SGU Medical School Graduation & Getting Ready for Residency || Seeing New York
Enjoying all 52 of my hobbies
I completed my last rotation in May. After about a week of vacation, I’d wake up exhausted. I was resting hard. Sleeping how long I wanted, eating well, and exercising. Complete unfettered rest. I was baffled that I was not completely healed. Silly. I love how my Dory memory moved past how hard the last four years were. Why would I expect to recover from 4 hard years in 1 week? I asked everyone and Reddit how long it took to feel normal again. This cumulative study suggests a short-term stress can be recovered in about 4 weeks, but a long-term stress could take years to recover from. So like my mental health, I will say I’m healing not healed haha. On the bright side, starting to feel human again has felt like a warm hug.
I’m still running surprisingly. It’s been great bonding with Kalbi and Mocha. I hope to do a 10K in the fall, but we’ll see how my schedule is. We get our schedule during orietnation. I’ve been enjoying cooking which I usually dread! Usually, cooking follows long shifts. It’s been fun to find recipes on TikTok to try. I made this savory Dutch baby with smoked salmon and capers. A delicious F1 Sunday treat. I’ve also started making banchan dishes for the week. It makes meals so fun! Plus we eat more vegetables.
I’ve rededicated myself to finishing video games. Simultaneously and contrary to that goal, I started new ones so I didn’t finish any games. I just can’t bring my adventure in Baldur’s Gate 3 to an end. As a people pleaser, I’ve so enjoyed the sass of Bard. I got far into the last act, but I get a mental block. So I started Dreamlight Valley and the new patched Stardew Valley for some cozy farming vibes.
I also bought a paint by the numbers canvas. It’s this really cute animal cafe. It was around $30. It has been worth its price in time. I’ve spent hours trying to finish this and I’m not even close. I’ve been rewatching Modern Family while painting. The show has landed totally different in my late 20’s.
Exploring New York
SGU holds its graduation ceremonies in Grenada and New York. My family and I have never been to the East Coast so iwe made it a new adventure. We went on Thursday and left on Sunday.
Of course, I made a Notion itinerary for my family and friends. It even had a Google map! I lived in SF and it was fun in my early 20’s. I’m very much a suburb girl now. I probably won’t be back to NY because well city and there’s so much more world to explore. So we maximized our time there.
Thursday: Hudson Yards, Russ & Daughter, High Line Park, Katz, Statue of liberty, Peter Luger, Magnolia Bakery, Central Park
Friday: The Met, Izakaya MEW with my grandma (omg it was loud, sorry Mama), 5th Ave, Joe’s pizza, Juniors cheesecake
Saturday: Graduation, Xi’an Famous Foods, Vanderbilt One Summit, Anytime Kitchen, Levain
Sunday: Lafayette croissants (expensive and delicious, Washington Square Park, Dim sum, Museum of Natural History
We went to the Met, but I’m not an art person. The free tour was interesting, but after that my sister and I felt overwhelmed and lost. We did some of the audio tours available online, but honestly the Met was not my thing. I enjoyed the Museum of Natural History more, but even then I felt like the Exploratorium in SF was much more interesting because it was more interactive.
The only regret I have is that I wish I ate more bagels.
Pre-residency tasks (there’s a lot)
I am loving this period of life. However, I wasn’t prepared for all pre-employment tasks. I’ve done rotations at different hospitals and had jobs. So I expected the regular hospital orientation modules, background checks, etc for a new job. Well, there is a lot of paperwork and certifications to acquire especially as an IMG. There was hospital specific things, closing out my SGU file, and then applying for ECFMG and post-graduate training license (PTL) from my state of California
About a week after I matched (yay!), my residency program coordinators sent emails listing all the requirements to be completed before orientation and also any vacation weeks I want to request. From my program I had: 15-20 learning modules similar to the ones I’ve done for hospital orientations, pre-employment health screening, CPR certifications (BLS, ACLS, PALS, NPR), NPI, ECFMG certification, applying for my post-graduate training license from my state of California (which included live scan finger scanning).
For SGU medical school things, I had to closely follow the status of my grades and diploma processing. I needed the diploma to apply for ECFMG certification so then I could apply for my California license. I had outstanding rotation grades from 8 months ago and understandably the last rotation I completed. They were both unaffiliated sites. The unaffiliated SGU team tried to help me get those grades submitted. Lots of emails were sent. I ended rotations on 5/3/24. I didn’t receive my diploma until graduation weekend on 6/1/24. I got the PDF version first which I had to submit to the ECFMG portal. It took a little over a week.
