Medical School

Notion: The Ultimate Education Hub

Medical School, Resources
Screenshot taken from Notion (Notion Labs, Inc., 2025) for educational use.

Students often juggle assignments, notes, exams, projects, research, and extracurricular commitments—and sometimes the entire circus collapses in a heap of sticky notes and half-finished reminders. Notion EDU brings order to the chaos by offering a single digital workspace where students and teachers can create notes, databases, calendars, study dashboards, project boards, course outlines, and more. It’s flexible, customizable, and surprisingly fun to use once you get the hang of it.

How the Tool Works (Cost, Features, Learning Curve)
Notion combines documents, task lists, databases, and calendars into one space. A single page can include text, images, embedded Figma files, videos, checklists, and linked databases. For example, a “Design Wiki” might house style guides, prototypes, research notes, and stakeholder feedback side by side, with everything tagged and searchable. Users can build custom workflows for projects, from idea to final deliverable, and connect related pages with backlinks. Notion EDU is free for students and teachers with an academic email, while paid plans exist for larger teams and enterprises that need advanced permissions and security. The learning curve feels moderate at first because it’s so flexible, but most users become comfortable after experimenting with a few templates and learning how to use basic building blocks (pages, databases, and views).

Educational Benefits (student group, content, objective)
Although the “Notion for design” page speaks directly to professional design teams, the exact same features translate beautifully to education. In a design course, for example, students could maintain a shared workspace that includes a design system, project boards, sprint plans, and critique notes, all stored in Notion. In more traditional academic settings—such as undergraduate or graduate programs—students can create dashboards to track assignments, exams, readings, and research projects. Group projects become easier when everyone can see the same task list, attach files, link prototypes or articles, and keep all discussions in context. For instructors, Notion can serve as a living course hub containing the syllabus, weekly modules, readings, and assignment instructions. This supports objectives like improving organization, increasing transparency for group work, and strengthening collaboration across disciplines.

Potential Problems and How to Overcome Them
There are a few challenges to consider when using Notion in education. First, new users can feel overwhelmed by its flexibility; there is no single “correct” way to set up a workspace, which can lead to confusion or overcomplicated pages. This can be minimized by providing students with simple starter templates (for example, a basic course dashboard and a group project board) and gradually adding complexity only as needed. Second, since Notion is a cloud-based platform, reliable internet access is important for full functionality, though offline support has improved over time. Finally, collaboration can get messy if teams do not agree on naming conventions or page structure. Instructors can address this by modeling a clear, consistent layout and setting expectations about where different types of content should live within the workspace.

🔗 Learn More: https://www.notion.so/edu

References

Notion Labs, Inc. (2025). Notion for Education. Retrieved from https://www.notion.com/edu

Explore Full Code: The Ultimate Medical Simulation Tool

Medical School, Resources
Screenshot taken from Full Code (Minerva Medical Simulation, 2025) for educational use.

Clinical reasoning isn’t built in a day—it’s crafted through repeated exposure to patient cases, uncertainty, and decision-making under pressure. Full Code provides this practice in a safe, immersive environment that feels like a virtual ER rotation. This simulation platform guides learners through patient encounters where they must assess, diagnose, treat, and manage cases across a wide range of clinical scenarios. It’s one of the most comprehensive medical simulation apps available and a favorite among students preparing for OSCEs, shelf exams, and real-world clinical rotations.

How the Tool Works (Cost, Features, Learning Curve)
Full Code functions like a virtual hospital: users choose cases, conduct histories and physicals, order labs and imaging, administer medications, and perform procedures. Each decision affects patient stability, which makes the simulation rewarding—and humbling. The app provides immediate feedback, scoring, and teaching pearls. It offers over 150+ cases spanning emergency medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, OB/GYN, trauma, and more. The app is free to download, but premium subscriptions unlock the full case library (around $15/month or discounted yearly plans). The learning curve is low; the interface is intuitive, and cases guide users step-by-step.

Screenshot taken from Full Code (Minerva Medical Simulation, 2025) for educational use.

Educational Benefits, Problems & How to Overcome Them
Full Code is extremely useful for medical, PA, nursing, and paramedic students, or anyone needing additional practice with clinical reasoning. Students can practice rapid decision-making, differential diagnosis formation, and evidence-based management. It’s especially valuable for early learners who want clinical exposure before rotations. One challenge is that some students may become overly reliant on gaming the system (e.g., ordering everything). To overcome this, instructors can set guidelines such as focusing on cost-effective workups or pausing after each step to explain decision reasoning. Internet connection issues can also arise, but downloaded cases help.

