- 📝 Doctor Kenji's Notes
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- Odyssey Planning
Hey guys! 👋 I’ve just got back from my annual leave, but here is the newsletter that I should have sent just as I began it. Apologies for missing the last 2 weeks whilst I was away, I’m back in the UK and back on track now!
I'm writing this newsletter to you from what we call the internet, 35,000 feet in the air in a metallic capsule that is moving at 650 miles per hour. Aren't planes just crazy? Anyway, I'm now officially on my annual leave, and I'm heading to Kenya for three weeks to rest and reflect on my life. You see, I find myself at a crossroads in my career. I am currently a foundation year 2 doctor, which is the last year before I am supposed to start specialist training. Many of my colleagues have already started preparing for the specialty entrance exams (some are only a few weeks away) and maximizing their portfolios to apply for competitive programs. What I am finding difficult is the infinite possibilities that I currently have. Should I pursue the interest I had in med school to become a surgeon and apply to obstetrics and gynecology training? I have spent most of my time in pediatrics, which I have grown to love so much, but would the stressful lifestyle suit me? Or should I do something unconventional and not pursue further training at all? I think that one of the main and most difficult goals of being an adult is finding out what you are meant to do with your future, and I'm reminded that no one really gave us a manual for this complex thing we call life.
To help me with my career crisis, I'm three hours into the flight and have written up an odyssey plan. If you've never heard of this, it involves the process of creating a detailed plan for one's career or life that takes into account different scenarios and possibilities. You start by thinking about the path that you're currently on and write where you think it might lead you in five years. You also write a path if money and what others think of you weren't involved in the picture. And your final scenario involves something completely wild and different from the path you are currently on.
Scenario 1 involves me pursuing pediatric specialty training (or another one of my medical interests) in the UK, where five years from now, I am an ST5 (specialty training year 5), two years away from becoming a consultant. This is pretty much the default pathway that I have been following over the last seven years of medicine. Scenario 2 is totally ludicrous and is set around me leaving the UK for a warmer country and working a completely different job related to one of my other interests outside of medicine, like business, health-tech, or public health. In this scenario, I would ideally like to still be involved in clinical practice in some regard.
While each scenario is very different, it gives me a perspective that I didn't have before, and I am able to focus on my thoughts and feelings toward each life path. I don't know which path (or any other) I may take, but I look forward to five years from now when I reread this plan and reflect on how things turned out in the end.
So, if you ever find yourself at a crossroads like myself, consider writing an odyssey plan, no matter how brief or detailed it might be. It might just give you that added insight you need to make that ever-so-important decision
👍🏾 Things I’ve enjoyed this week
Apple TV+ (Streaming Service) - I love watching shows/movies, and Disney+ and Netflix have been a bit dry recently so I decided to try out Apple TV. So far it’s been great, with lots of new interesting shows! I don’t like paying for multiple subscriptions, but often times it’s possible to share services with your family/friends which brings down the cost of the price of one trip to the cinema. Some new shows I’ve started watching are below.
Severence (Apple TV+ show) - This has been a slow but interesting show about a science-fictional world where people lose their memory when they move between their day job and life outside work. Creepy things start happening from then on. Highly recommend!
Silo (Apple TV+ show) - This is another sci-fi show about a civilization who live below ground because they’ve been told the outside world is not safe to live in. Watched this with my partner and we were hooked from the beginning.
Lupin (Netflix Show) - The newest season just released and it’s been great. It’s about a man who takes inspiration from author Maurice Leblanc's crime novels about master thief Arsène Lupine to avenge his dead father.
AutoSleep (sleep tracking app) - I recently gave up the Whoop device after 1 month of using it. It was great to learn more about my habits, but I feel it was more suited for people who engage in a lot of aerobic exercise. I also already use an apple watch, and for £27/month, I don’t feel the information it gave justified the price. This new app that works with my Apple watch and only costs a few pounds has been doing a good enough job as a new alternative!
📹 The latest video in case you missed it:
📚 Highlight of the week
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, Janet Mills
Every human is a magician, and we can either put a spell on someone with our word or we can release someone from a spell. We cast spells all the time with our opinions. An example: I see a friend and give him an opinion that just popped into my mind. I say, “Hmmm! I see that kind of color in your face in people who are going to get cancer.” If he listens to the word, and if he agrees, he will have cancer in less than one year. That is the power of the word.
How to Live by Derek Sivers
Your memories are a mix of fact and fiction. Your story about an experience overwrites your memory of the actual experience. So use this in your favor. Re-write your past. Embellish adventures. Disempower trauma. Re-write your stories into whatever works for you. Remember only what you want to remember. You have the right to reframe.
The Good Enough Job by Simone Stolzoff
When I asked Mojgani whether he believed in the whole “love what you do and never work a day in your life” mantra, he said something I’ll never forget: “Work will always be work. Some people work doing what they love. Other people work so that they can do what they love when they’re not working. Neither is more noble.”
Resurfaced to me by Readwise
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Want to learn more from me? Check these out👇
🩺 (Free) How to Get into Medical School - From Application to Doctor: https://skl.sh/2TwpH0N
👨🏼💻 An Essay Writing Masterclass - The Best Essay Writing Technique: https://courses.kenjitomita.co.uk
🏥 My Online Medicine Interview Course: https://courses.kenjitomita.co.uk
📑 Study notes, my university personal statements, dissertation and more:https://www.kenjitomita.co.uk/shop
🛠 My favourite tools 🔨
📚 Listen to my favourite book of all time (or any other) free on Audible
🥼 My daily hospital scrubs: HappyThreads
🎒 My everyday and travel bag from Menos (use KENJI10 for 10% off)
📝 My favourite iPad screen protector: Paperlike