Secondary Education is an Opportunity for ALL North Carolinians: Higher Education Foundation **Sponsored**

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #HigherEdWorks #CollectiveBias

In 1990, my parents packed up my little brother and me (then ages 3 and 1) and our family moved from Detroit, Michigan, to Chicago, Illinois, so that my dad could start residency.

From my earliest childhood memories, our home served a dual purpose. It was our touch-stone as a family but was also a place that helped to support my dad’s marathon study sessions during medical school and residency.

Education was woven into our daily life, and even in our humble beginnings as a family, my parents instilled a desire to learn from an early age.

It is no surprise that at the age of 7, I knew that I wanted to be a doctor. It’s what kept me in the enrichment and AP classes through high school. This drive fueled my own marathon study sessions in the Undergraduate Library in college, and it is what wouldn’t let me get off course despite that positive pregnancy test I stared at during my junior year.

At the end of the day, your education is something that cannot be taken from you. It is the great equalizer and it is something that my children have seen woven into their daily lives from birth. This came full circle for me when I finished medical school and packed up my own two children to move us to North Carolina for my residency training.

Although all jobs do not require a four year degree, most salaried jobs do require some secondary education, and all citizens deserve a chance to get one so that they too can provide for themselves and their families in a way that reflects the American dream. We are very fortunate to live in North Carolina, where there is a great lineup of schools that its residents (and out of state individuals) can attend to get a great education!

So when I was asked to partner with the Higher Education Works Foundation, I was ecstatic. The Higher Education Works Foundation wants North Carolinians to take advantage of our state’s awesome educational opportunities.

I was fortunate enough to receive a full tuition scholarship to a state college that afforded me not only the academic foundation to follow my dreams of being a doctor, but also exposed me to a more diverse community and world view. I hope that my children also seek higher education, and I will encourage them to strongly consider their state schools!

Getting postsecondary credentials from North Carolina’s public universities or community colleges has a far-reaching impact on all of society. It allows for social and upward mobility, improves the economic well-being of communities, and can change lives for generations, helping to break the cycle of poverty. Everyone does not have to want to be a doctor, like me, but if they want to get an education, they should be supported in doing so. 

Every year, it seems like our access to education is threatened for our most at-risk students. Did you know that North Carolina is one of three states that actually mandates in its constitution that all of its citizens should be provided with affordable higher education? Seriously, our state constitution reads: “The General Assembly shall provide that the benefits of the University of North Carolina and other public institutions of higher education, as far as practicable, be extended to the people of the State free of expense.”

This is why I support the Higher Education Works Foundation in their belief (and actions) supporting the idea that everyone should have the opportunity to pursue higher education. It is our responsibility to keep the North Carolina higher education systems well-funded, affordable and accessible so that North Carolinians can get valuable higher education credentials. We must be diligent in our efforts because the future of our children’s educational opportunities depends on us! Because of this, it’s important for us to require our legislators to provide adequate financial support for our systems of higher education!

Want to stay up to date on Higher Education Works and the huge impact they have on our community?

Register for the weekly newsletter and connect with Higher Education Works on their social media channels to stay informed!
#HigherEdWorks #CollectiveBias

Student Parent Survival Guide

Chronic exhaustion. ⠀

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Anybody else having one of those days? 🙋🏾‍♀️⠀

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Whether you work inside or outside of the home, being tired as a parent is a way of life. But, that is no excuse for not getting the job done, so we learn how to power through. 🏃🏾‍♀️⠀

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Breastfeeding & Radiology reading at the same time. Get er done. #medschool #motherhood #multitasking #MrsMommyMD

A post shared by Jasmine Johnson, MD|MFM Fellow (@mrsmommymd) on Sep 9, 2013 at 7:26am PDT

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Here are some of my quick tips for getting your work done with kids especially while in professional school:⠀

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📝 get up early or stay up late: this one takes some time to train your body, but it’s worth it. The early morning is when I do my best work. It is quiet, I feel fresh, and there are no little humans running around.⠀

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📝 Don’t wait for the perfect conditions to study: it may not always be the way you want it, but you can study anywhere, listening to podcasts in the car, perusing through your notes or QBank questions while you’re nursing, listening to lectures while making dinner, or while your kid plays the kiddie pool ;-) Time is a potential space and you can fill it creatively throughout the day with small bursts of studying for review - even with kids around. ⠀

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Pool Partaaaay! @nathanj9

A post shared by Jasmine Johnson, MD|MFM Fellow (@mrsmommymd) on May 15, 2013 at 1:37pm PDT

📝 use your village: when I knew that I had a week of exams at the end of the block, we would have little Nate stay with my mom or big Nate‘s mom during that time so that I could get some uninterrupted marathon studying in. And Little Nate would get grandparents’ time, so it was a win for everyone. ⠀

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📝 use your space: when I was in medical school, we bought big sheets of clear plexiglass from the hardware store to put on our guestroom wall. It was my own dry erase board for writing out things that I wanted to memorize. This helped me to create a library-like space within my home so I didn’t feel so disconnected from the family.⠀

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The House of a Med Student: Where Grown Ups Write on Walls...

A post shared by Jasmine Johnson, MD|MFM Fellow (@mrsmommymd) on May 1, 2012 at 2:44pm PDT

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Those are my faves. You can find more tips on the med student page of my blog. 

You got this!⠀

📟 Paging all parents, share your productivity tips below!⠀

Do More for Your Whole Mouth with Colgate Total! **Sponsored**

***This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #DoMoreForYourWholeMouth #ColgatePartner #CollectiveBias***

As someone who spends their day providing care to others, I’ve always felt that when I come to work, I want to be able to greet everyone I meet with a smile. It is almost like a trademark. This sounds simple, but some days I work some looooong hours, and over the course of my day, I’m pretty sure I smile at least 100 times. That’s huge for me, because I feel that something a small as a smile is enough to make a person feel seen and valued.

I take this especially serious when it comes to my patients. First impressions are everything, and a warm smile helps to set them at ease, but also shows that they can have confidence in me as the doctor who will care for them and their baby. With all the talking that I have to do throughout the day, the last thing I would want is bad breath or plaque build up. And as an OB doctor, I definitely want all those newborn babies to see a vibrant smile when they make their debut. Smiles are so powerful and all Dr. Johnson’s babies deserve the very best!

Hover over the image below to shop!

So I want nothing but the best for my smile and cannot skimp on a quality toothpaste. So I make sure to head to Walmart to pick up Colgate TotalSF Advanced Whitening Toothpaste so that I can start my day with a smile that is fresh and vibrant for all the face time I have to do. And now with their NEW formula, Colgate TotalSF does more for your mouth. Not only does it have all the well known benefits of helping to prevent plaque, gingivitis, and tartar build up, with the NEW breakthrough formula, it also helps with tooth sensitivity, strengthening enamel, and freshening breath!

It is not just for my morning routine. It is also clutch for those times that duty calls me into the night, Colgate TotalSF (along with a fresh pair of socks, underwear, and deodorant) always makes it into my overnight bag for call. I may not always have time for a shower during my shift (sleeping can be hard to come by with three pagers and a phone), but it is amazing how refreshed you can feel after brushing your teeth!  

You can purchase Colgate TotalSF at your local Walmart!

Get money earned back with this offer through Ibotta!

***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...

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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.