DEAR IMG COMMUNITY,
In going through the recent posts regarding observships, I thought I would chime in and help all the fellow IMGs new to this process.
I'm currently a PGY-1 IM in Arizona and I rotated with Dr. K for 3 months during the summer of 2023. So, let me chime in.
We as imgs are up against a mountain and everything from the visa approval to finally getting match is a HUGE emotional drain on our families. Many of us don't have physician contacts or family friends in the US, so much of our experience is unfortunately trail by error. To add to this, several of us are financially constrained, so when it comes time to look for rotations, we are fatally attracted to certain programs like Brooklyn USCE, which at first glance looks like an outstanding program with a dedicated perceptor.
The reality, as several have been crying out from the past several years, is much different.
When I and my friends rotated there, the clinic was definitely neat albeit cramped with too many people (around 30-35) but everyone seemed to be happy and the doctor introduced himself very nicely with all smiles and his infamous fist bump. Then towards the end of the first day, his assistant PA (BEWARE) was clumping us infront of his office to meet him. We were initially under the impression that was presumably to give us a layout of the things to be done etc. And, so we waited and once we went inside one by one, he started interviewing us. He basically sat us down and presumably had an excel sheet behind his desktop and was asking us things like, "what is your usmle score, what is your citizenship status, what country are you from?" Even scarier was that he was inputting everything from our name to our citizenship status as you replied to his questions. Many of us found that very odd considering that in several of my previous rotations, I was NEVER asked anything more than my name, hobbies and potential speciality interests. Near the end of the "intake process", he portends himself as some sort of savior of IMGs with statements like, "When you come to this clinic, I WILL MAKE YOU MATCH. When you match, it's an honor for me." Little did I and several of us know at that time. And, so we all went home thinking that we found the perfect person to help us guide through the uncertain times; and I, myself, called and told my parents back home in Pakistan that I was very fortunate and happy to be rotating here.
On the second day, we were assigned roles by his "senior", who has struggled to match from the previous cycles and is volunteering at the clinic from several years. Some of us had clinics and some had the infamous front desk duty. I wasn't aware of the front desk "communication skills" aspect until the later part of my rotations. In the clinics, I was strikingly surprised to find out that the said person, whether you signed up for observer or hands-on, you ARE NOT ALLOWED TO TOUCH THE PATIENT WHATSOEVER. I don't understand what the purpose of signing up for HANDS ON is if u can't touch or examine the patient. The ONLY thing you are palpating and percussing there is the keyboard. Several times throughout the "clinical rotation", I was confused as to whether I signed up for a summer rotation in a tech company or a medical set up. The only thing you can do in "clinics" is ask history, but even that is not clinical exposure. Nearly, anyone can join an observship and read off a checklist. Asking "how a patient is doing and if anything is troubling them" can easily be done by a nonmedical professional. Whats the point in "examining a patient with CML" without even looking at the abdomen or any neck lymph nodes. Asking a patient about "abdominal discomfort" and updating it on the EMR with today's date is NOT CONSIDERED HANDS ON. IF you think that is HANDs-ON, BROOKLYN USCE I WOULD HIGHLY SUGGEST YOU REEVALUATE YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF HANDs-ON CLINICAL ROTATIONS. Please understand that several IMGs take time off during their internship and their families sacrifice a lot (financially and emotionally) so that their children can complete a HANDs-ON rotation in US hospital center, considering that HANDs-ON rotation are NOT available once you graduate. So, when you prance across the line and overadvertise things that may not necessarily be true, we naive imgs believe things that is infamously posted on instagram and read your testimonals and we take a blind leap of faith. And, most times we are very happy with the respect and friendships that an educated IMG recieves from the faculty, nurses, and residents in other academic centers. Unlike this building (I frankly don't know what to characterize it is), we aren't talked down and harassed to in the other rotations that i have done prior to this place. I don't know how it has changed since 1 year, but from the recent post, seems NOT to have changed much. Over dramatic seniors and physician assistants must still be the norm there. BROOKLYN USCE, NOT EVERY IMG IS A JUNKIE FROM A PAKISTAN OR INDIA, LOOKING TO SCAM OUR WAY TO RESIDENCY. PLEASE RESPECT OUR KNOWLEDGE, OUR STRUGGLES AND TREAT US FARILY and ACADEMICALLY. WE ARE HERE TO LEARN AND CONTRIBUE TO ACADEMIC MEDICINE IN THE FUTURE.