🔗 Learn More: https://fullcodemedical.com

References

Full Code Medical Simulation. (2025). Full Code [Mobile app]. Minerva Medical Simulation. https://fullcodemedical.com/

Explore 3D Anatomy: Features and Benefits of Complete Anatomy

Medical School
Screenshot from Complete Anatomy (3D4Medical, 2025). Used under educational-use allowance.

Understanding human anatomy has always required more than memorization—it requires spatial reasoning, visualization, and the ability to mentally rotate structures from multiple angles. Complete Anatomy takes this to the next level by offering a fully interactive, 3D anatomical atlas with unprecedented detail. Whether you’re a medical student studying the brachial plexus at 2 a.m. or a professor demonstrating surgical landmarks, this tool makes anatomy learning more intuitive, engaging, and precise.

How the Tool Works (Cost, Features, Learning Curve)
Complete Anatomy allows users to explore over 17,000 anatomical structures in full 3D. You can rotate, isolate, fade, dissect layers, view animations, study bone landmarks, and explore physiological processes. The platform includes quizzes, pre-made courses, and digital dissections. Students can customize models, labeling, and annotations, while instructors can create interactive lessons. Costs vary: there is a free trial, but full access typically requires a subscription—around $39.99/year for students and $99.99/year for educators, with institutional licensing available. The learning curve is mild; within one session, most users understand navigation, but mastering all features takes a bit of exploration.

Screenshot from Complete Anatomy (3D4Medical, 2025). Used under educational-use allowance.

Educational Benefits, Problems & How to Overcome Them
Complete Anatomy is ideal for medical, nursing, PA, PT/OT, and health-science students. It is especially powerful for students who prefer visual or hands-on learning. Complex topics like pelvic floor anatomy, cranial nerves, or musculoskeletal attachments become much clearer with 3D manipulation. Educators can use custom screens, lecture mode, or prebuilt short videos for classroom integration. Challenges include device compatibility (older tablets may lag) and subscription cost. These can be managed by using campus-wide licensing, downloading models for offline use, and encouraging collaborative study sessions in tech-equipped spaces.

🔗 Learn More: https://3d4medical.com/

References

3D4Medical. (2025). Complete Anatomy [Mobile application software]. Elsevier. https://3d4medical.com/

When Straight A’s Aren’t Enough: The Internal Struggles of Starting Medical School

Blog, Medical School

The Reality Check No One Warns You About

Medical school humbles you. No matter how brilliant you were before, how effortlessly you aced exams, or how much praise you collected along the way—medical school has a way of shaking that foundation.

For many of us, school was always our strong suit. We were the top of our class, the go-to person for notes, the ones who barely had to study to get an A. And then, suddenly, we step into medical school, and everything changes.

The sheer volume of information feels insurmountable. The study methods that worked before suddenly fail. And worst of all? Those A’s we once took for granted? Now, they’re B’s… or even C’s. And that’s where the existential crisis begins.

The Identity Crisis: “Am I Even Good Enough?”

For years, academic success might have been the core of your identity. Being “the smart one” wasn’t just something you did—it was who you were. But when your usual strategies stop working, and you find yourself struggling just to keep up, it can feel like a personal failure.

Thoughts creep in:

“Maybe I don’t belong here.”

“What if I’m not as smart as I thought?”

“Did I just get lucky before?”

Imposter syndrome thrives in these moments. You look around, convinced that everyone else has it figured out while you’re drowning in lectures and Anki cards. But here’s the truth—everyone is struggling, even if they don’t show it.

Why Performance-Based Self-Worth is Dangerous

One of the biggest mindset traps medical students fall into is attaching self-worth to performance rather than effort and growth. We tie our confidence, happiness, and sense of identity to grades, test scores, and class rankings.

But here’s the reality:
– Getting a B or C in medical school does NOT mean you’re a failure.
– Struggling does NOT mean you’re not cut out to be a doctor.
– Your ability to learn, grow, and adapt matters more than your GPA.

The irony? The students who focus on effort, consistency, and resilience—not perfection—end up doing better in the long run.

How to Shift Your Mindset & Survive the Transition

So, how do you get through this? Here’s what helped me (and many others) make peace with the struggle:

1. Focus on Progress, Not Perfection

Medical school isn’t about being the best—it’s about becoming better every day. Measure success in small wins: mastering a topic, improving study habits, or simply showing up and trying.

2. Redefine What It Means to Be “Smart”

Smart isn’t about getting A’s anymore. Smart is about problem-solving, adapting, and persisting even when things are tough. In medicine, the best doctors aren’t necessarily the ones who got straight A’s—they’re the ones who learned how to think, problem-solve, and keep going.

