2024: New Year, New You?

Hello, Everyone!

Welcome back! Thank you for taking the time to read today's blog post. Each post you read grows my blog just a little more, so truly, THANK YOU!

We are into our second month of the new year. How crazy is that? January already came and went.

I know not everyone is into setting New Years Resolutions. I myself really don't even like the phrase "resolutions" or even "goals". I feel like that can put so much stress and pressure on ourselves. I also feel that every time I set a New Year goal, my goals really aren't that attainable or realistic (maybe this is just me). So, I started calling my version of "resolutions", my intentions for the New Year. The number I set may change from year to year, but honestly, I don't set a definitive number on purpose. I just try to brainstorm things I would like to improve or see change for the next year, and whatever number of things I come up with is what I try to work on. I don't know why, but by calling them intentions instead of resolutions makes them feel more attainable to me. I also seem to give myself more grace with my intentions than my goals or resolutions. Intentions to me feel more fluid, like there is an understanding with myself that trying to improve my habits or aspects of my life will not always be linear, but more of a journey. I hold myself more strict to the term resolutions, finding I give myself less grace and less wiggle room for mistakes along the way. This strictness I place on myself does the opposite of helping me change something positively, and will make me feel discouraged if I'm not following the resolution perfectly, and over time I give up.

Going into 2024, I wanted to further improve my balance between work and life. After all I work to live, not live to work. Last year I was working on completing my charts on shift and not bringing any home to work on, but honesltly, I was doing a mediocre job on this task. I decided enough was enough and that 2024 would be the year working on charts is no longer done outside of my work place. To do this, I caught up on old charts from December the first few days of January, and made sure not to bring a chart home from the new year. In order to implement this I force myself to write notes on all patients I'm seeing as I see them. I find it more attainable to keep up with this task by writing the chart after throwing in orders for that patient. My flow usually goes: 1) sign up for patient, 2) review PMH, VS, triage note, and prior records and dictate synopsis of this to put into chart while fresh in my mind if pertinent, 3) go see the patient, 4) come back to desk and place orders on patient, 5) start note to include HPI, ROS, Physical exam, and MDM, 5) sign up for next patient. This process is defitely easier to follow when the department isn't bursting at the seams with patients to be seen. So, on the busier days, I usually will pick patients up in clusters of 2-3, and start all the notes for those 2-3 patients before picking up the next 2-3 patients. Again, I am by no means perfect, but I am SO much better at holding myself accountable by structuring my flow this way.

After picking up a patient, I also go through each of my active patients still on the board mentally. Reviewing diagnostics, ordering additional medications/tests as necessary, and performing reassessments. I try to add these to the chart in real time as I go, but sometimes don't have time. Therefore, when I disposition a patient, I make sure to write all the appropriate orders to discharge or admit them to the hospital, THEN finish the note in real time right after disposition. This makes keeping on top of notes very easy, but again, this is part of the process I find I do not always keep up with in real time. Often, at the end of my shift I will still say approximately 30 minutes past my shift going through the remaining charts to finish the documentation and sign them.

When I was first working on implementing this, I would make sure I didn't gauge in extra side conversations, and would sometimes sit at a computer farther away from everyone else so I had less distractions. I also would not leave a shift until all my notes were done. When I was still working on this flow, sometimes I was working on notes 1-1.5 hours after my shift (big yikes). But the reason for this was because I was not starting them or keeping up with them on my shift. I learned very quickly to stay on top of my notes so I can get out on time. I can honestly say my time at home is more relaxing, and more rejuvenating because I am not worrying about things for work that still need to be done or completed. I do not have "notes hanging over my head", and let me tell you, it is a GREAT feeling. In the moment, writing a note takes less than 5 minutes. But, when you put it off, have bare bones of a note done, and you're working on it 2,3 or event 7 days later, you will have a lapse in memory, and will need to, again, go over diagnostics and explain why you did the work up and course that you did. This can take 10-15 minutes per chart to complete. So you can see how much time it can take from your personal life to get these done. I would say this is my favorite intention I decided to work on this year, because it has been the most beneficially impactful to my life.