Lets come to the issue of phone calls and front desk attitude (mainly that PA; the support nurses are quite friendly and willing to help all IMGS. The support nurse in fact, when I was there (Don't know if she is still there) , was VERY HELPFUL and was asking if anyone needed help or if everyone had food. NICE LADY. NO COMPLAINTS with HER; and I THINK MOST OF US HAVE A SIMILAR WARM FEELING OF THE SUPPORTIVE NURSES. GOOD, HELPFUL PEOPLE. We just felt that the PA was quite condenscending and rude when we were there. (Might have changed now, but we are not to engage in a street brawl with anyone there.) Unlike, other hospitals where I rotated before ( and I did 4 before coming here), we are treated like SOME OFFICE CLERK WHOSE ONLY JOB IS TO SIT AND CALL A LONG LIST OF 50-60 people to CONFIRM APPOINTS AND RECORD THEIR RESPONSES. Even more depressing is that not ONLY DOES HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE TURN INTO RECEPTIONIST EXPERIENCE, HIS SUPPORT STAFF SELLS THAT BS that ANSWERING THE CALLS HELPS BUILD ENGLISH SKILLS. WE IMGS DON't NEED TO SACRIFICE 1.8K, FLIGHT FARE AND HOUSING, FOOD TO COME AND LEARN FUCKING ENGLISH. (IF YOU WANT TO LEARN ENGLISH AND TYPING SKILLS, you could go join an english class where you would probably be treated much nicer and without discrimination and at a fraction at the cost.) MOST IMGs I have worked with, and have matched into very respectable centers, have GOOD SUFFICIENTLY UNDERSTABLE ENGLISH. BROOKLYN USCE, IMGs are applying for RESIDENCY, NOT CHAIR OF THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT IN HARVARD. BROOKLYN USCE, WE DIDN't SIGN UP for an ENGLISH TUTORIAL. SEVERAL OF US have 250s+ and worked in hospitals, I'm pretty sure we know how to communicate in basic english to help a patient out clincially. (We didn't type in "english need help" on google and stumble across BROOKLYN USCE. So, STOP SELLING US THAT NARRATIVE. I'm sure 99% of us will have excellent english and communication skills once we LEAVE YOUR CLINIC. I'm sure profits are absolutely booming, so the very very least you could do is hire a full time receptionist. He/she would probably do a much better job than us as they are specifically trained for that role. We IMGS WERE TRAINED TO HOLD A STETHOSCOPE and EXAMINE THE PATIENT; NOT DISCHARGE A PATIENT WITHOUT TOUCHING THEM.)
Regarding the LOR, many of the hospitals I have worked in, the LORs were largely performance based, and we made sure to work hard and engage in collequial learning attitude with everyone, who were willing to ensure that IMGs were a part of the medical team. I personally had loads in fun in my previous hospitals with all the attendings, the residents and other IMGs; and we still share our intern year plights with each other and frequently ask advice from them. THE LORS that orginate from this "world class hematologist/IMG SAVIOR who doesn't touch the patients himself (except for his fist bump)" are a cause of concern for several reasons. First, we had 30-35 people at that time. So Dr. K had no idea what many of us had even signed up. He knew less than 5% of the people, albeit he had a particular eye and could easily recogonize IMGs from his state. (Protip: If you want to get close to Dr. K, wear a turban, speak his language, and bring him chole batura and mango lasi. He will treat you like royalty. No luck for the rest of us, even indians from other states). When the said perceptor doesn't have even a track of the students and the INDIVIDUAL ROTATIONS WE SIGNED UP, the likelihood of him writing you a personalized LOR is a narrative to extract your money. Everyone is just reading off a checklist from the previous encounter like blind sheep. So, his LORs are NOT based on clinial knowledge and clinical skills (Make him a chole batura, he will write you a GREAT LOR even if u don't know how to check the blood pressure). Second, the LOR is based on your accomplishments outside of this clinic as you will recieve an invite to his whatsapp group of 600 or 700 students. You just go and detail your many achievements, scores etc. Then, he has one of his senior PUNJABI STUDENTS , who is applying in the same cycle as you, to changethe name on a previous generic LOR and give you a neatly crafted LOR. So, personalized? When a program director sees 600+ LORs from a guy who is INFAMOUS IN REDDIT, how will that hold up in front of an admissions comitee? Thus, I didnt use his LOR or else it would have tanked my application sure.
