***End of 2018 Updates!***

Morning drop off with Mommy!

Friends...I cannot believe it is December. This last quarter of the year is not playing games. What in the world?!

Fellowship is still AH-MAZ-ING. 

Since my last post, I spent the month of October on Labor and Delivery. And although it was crazy busy - per usual, I managed to learn a ton and not surprisingly, loved being with the residents and other fellows (i.e. my friends xo)

Halloween 2018 on L&D

On October 14th My babies got baptized (!!!)

My co-fellow Annie and I went to an awesome conference in Chicago for all the first year MFM fellows around the country. I even got to sneak in some time with my parents and bros. 

And in October we even managed to make it to our first North Carolina State Fair! #FriedOreos

November was also quite a month for me and my crew...

At work, I completed my first ultrasound rotation of fellowship. A Maternal-Fetal Medicine doctor is responsible for making complicated fetal diagnosis and performing procedures by ultrasound (cordocensis, amniocentesis, and fetal reduction just to name a few), so these were the first steps in honing my craft. 🤓

Every Monday morning, I still had my regular continuity clinic with prenatal patients. And then in the afternoon, after our scheduled teaching, I was responsible for presenting complex fetal cases to the joint Maternal-Fetal Medicine + Neonatology conference. This was a huge change from my ultrasound rotation as an intern #GlowUp

Natey started hockey lessons (!!!) and presented in his first class culmination project on water quality last week. 

Isabelle is learning to read (!!!) 

Our family budget is well underway (we have been really diligent since July), and because things are going so well AND I had more than one day off around Thanksgiving, we were able to FLY home to my parents' in Indiana!! It was the best getaway I have had in a loooong time and it didn't involve the longest car ride ever :praise Him:

Speaking of the budget...in November we were also able to take the kids to go see Hamilton while it was in Durham! They love the soundtrack and are HUGE fans. This was something that I have been dreaming of doing for them since I saw it two years ago, but I never would have dreamed that we could afford it. Thanks to StubHub we got awesome seats at an awesome price. 

It was even more amazing to watch it with them #YoungScrappyAndHungry

But I also understand now why children usually aren't taken to Broadway plays...#IsabelleCouldntHang #TheKidsHadSoMuchCommentary

Isabelle couldn't hang by Act II -_-

So SO thankful for all of the wonderful blessings this year. 

Hope you all are able to take some time to slow down in this last month of 2018 in order to focus on what is most important. 

xo

Paying for Medical School **WITHOUT LOANS**

After my Insta post earlier this week, I got quite a few questions about how I managed to get a full tuition scholarship to medical school. I have been meaning to give a run down on how to pay for medical school for a long time, so this is the perfect reminder...

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jasmine Johnson, MD (@mrsmommymd) on Dec 3, 2018 at 4:58am PST

Before I get started, I think that it is very important for those of you who are not yet familiar with the medical school process, who are interested in going to medical school, to know that YOU CANNOT WORK A JOB IN MEDICAL SCHOOL. 

I realize this is a really extreme statement, and I am a woman who prides herself in doing what others say she cannot do, but medical school requires a significant amount of time outside of class studying, and any non-related medical school job could potentially sabotage your performance. Your full time for job four years is to graduate (and maybe parent, but mostly graduate HA!). All that to say, planning to “pay as you go” is not a good plan...

Secondly, medical school is SO EXPENSIVE. Many times, students walk away with upwards of $100,000+ worth of loans. After graduation, we stare at that terrifying amount, and residency for most of us, causes us to kind of push it into the back of our minds to “deal with it later” when we think we have the mental bandwidth - usually not until we are done with training. 

Having been that resident that dealt with it later *read student loan deferment and compound interest 😩😭😰🥴😳* don’t be me. Deal with it now. Think about it now. You will thank yourself later.

Choose a school wisely (i.e. choosing in-state tuition or public institutions over private institutions).

As Indiana resident, I had significantly lower tuition than my out-of-state classmates. So, although many of apply broadly to medical schools, if you have the opportunity to receive in-state tuition, this is likely the smarter choice.

Also look for schools with amazing programs like NYU. NYU announced this past year that they were offering full tuition scholarships to all of their students...AMAZING!

Save as much money as you can BEFORE starting medical school.

I was not one of the smart ones to do this, but I frequently hear about people on the Dave Ramsey Podcast who are about to enter graduate school, and through sheer determination, were able to save a significant amount of their tuition beforehand. If you are non-traditional student with a previous career, take advantage of this!

Find Scholarships.

Scholarships to medical school are rare but they do exist! 

Scholarship sources include private companies (like insurance payers, pharmaceutical companies, organizations that tailor to special demographics), military, and the medical schools themselves. 

I was fortunate enough to be awarded two scholarships. One was from a fund established by a former  IUSM alumni whose mission was to train physicians for the underserved populations of Indiana. The second was from the general scholarship fund at IUSM. I was notified of this amazing blessing when I was offered admission to medical school. 

Finally, although this lifted a huge burden off of me as I entered medical school, I still needed to take out student loans to help cover our living expenses, so also keep that in mind. Applying for scholarships can be tedious but little by little it can make a big difference. 

Ask the schools that you are interested in about their scholarship opportunities, and here are some sites to help start your search: 

AAMC

HRSA

FastWeb

White Coat Investor
Physician on Fire

For those of you who have made the journey, how did you pay for medical school? Did you get any scholarships? If so, please share which scholarship and how someone can apply.

