I would have chosen for myself, and the Caribbean Blue is the perfect color. Although it’s meant to remind people of the ocean, to me, it looks like the blue you would see on a Mallard’s collar: it reminds me of home.

Here’s to the first of many tools I will be gathering on my journey to becoming a medical doctor!

Why a blog?

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Thanks for joining me! S’il vous plaît aller au bas de la page pour la version française.

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton

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On January 15, 2019, I received the email I had been dreaming of for years: my medical school acceptance letter. As I reached this milestone, I began to think ahead: how will medical school feel? Will it be as different as medical students have told me? How long will it take for me to find my specialty? Of course, these were all questions I had asked myself before, but now there is something different: these questions are no longer hypothetical. They are my future.

I decided to start this blog because of my youngest sister, Miléna. Whenever I visit home, she always mentions the fact that I don’t share enough about my life with my family. And because I want to work on my weakness, I am starting this blog. I hope that it will keep accountable in my reflections and give me a space to track all of the great things that lie ahead. Plus, it was her birthday when I got that acceptance letter. (Sorry for stealing some of the International Miléna Day spotlight!)

I chose the name “Positively Med” because I love being happy. I love to smile, I love to laugh, and I love to find the silver linings. I hope to combat some of the stress that my medical training will bring by seeking out moments that bring me joy and using them to push through the harder days. Because I have family and friends in Québec, I will be making this blog bilingual. I want everyone who has supported on the journey to medical school to feel a part of my adventure now that I’m here.

I’ve still got some months to go before starting medical school, but I am so excited to begin sharing life on here!

Léonie

Le 15 janvier 2019, j’ai reçu un courriel dont je rêvais depuis des années: la lettre d’acceptation d’une faculté de médecine. Alors que j’atteignais cette étape importante, j’ai commencé à penser à l’avenir: que ressentira l’école de médecine? Ca va tu etre aussi difficile que les étudiants en médecine me l’ont dit? Combien de temps faut-il pour trouver ma spécialité? Bien sûr, c’étaient toutes des questions que je m’avais déja poser, mais il y a maintenant quelque chose de différent: ces questions ne sont plus hypothétiques. Elles sont mon avenir

J’ai décidé de lancer ce blog à cause de ma plus jeune soeur, Miléna. Chaque fois que je reviens à la maison, elle mentionne toujours le fait que je ne partage pas assez ma vie avec ma famille. Et parce que je veux travailler sur mes faiblesses, je commence ce blog. J’espère qu’ill me laissera un espace pour partager touts les grands moments qui m’attendent. En plus, c’était sa fete quand j’ai reçu cette lettre d’acceptation. (Désolé de voler un peu d’attention durant ta journée internationale de la miléna!)

J’ai choisi le nom “Positively Med” parce que j’aime être heureuse. J’aime sourire, j’aime rire et j’aime trouver les doublures d’argent. J’espère pouvoir combattre une partie du stress que ma formation médicale apportera en recherchant des moments qui me donnent de la joie et en les utilisant pour surmonter les journées plus difficiles. Parce que j’ai de la famille et des amis au Québec, mon blog sera bilingue. Je veux que tous ceux qui m’ont appuyer durant mon parcours jusqu’a l’école de médecine sentent qu’ils font partie de mon aventure maintenant que j’y suis rendu.

Il me reste encore quelques mois avant de commencer l’école de médecine, mais je suis très excitée de commencer à partager des portions de ma vie ici

Léonie