Now, onto SENIOR STUDENTS. I never truly figured out how they became "senior students" during my time there. These so called seniors don't see any patients. 90% of the time they are getting cozy with Dr. K. No surprise, they are predominantly punjabis. (Not to say that there are not genuine punjabi physicians in the US, but these seniors definitiely don't fit that narrative) These outstanding seniors can be seen having lunch with him privately in his room and out of the clinic as well as conversing with him in his language, while the rest of us are absolutely neglected. These folks were tasked with checking our notes, but I have absolutely no idea what notes they check when they haven't themselves examined the patients. Seniors in clinical education? Absolutely not. No chance. I wouldn't trust any of them with examining my dog even, let along a human being. Seniors in correcting grammar and formatting the notes. Absolutely yes. I struggled with what their role was during my time there, and I still struggle with that 1 year.
So, BROOKLYN USCE, you are well aware of the problems that plague IMGS who unfortunately rotate through your clinic. We IMGs are a vulnerable population, who come here to do what it takes to match and hopefully land a spot. Deleting the comments and requesting the moderators to censor our candid opinions is unethical and unprofessional, and for an organization that has been operative since 2015; I would have expected you have would learn't that by now. Why delete the comments and hide behind the line when you have been running a clean organization? When 1 or 2 people express strong negative views when this program, that might be a bad subjective experience, but when more than a dozen descriptions detail harassment, fraudalent practices, and clinical adequacies its high time to reevaluate your program, instead of sponsoring free rotations for exotic countries like Georgia so u can build your diversity image. In your quest to promote diversity, will I see free clinical rotation videos for polar bears and penguins from Antartica in the coming months?
PLEASE STOP HARMING US WITH YOUR FAKE LIES AND DESCRIPTIONS. WE SACRIFICE A LOT TO BE HERE, and STOP PLAYING EMOTIONAL GAMES WITH OUR CAREERS and FAMILIEIS SO YOU CAN EXPECT A FAT PAYCHECK.
Moving forward, BROOKLYN USCE I hope you can positively understand our fustration with all of our experiences in this building over the many many years and take corrective measures to make sure it is not a recurring trend. We would absolutely love to see brooklyn usce as a profitable and world class institution in the coming years, but at this current rate, many of us don't share this vision.
To current IMGs who are looking for observships, PLEASE PLEASE AVOID BROOKLYN USCE FOR THE TIME BEING. As several hundred imgs have expressed their disdain with this particular program with Dr. K, please look for alternative places to enjoy your rotation. Many of you might be drawn the idea that we can complete rotations for less money and nab an LOR. For those you drawn to that fascination, please read the reddit descriptions about Brooklyn USCE. We have gone through the process and we came out sourly disappointed and fustrated. WE ARE NOT PAID ACTORS TO DISCLOSE FALSE THINGS WITHOUT AN ORGANIC BASIS. MANY OF US have fallen through the trap of this BUISNESS and it would absolutely pain us for another naive to fall into a similar trap we found ourselves over the years. For those imgs who may think they do not have options for rotations beyond BROOKLYN USCE, I would highly suggesting using other platforms like ACEMD or USMLE SAARTHI. Many of my friends who matched this year expresssed positive things about rotations from these places and did extremely well in the match too. JUST STAY AWAY FROM BROOKLYN USCE UNTIL THEY CAN TRULY DELIVER A (>6 months) PROVEN MODEL OF A CLINICAL ROTATION, INSTEAD OF A 30 second HYPOTHETICAL MODEL OF CLINICAL ROTATIONS STARRING HIS FAVORITE PUNJABI STUDENTS on instagram.