Ultimately my pre-employment costs amounted to about $1300 which my program will reimburse, but was a large amount of money for someone sustained on loans!
BLS, ACLS, PALS, NPR class package: $499
NPR online module: $55
PALS pdf: $49
Transcript to California Medical Board and my residency program: $30
Live scan: $20
PTL application: $674
Orientation starts on a Thursday for us and will be a week and 2 days, weekends off, and ending with a resident retreat day!
Graduation
Dr. Rainee Khabagnote, MD!
We did it! If you’ve been reading since MSAP. Thank you. I’ve gotten to know so many more people through this blog. It’s my honor to be part of your journey and I’m honored that you’re part of mine.
I was asked to resign from being a Biology major in my sophomore year at UCI. The counselor told me doing poorly in Organic Chemistry meant I would never get into medical school. Do I even remember anything about ochem? Sadly, the young version of me took her advice. I floundered for the next 3-4 years trying different fields until I decided that medicine was for me. I took 1-2 years to try to improve my application, took the MCAT, did a DIY post-bacc and did not get into any U.S. medical schools. I ended up choosing the Carribean route and now we’re here! A physician ♥
I ordered this pendant for my graduation cap for my Papa and Lola who couldn’t be there, but are always a part of me. Would 12000/10 recommend making your graduation fit personal. Many people wore personalized stoles or wore flags. Loved it!
Hard turn into logistics, my graduation was on Saturday, June 1st at 10 AM. They usually have two ceremonies because of the large classes. We were asked to show up an hour early. I got there around 9:30 AM because of horrible traffic. I took an Uber because I was taking my grandma. We rode from Manhattan to Arthur Ashe which is about 30ish minutes away in Flushings. I highly recommend taking the subway. The station connected to the stadium and is about a 7-10 minute walk. My parents took the subway. They left later than me and arrived before me! The traffic getting into the stadium was very stressful.
I was a little panicked when I got there. I was running through security. They let me go to the front which was nice. I had to check in to get my name card and write down the pronunciation. It was still butchered. But I met my coordinator who helped me during my whole tenure at SGU. Thank you Ms. Toscani!
We were directed to stand in the underground stadium hallway. By pure luck, I found the few people I knew! Unfortunately being part of the COVID class and being on the West Coast, I didn’t meet a lot of my classmates. It was hot in that hallway. Also, my cheap Amazon shoes were not it. Then all of a sudden people started moving. We walked into the stadium while the classic graduation march was playing. Friends and family were welcomed to sit on the 1st and 2nd levels.
The ceremony started with introductions, short speeches, and then the hooding ceremony. I was seated in the 5th row. We waited for about 20 minutes to get called to the stage. We were called in small groups. Our group went onto the stage and were hooded as a group. Then we individually crossed the stage with our name being called and we shook hands with the chancellor and took a picture. After I got off the stage, there was a picture after the stage with a backdrop.
Well…Well, it felt like forever for everyone to go across the stage. We started late around 10:15 AM. We were done around 2 PM. The whole ceremony was supposed to 2 hours. I’m happy I packed little fans for my family because it was starting to get hot, but my group was also separated so sadly I don’t think they got to use it.
Before the ceremony, SGU had us sign up for the photography system and submit a selfie (I presume it’s facial recognition). Photographers took pictures candidly before, during, and after the ceremony. We also had the moment when we were hooded, our picture with the chancellor, and the one with the backdrop. I received the link to purchase and see the photos the next day. They did lose the ones I had with my family and friends and then said they would not find them. So there’s that. They would send emails every other day to purchase, slowly adding discounts. About 2 weeks from graduation, they sent an email saying SGU will be allowing us to download at no cost. I’d be pretty annoyed if I paid $140 to download those pictures so maybe hold off if you like your pictures.
As I write this, I’m exactly 7 days away from starting residency orientation!! I’m nervous, excited, imposter syndrome filled, slight dread because nothing beats vacation, but overall so ready for this next part of life. Also ready to stop hemorrhaging money haha.
Once again, thanks for hanging out with me!
Warmly, Rainee
OMG residency blogs incoming?!