3. Detach Self-Worth from Scores

Grades are just numbers—they don’t define your potential or your future as a physician. What matters is that you show up, do the work, and keep pushing forward.

4. Talk About It

You’re not alone. Find people who understand—friends, upperclassmen, mentors. The more we talk about these struggles, the more we normalize them.

5. Play the Long Game

Your goal isn’t to be the best student—it’s to become the best doctor you can be. And that means focusing on learning, not just performance.

Final Thoughts: You Belong Here

The transition from excelling to struggling is painful, but it’s also part of the journey. You are NOT alone in this, and you are more than your grades. Growth happens in discomfort, and every challenge you overcome is shaping you into the doctor you’re meant to be.

So if you’re in the thick of it, questioning yourself—take a deep breath. You’re doing better than you think. And no matter what your grades say, you belong here.

What I’ve learned during my first year of medical school:

Blog, Medical School

If there’s one thing I can say about my first year of medical school, it’s this: it was a rollercoaster of emotions, growth, and lessons I never saw coming. From the outside, it might look like just a lot of studying, but the reality is so much deeper. Med school isn’t just about learning how to care for others—it’s also about learning how to care for yourself.

Here are some of the biggest lessons I learned during this wild, humbling, and rewarding first year:

1. Comparison is the thief of joy

Starting medical school, I quickly realized how easy it was to compare myself to my classmates. Everyone seemed so smart, so confident, so put together. Meanwhile, I was just trying to survive my first anatomy lab without fainting.

What I’ve learned is that comparison doesn’t serve you. Everyone’s journey is different, and your success isn’t defined by how you measure up to others. It’s about how much you grow, how hard you work, and how kind you are to yourself along the way.

2. Imposter syndrome is real (but it doesn’t define you)

There were so many days I wondered, Did the admissions committee make a mistake? I’d feel like I didn’t belong, like I wasn’t smart enough to be here.

But here’s the thing: if you’re in med school, you’ve earned your spot. You worked hard to get here, and you deserve to be here just as much as anyone else. I’ve started reminding myself that it’s okay to feel uncertain or overwhelmed—that’s part of growing. The key is to focus on progress, not perfection.

3. Balance is a myth (but self-care is non-negotiable)

Trying to balance school, relationships, hobbies, and downtime sometimes felt impossible. Spoiler alert: it is. There will be weeks when school takes over, and that’s okay.

What I’ve learned, though, is that self-care isn’t optional. Whether it’s walking my dogs, calling my family, or binge-watching a show guilt-free, I’ve learned to carve out time to recharge. Even 30 minutes can make a huge difference.

4. Celebrate the small wins

Med school is full of milestones—passing your first exam, finishing a tough lab, or even just making it through a long day of lectures. I’ve learned to celebrate those moments because they add up and remind me why I started this journey in the first place.

5. It’s okay to ask for help

This was a hard one for me. I’ve always prided myself on being independent, but med school taught me that asking for help doesn’t mean you’re weak—it means you’re human. Whether it’s reaching out to a professor, seeking mental health support, or leaning on your friends, it’s okay to say, I can’t do this alone.

Kyphoplasty

Blog, Medical School, Medicine and Health, Pre-Med

As I’ve mentioned before, I am currently working as a medical assistant in pain management. It’s now been almost a month that I started my new job and I love it! I get to work alongside the best pain management doctors in my area and have learned so much in a short amount of time. Last week, I had the privilege of shadowing several Epidural Steroid procedures as well as a Kyphoplasty procedure. It was the coolest thing I’ve seen since tori removal back in my oral surgery days. If you don’t know what a Kyphoplasty is, keep reading because this post is all about it!

What’s a Kyphoplasty?

A Kyphoplasty is a procedure performed to correct vertebral compression fractures (VCF) through the use of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) aka bone cement. The leading cause of VCFs is osteoporosis (Cooper et al, 1992), but falling or high risk activities like lifting heavy weights could also lead to a fracture. Due to the nature of the fracture, VCFs can be very painful; the vertebral body collapses causing the patient to lose height in their spine. During the procedure, a hollow needle is inserted into the body of the vertebra through the pedicle. An inflatable balloon is then placed inside, inflated to restore the vertebral height and to create a working channel for the cement to flow into. The entire procedure is guided through a fluoroscope and contrast medium.

Why a Kyphoplasty?