IMGs PLEASE PLEASE DONT FALL FOR THIS VIDEO. THIS IS THEIR IMAGINATION OF WHAT THEY DO IN THEIR CLINICAL ROTATION. BROOKLYN USCE, GOOD TO DREAM, BUT EVEN BETTER TO EXECUTE. A day in the life of a Rotation student at Brooklyn USCE! 🥼🇺🇸😍⁣ ⁣ Who says the Residency process has to be stressful? All you need is a str… Instagram IMGs, I know the process is extremely stressful, BUT PLEASE DONT FALL PRAY FOR ANOTHER MAN's PAYCHECK.
(My HUMBLE REQUEST TO THE RESPECTIVE MODERATORS. PLEASE, DONT FILTER THIS POST AT THE BEHEST OF A PHYSICIAN TRYING TO MAINTAIN HIS RICH LIFESTYLE. THIS IS A HONEST AND CANDID POST AIMED AT BRINGING OUT THE HARSH REALITIES OF A BUILDING THAT HAS EXTORTED THE VULNERABILITY OF HUNDREDS OF HELPLESS IMGS OVER THE YEARS. I PERSONALLY KNOW HOW IT HARD IT WAS FOR ME TO MATCH, SO I DON'T WANT OTHER IMGS TO SUFFER BY BLINDING CHOOSING ROTATIONS SUCH AS THIS ONE. HOPEFULLY, THE RESPECTIVE BUILDING CAN TAKE THESE CONCERNS TO POTENTIALLY IMPROVE THE CENTER IN THE COMING YEARS, INSTEAD OF DECIEVING STUDENTS WITH FAKE INSTAGRAM VIDEOs and a WELL CRAFTED AND DECEPTIVE WEBSITE. )

please ignore some spelling mistakes, typing with one hand i had tethered cord surgery at 10 after three years of chronic back pain and development of a posture hunch. at the same time i was diagnosed with spina bifida. i was leaned forward and unable to stand at full height. in terms of post-op i saw the surgeon one more time. in the hospital i could feel some loss of sensation in my left foot, i expressed this but my nerves still reacted like normal when tested and i was crying/going through an anxiety attack from feeling overwhelmed (note: i fear i was perhaps not taken seriously bc of that but not dwelling on what ifs rn) for about half a year following the surgery i had intense and crippling migraines that i was told (by surgeon) it was from loss of spinal fluid. they eventually went away.
through middle school and high school i did not see my doctor much, no scans, some PT, i went in for sciatica pain multiple times and was given home stretches. my pain would tange depending on how much movement i had done, for a time in sophmore year (15) i had migraines as bad as the post-op ones. i saw a chiropractor (sorry) who was the one to tell me i had developed scoliosis (beginning of 2021?) until end of 2022 when i had another pinched sciatica following an appointment with her.
flash forward to the last two years(23-24); college. this time last year i had been stretching and heard a pop so loud in my hip for a second i feared i dislocated something (it hurt badly, 6-8, by this time i was used to a high pain level) and went to urgent care after days of no relief. it became a problem when driving was causing further pain. i had an xray of my right thigh/hip and no issues were visible. i was sent home with crutches and higher dose over the counter meds which i used for some time before returning to normal range of movement. the month prior i strained some unknown muscle in my left rib area which caused pain when breathing. another xray, sent home again. i felt both for a year following, most pain died down to discomfort/soreness from overuse after a few months. i saw my dr for the newest round of PT for feet pain as well and xrays showed hallux valgus in both feet the PT eval i had monday pointed out my body in parts seem strong and the symptoms are presenting as neuro related. last night i felt a pop in my L foot (bad history with pops) and i would say the dragging of my foot today has been its worse.
for pain management i take over the counter pain meds and once turning 18 i got my med card per my states laws, etc.