My second intention this year is to do yoga every single day. All 366 days of this leap year. I am very proud to say that so far, as I am writing this on 2/19/24, I have indeed practiced yoga every single day of 2024. When I was originally thinking about this intention, I was so tempted to set a time frame of how long I would have to practice for it to count. Such as, "30 minutes of yoga daily". I decided not to add a specified time to it, because I determined that life is busy, unpredictable, and I am not likely going to work out 30 minutes EVERY day. Working out every day in itself is a big feat in my eyes. Any form of yoga, even for 5 minutes, is a win. Not holding myself to a time constraint has allowed me to fulfill this intention so far with very little issue. Not only do I notice the benefits to my body for practicing daily, but I see it in my mind, too. Both my mind and body are becoming a little more strong, and a little more flexible each day. In the beginning to hold myself accountable I was time-lapsing my practices to share on my instagram. It was my way of holding myself accountable those first few weeks when a habit is still forming. Now, I don't take videos of myself practicing every day (my camera role quite literally does not have the time [and space] for that), however it doesn't really matter anymore. Yoga is part of my daily routine, and now I am able to just hold myself accountable for the fact that I enjoy the benefits it gives me, and the fulfillment I get after practicing.

In warm weather, I like to practice outside, to my own playlist, to the beat of my own drum. Since it is still in the cold part of the year in the northeast, I have been getting yoga workouts from the Peloton app. Friends, there are quite literally THOUSANDS of work outs on there. For every occasion, holiday and celebration. My favorite instructors are Aditi and Chelsea Jackson Roberts. I 10/10 recommend checking them out. Thanks to this platform, I have easy access to find a class that resonates with me and inspires me to move my body.

My third intention this year is to read 50 books in 2024. Truthfully, this is something I set to do last year but did not do, only reading 37 books last year. So, I decided to take this intention from last year and work toward it again this year. I can definitely say that my intentions this year feed into one another. Getting my work done at work allows me to prioritize my free time at home, and do more things that I love. This allows me to get my daily work out in without stressing, and get some reading in. My daily yoga gives me mindfulness, and strengthens my mind. This peacefulness helps me read, without the racing thoughts in the back of my mind reminding me of all the things I still have to do. Tasks, that should be done, but have gone incompleted.

Each day of the year that passes, I find the easier it is to complete my intentions become. I will say that I am not perfect, and some days I will do only 5 minutes of yoga, not read, and be lazy. Other days, I will read through a whole book, and do yoga for an hour. It's honestly nice to have the freedom to decide what I need that day instead of holding myself to a strict schedule, regimen, or expectation to follow. Having this grace is what's keeping me successful.

To help me stay on track for my reading goal, I use the app, Good Reads. If you are a book nerd like me, download it now and be my friend!!!! My username is: Amanda Smith

You can add your goal of how many books you want to read into the Good Reads app for that year. Then, you just have to update what books you've read, and it will track them for you. The app will tell you how many books you are 'ahead' or 'behind' schedule. It is super easy to use, AND you can follow your friends, see what they're currently reading, see their ratings on the books you may be interested in. Also, you can enter giveaways to win FREE books! How fun!

Lastly, my final intention is to grow this blog. I know I've mentioned this before, but damn, growing a social media presence and blog is HARD work! I find this to be my most challenging intention this year, but I really have a vision of building a positive community here on the internet/social media, which I find most days is fake and a dark place. I started this blog with the goal to positively impact the lives of others, especially those who are going through dark times themselves trying to find themselves while navigating their new role in medicine. for me, I had a difficult time compartmentalizing the different aspects of my life when I transitioned from PA student to new graduate PA-C. This vision is fueling my desire to keep working at this blog, and try to help someone out there who was like me, feeling a little depressed, a lot of stress, and all of the uncertainty that falls inbetween. To fulfill this last intention, I am trying to grow my presence on my X and instagram platforms, which I am using as my #1 ways to get the word out for this blog.

However, this intention, I do need your help with! Please share this blog past (or any post for that matter) and help spread the word about More Than Medicine. Sign up for email notifications, and tell your friends about us! I promise I am making a schedule, dedicating the time, and putting in the effort to grow something amazing here. I am so grateful for all those that currently support me, and am thankful for this growing community! Together, I know we will do some bad-ass things!

24 is my favorite number, so I am putting all the good vibes out there for 2024 to be my best year yet! So far, I would say we're off to a great start!

What are your intentions for this new year? Please share below, I would love to hear them!

XO,

Manny❤️