From Tiny Chromosomes to Tiny Patients...

As mentioned in my last post, I spent my August  in the world of genetics. Genetic counselors work very closely with Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialist. For example, after a baby is diagnosed with anomalies on ultrasound or a mom with a high risk genetic condition is receiving care, we typically refer them to genetic counselors.

Genetic counseling can look different depending on the institution, but the common thread is that they are a wealth of knowledge on both screening and diagnostic test for birth defects and diagnosis of conditions prenatally. Patients who elect for screening can be low risk patients, but also those who may have a history themselves, or child that was previously diagnosed with a genetic condition. Genetic counselors also help families who have a baby diagnosed with a genetic condition navigate next steps for the pregnancy.

It was so interesting to see families affected by conditions that I hadn't heard about since medical school - such as Phenylketonuria, Galactosemia, and Ehlers-Danlos. 

On the Maternal-Fetal Medicine side of things, the docs are responsible for performing the procedures that ultimately make a diagnosis for families. Depending on how far along a mom is, this can be something called chorionic villous sampling (CVS) that uses a needle to sample placental tissue between 10-14 weeks of pregnancy, or an amniocentesis that uses a needle to sample amniotic fluid any time after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

Chorionic Villous Sampling

Mayo Clinic

I got to do my first amniocentesis as a fellow last month and it was awesome.

PregMed

Unlike residency, the first day the month means a new rotation for me in fellowship. To start this month, I am in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). I get to work with the pediatrician intensive care teams taking care of the babies the maternal fetal medicine teams often have to deliver.

I love that my fellowship program gives us this unique perspective to experience things on the other side of what we do. Many times, we deliver a mom who has been with us for weeks on the Antepartum service, or days with us on labor and delivery, but her journey doesn't end there because she may spend months with her baby in the NICU.

I have gotten a crash course on management of the extremely low birth weight infant (<1000gm) and what long-term care can look like after a baby is born significantly premature. It is so amazing to me how tiny a premie baby can be - too small to do things like keep their bodies warm, keep their blood sugars up, and sometimes keep their tiny lungs open. Modern medicine is amazing. 

Stay tuned for my second half of the month when I get to hang out with OB Anesthesia (!!!)...

Headband Gang in the NICU!

**Landau Back to School Scrubs Review**

This is a sponsored post, but all opinions are my own.

As my first year of fellowship gets underway, I am even more in awe of how variable my days can be.

After dropping off the kids, my morning can range from anything from ultrasound clinic, seeing my own pregnant or postpartum patients in continuity clinic, or performing procedures in the OR suite.

At lunchtime, I am able to recharge, and then the afternoon hustle commences – just as unpredictable as the morning with dedicated learning time, research and department meetings, or more clinic. If I am not headed home for the night, at 5:30pm I head to Labor and Delivery for call. I love it all!

No two days are the same, and my schedule may change from month to month. I get bored easily when things become routine, so this is one of the many things that drew me to OBGYN. It definitely makes me love MFM – a subspecialty dedicated to the “un-routine” as they like to say.

The hospital is pretty strict on what we wear in the OR, but I get creative license with everything else :read socks, earrings, and scrub caps:

I have really enjoyed being more fashionable in clinic attire, but honestly, sometimes it is not the most practical when you could be pulled into a procedure in any moment. And y'all, even on some of our most tame days, obstetrics is messy - there is blood, and amniotic fluid, and lots you don't want to know... 

So a great pair of scrubs that makes you look the part, but is still functional, comfortable, and stylish is something you quickly learn to hold on to. The New Urbane Scrubs Contemporary Fit is just that. I had the pleasure of trying out their scrubs in “steel gray”, which is the color our division uses so I can match the rest of the MFM team…

Here are some of the things that make these scrubs special:

●     Their exclusive fabric construction is the perfect balance of breathable and flexible to keep you feeling cool and less restricted – perfect for me running from clinic to Labor & Delivery. Seriously, these may be one of the most comfortable pair of scrubs I own…They are like yoga pants!

●     The fabric has been tested for durability, shade consistency, and color fastness to keep you them looking brand new after each wash.

●     Pockets for days to keep all my essentials on hand.

●     The scrubs come in a variety of sizes ranging from XS to 5XL

●     Despite their functionality, they are also stylish – look at that neckline!

You can find Landau Urbane scrub retailers here:http://www.urbanescrubs.com/.

***I received a pair of scrubs and compensation for this post. All opinions are my own. #LoveUrbane #AcornInfluencer #Ad ***

And....We're Back! (to School)

Well, that was a fast summer...Did August even happen, or nah?

I cannot believe I am the mom to a fourth grader and a kindergartener o_O Isabelle is SO PUMPED to be at the same school as her big bro. Nate is also loving being able to get Isabelle up to speed on all things at their now-shared school in true "know-it-all" fashion.

And Mama's work life is conducive to me being a part of all the awesome First Day/Week of School hustle... seriously, my heart = FULL.

The first few days of school this year were a success! Here is the photo dump to prove it:

Nate's first day was last Wednesday...

Isabelle's been photobombing him since 2013 hahaha

Wednesday, Isabelle had a her Kindergarten visit day and then her first official day was the next day, on Thursday...

Genius classroom scavenger hunt to help them find the classroom essentials before the first day!

If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw my walk down First Day of School memory lane in my stories. Man, that chalkboard was money well spent! 

We don't talk much about third grade - Mama's struggle year...LOL

Hope all you parents and students are having a great start to the school year!