to recap and ensure i include all of them here is a summary , - weakness in my left side ranging from foot drop (dragging my foot), a noticeable increase in my lazy eye (left) as well as eye strain. even looking in pictures you can see when my pain was worse my eye wonders more off skelter. my mobility is becoming more limited, my driving is even being hindered i cant fall asleep on my left side. and when i close my eyes my balance goes out the window. i failed the romberg test :( i would describe the feeling as pulling my left hip by a string, needing to overcompensate. numbness/loss of sensation and some tingling mixed with muscle spasms -ive always had neck tics starting in eight grade but i boiled it down go being anxiety linked¿ my life was high stress at the time due to a parent being ill and it was sporadic - tension headaches and a constant strain on my right side. sore rather than sharp pain - some issue with BM’s - numbness while peeing - snoring (not happened much when i was younger)
my question; would it be worth it to go to the ER with my current symptoms in order to receive care faster? i can survive as i am now, as i have been, but not for a year or more my concerns/where my current urgency is stemming from i was referred back to PT by my dr and have to complete three weeks in order to get referred (my dr said we need to look proactive for records/ortho) after going to PT the dr said it is likely linked to my spina bifida which falls to neuro. ive done research in the past regarding my condition, and have always tried to approach it with an open mind regarding possible need for further treatment. however, looping back to the three weeks of PT, it was a multi-month wait for my podiatry appointment so i can only assume itd be the same if not longer for ortho once the referral is sent, would be 2-4 months, countering in the neuro side if i do need to see a specialist id likely be referred until after my ortho consult, so an appointment would likely not happen until early 2025. ive talked to my friends mom, ~20 years in the nursing field, and presented my case to her. her opinion was to go, i messaged my dr and she told me it’d help my case too. ik with this piece of info, its weird for me to be asking random people when real people closer to me have said to go, i however still feel somewhat like the anxious 10 year old that wasn’t fully listened to. would i be wasting time? am i wasting everyone’s time at the ER? help doctors whom have my admiration! from a former pre-med student.

DEAR IMG COMMUNITY,
In going through the recent posts regarding observships, I thought I would chime in and help all the fellow IMGs new to this process.
I'm currently a PGY-1 IM in Arizona and I rotated with Dr. K for 3 months during the summer of 2023. So, let me chime in.
We as imgs are up against a mountain and everything from the visa approval to finally getting match is a HUGE emotional drain on our families. Many of us don't have physician contacts or family friends in the US, so much of our experience is unfortunately trail by error. To add to this, several of us are financially constrained, so when it comes time to look for rotations, we are fatally attracted to certain programs like Brooklyn USCE, which at first glance looks like an outstanding program with a dedicated perceptor.
The reality, as several have been crying out from the past several years, is much different.
When I and my friends rotated there, the clinic was definitely neat albeit cramped with too many people (around 30-35) but everyone seemed to be happy and the doctor introduced himself very nicely with all smiles and his infamous fist bump. Then towards the end of the first day, his assistant PA (BEWARE) was clumping us infront of his office to meet him. We were initially under the impression that was presumably to give us a layout of the things to be done etc. And, so we waited and once we went inside one by one, he started interviewing us. He basically sat us down and presumably had an excel sheet behind his desktop and was asking us things like, "what is your usmle score, what is your citizenship status, what country are you from?" Even scarier was that he was inputting everything from our name to our citizenship status as you replied to his questions. Many of us found that very odd considering that in several of my previous rotations, I was NEVER asked anything more than my name, hobbies and potential speciality interests. Near the end of the "intake process", he portends himself as some sort of savior of IMGs with statements like, "When you come to this clinic, I WILL MAKE YOU MATCH. When you match, it's an honor for me." Little did I and several of us know at that time. And, so we all went home thinking that we found the perfect person to help us guide through the uncertain times; and I, myself, called and told my parents back home in Pakistan that I was very fortunate and happy to be rotating here.