Other treatment options for patients with painful VCFs include non-surgical management (NSM) and a Vertebroplasty procedure. A Vertebroplasty is very similar to a Kyphoplasty. The primary difference is that a balloon is not used to create a working space for the cement to flow into and the cement used tends to have a lower viscosity. Both of these factors increase the most pertinent risk associated with the procedure: bone cement extravasating into the epidural space. Without a working space, the physician doesn’t have as much control of where the cement is flowing into. Also, bone cement viscosity is identified as a decisive guideline influencing leakage in a Vertebroplasty, so using a cement with a higher viscosity reduces the risk of extravasation (Giannitsios et al, 2005). In fact, the incidence of leakage during a Vertebroplasty ranges between 2-67% compared to 0-13.5% for a Kyphoplasty (Denaro et al, 2009). Other risks to consider include heart attack, cardiac arrest and stroke. In addition to surgical procedures, there are also NSM options for patients with VCFs. These include bed rest, pain relief medication and back bracing. Compared to patients who undergo a Kyphoplasty procedure, patients following a NSM treatment plan for VCFs experience less pain relief and improvement (Meirhaeghe, 2013). For these reasons, if a non-surgical treatment is insufficient, a Kyphoplasty is often the preferred treatment option for VCFs.

What are the main indications for the procedure?

  • Patients with Osteoporosis
  • Patients experiencing intense pain adjacent to the level of the fracture
  • Patients diagnosed with a fracture by an MRI, CT or X-Ray
  • Patients who failed non-surgical management for at least 4 weeks
  • Patients with lesion causing benign and metastatic tumors

Which patients are not candidates for the procedure?

  • Patients who did not fail non-surgical management for at least 4 weeks
  • Patients with asymptomatic vertebral compression fractures
  • Patients with allergies to materials used in the procedure such as PMMA or barium contrast
  • Patients with bleeding disorders that are unmanageable

How is the procedure performed?

  1. The patient is placed on the table, face down with a gown open to the back. The patient’s skin where the needle will be inserted is prepped with an antiseptic solution. Most patients are sedated for comfort and since the procedure is minimally invasive, local anesthetic is primarily used.
  2. The provider starts by inserting a bone access needle into the area affected to determine the trajectory of the working cannula. Once it’s confirmed through the fluoroscope that the access needle is at the correct location (on pedicle of vertebra), a bone drill is used to create a pathway through the pedicle into the vertebral body.
  3. Once the pathway is created, a curved-tip osteotome is inserted into the vertebral body and manually curved/directed towards the fracture.
  4. The balloon is inserted through the hollow needle and inflated to compact the soft porous bone inside of the vertebral body. Doing this not only restores the natural height of the vertebra but also creates a working channel for the cement to flow into. This decreases the chances of the cement flowing to places it shouldn’t flow into and gives the doctor more control of the cement’s trajectory. A contrast is used to visualize the inflation of the balloon and its location through the fluoroscope.
  5. Finally, the balloon can be removed and cement is injected into the working channel under pressure using a special cement filler cannula. The pressure and quantity of cement being injected is strictly controlled to prevent leakage. The needle is removed slowly and carefully, ensuring the cement is not following the needle forming a “tail.” This is done by waiting for the cement to slightly harden and monitoring its progress through the fluoroscope.
  6. The needle is removed and the incision is closed with either steri-strips or skin glue. Once the remaining cement on the table hardens, the patient is ready to be moved to the recovery room.

Pictures from the procedure I shadowed:

Works Cited

Giannitsios, D., Ferguson, S., Heini, P., Baroud, G. & Steffen, T. (2005). “High cement viscosity reduces leakage risk in vertebroplasty”. European Cells & Mat 10, Poster No. 314. http://www.ors.org/Transactions/5thCombinedMeeting/0314.pdf

McCall, T., Cole, C., Dailey, A. (2008). “Vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty: A comparative review of efficacy and adverse events.” Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine, Vol. 1: 17-23, doi: 10.1007/s12178-007-9013-0. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12178-007-9013-0

Meirhaeghe, J., Leonard, B., Steven, B., Jonas, R. & John, T. (2013). A randomized trial of balloon kyphoplasty and nonsurgical management for treating acute vertebral compression fractures. Spine, Vol. 38(12): 971-983, doi: 10.1097/BRS.0b013e31828e8e22. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23446769/

Denaro, V., Longo, U., Nicola, M. & Denaro, L. (2009). Vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty. Clinical Cases in Mineral And Bone Metabolism: The Official Journal of the Italian Society of Osteoporosis, Mineral Metabolism, and Skeletal Diseases, Vol. 6(2): 125-130. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2781232/