On the second day, we were assigned roles by his "senior", who has struggled to match from the previous cycles and is volunteering at the clinic from several years. Some of us had clinics and some had the infamous front desk duty. I wasn't aware of the front desk "communication skills" aspect until the later part of my rotations. In the clinics, I was strikingly surprised to find out that the said person, whether you signed up for observer or hands-on, you ARE NOT ALLOWED TO TOUCH THE PATIENT WHATSOEVER. I don't understand what the purpose of signing up for HANDS ON is if u can't touch or examine the patient. The ONLY thing you are palpating and percussing there is the keyboard. Several times throughout the "clinical rotation", I was confused as to whether I signed up for a summer rotation in a tech company or a medical set up. The only thing you can do in "clinics" is ask history, but even that is not clinical exposure. Nearly, anyone can join an observship and read off a checklist. Asking "how a patient is doing and if anything is troubling them" can easily be done by a nonmedical professional. Whats the point in "examining a patient with CML" without even looking at the abdomen or any neck lymph nodes. Asking a patient about "abdominal discomfort" and updating it on the EMR with today's date is NOT CONSIDERED HANDS ON. IF you think that is HANDs-ON, BROOKLYN USCE I WOULD HIGHLY SUGGEST YOU REEVALUATE YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF HANDs-ON CLINICAL ROTATIONS. Please understand that several IMGs take time off during their internship and their families sacrifice a lot (financially and emotionally) so that their children can complete a HANDs-ON rotation in US hospital center, considering that HANDs-ON rotation are NOT available once you graduate. So, when you prance across the line and overadvertise things that may not necessarily be true, we naive imgs believe things that is infamously posted on instagram and read your testimonals and we take a blind leap of faith. And, most times we are very happy with the respect and friendships that an educated IMG recieves from the faculty, nurses, and residents in other academic centers. Unlike this building (I frankly don't know what to characterize it is), we aren't talked down and harassed to in the other rotations that i have done prior to this place. I don't know how it has changed since 1 year, but from the recent post, seems NOT to have changed much. Over dramatic seniors and physician assistants must still be the norm there. BROOKLYN USCE, NOT EVERY IMG IS A JUNKIE FROM A PAKISTAN OR INDIA, LOOKING TO SCAM OUR WAY TO RESIDENCY. PLEASE RESPECT OUR KNOWLEDGE, OUR STRUGGLES AND TREAT US FARILY and ACADEMICALLY. WE ARE HERE TO LEARN AND CONTRIBUE TO ACADEMIC MEDICINE IN THE FUTURE.
Lets come to the issue of phone calls and front desk attitude (mainly that PA; the support nurses are quite friendly and willing to help all IMGS. The support nurse in fact, when I was there (Don't know if she is still there) , was VERY HELPFUL and was asking if anyone needed help or if everyone had food. NICE LADY. NO COMPLAINTS with HER; and I THINK MOST OF US HAVE A SIMILAR WARM FEELING OF THE SUPPORTIVE NURSES. GOOD, HELPFUL PEOPLE. We just felt that the PA was quite condenscending and rude when we were there. (Might have changed now, but we are not to engage in a street brawl with anyone there.) Unlike, other hospitals where I rotated before ( and I did 4 before coming here), we are treated like SOME OFFICE CLERK WHOSE ONLY JOB IS TO SIT AND CALL A LONG LIST OF 50-60 people to CONFIRM APPOINTS AND RECORD THEIR RESPONSES. Even more depressing is that not ONLY DOES HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE TURN INTO RECEPTIONIST EXPERIENCE, HIS SUPPORT STAFF SELLS THAT BS that ANSWERING THE CALLS HELPS BUILD ENGLISH SKILLS. WE IMGS DON't NEED TO SACRIFICE 1.8K, FLIGHT FARE AND HOUSING, FOOD TO COME AND LEARN FUCKING ENGLISH. (IF YOU WANT TO LEARN ENGLISH AND TYPING SKILLS, you could go join an english class where you would probably be treated much nicer and without discrimination and at a fraction at the cost.) MOST IMGs I have worked with, and have matched into very respectable centers, have GOOD SUFFICIENTLY UNDERSTABLE ENGLISH. BROOKLYN USCE, IMGs are applying for RESIDENCY, NOT CHAIR OF THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT IN HARVARD. BROOKLYN USCE, WE DIDN't SIGN UP for an ENGLISH TUTORIAL. SEVERAL OF US have 250s+ and worked in hospitals, I'm pretty sure we know how to communicate in basic english to help a patient out clincially. (We didn't type in "english need help" on google and stumble across BROOKLYN USCE. So, STOP SELLING US THAT NARRATIVE. I'm sure 99% of us will have excellent english and communication skills once we LEAVE YOUR CLINIC. I'm sure profits are absolutely booming, so the very very least you could do is hire a full time receptionist. He/she would probably do a much better job than us as they are specifically trained for that role. We IMGS WERE TRAINED TO HOLD A STETHOSCOPE and EXAMINE THE PATIENT; NOT DISCHARGE A PATIENT WITHOUT TOUCHING THEM.)
Regarding the LOR, many of the hospitals I have worked in, the LORs were largely performance based, and we made sure to work hard and engage in collequial learning attitude with everyone, who were willing to ensure that IMGs were a part of the medical team. I personally had loads in fun in my previous hospitals with all the attendings, the residents and other IMGs; and we still share our intern year plights with each other and frequently ask advice from them. THE LORS that orginate from this "world class hematologist/IMG SAVIOR who doesn't touch the patients himself (except for his fist bump)" are a cause of concern for several reasons. First, we had 30-35 people at that time. So Dr. K had no idea what many of us had even signed up. He knew less than 5% of the people, albeit he had a particular eye and could easily recogonize IMGs from his state. (Protip: If you want to get close to Dr. K, wear a turban, speak his language, and bring him chole batura and mango lasi. He will treat you like royalty. No luck for the rest of us, even indians from other states). When the said perceptor doesn't have even a track of the students and the INDIVIDUAL ROTATIONS WE SIGNED UP, the likelihood of him writing you a personalized LOR is a narrative to extract your money. Everyone is just reading off a checklist from the previous encounter like blind sheep. So, his LORs are NOT based on clinial knowledge and clinical skills (Make him a chole batura, he will write you a GREAT LOR even if u don't know how to check the blood pressure). Second, the LOR is based on your accomplishments outside of this clinic as you will recieve an invite to his whatsapp group of 600 or 700 students. You just go and detail your many achievements, scores etc. Then, he has one of his senior PUNJABI STUDENTS , who is applying in the same cycle as you, to changethe name on a previous generic LOR and give you a neatly crafted LOR. So, personalized? When a program director sees 600+ LORs from a guy who is INFAMOUS IN REDDIT, how will that hold up in front of an admissions comitee? Thus, I didnt use his LOR or else it would have tanked my application sure.
Now, onto SENIOR STUDENTS. I never truly figured out how they became "senior students" during my time there. These so called seniors don't see any patients. 90% of the time they are getting cozy with Dr. K. No surprise, they are predominantly punjabis. (Not to say that there are not genuine punjabi physicians in the US, but these seniors definitiely don't fit that narrative) These outstanding seniors can be seen having lunch with him privately in his room and out of the clinic as well as conversing with him in his language, while the rest of us are absolutely neglected. These folks were tasked with checking our notes, but I have absolutely no idea what notes they check when they haven't themselves examined the patients. Seniors in clinical education? Absolutely not. No chance. I wouldn't trust any of them with examining my dog even, let along a human being. Seniors in correcting grammar and formatting the notes. Absolutely yes. I struggled with what their role was during my time there, and I still struggle with that 1 year.
So, BROOKLYN USCE, you are well aware of the problems that plague IMGS who unfortunately rotate through your clinic. We IMGs are a vulnerable population, who come here to do what it takes to match and hopefully land a spot. Deleting the comments and requesting the moderators to censor our candid opinions is unethical and unprofessional, and for an organization that has been operative since 2015; I would have expected you have would learn't that by now. Why delete the comments and hide behind the line when you have been running a clean organization? When 1 or 2 people express strong negative views when this program, that might be a bad subjective experience, but when more than a dozen descriptions detail harassment, fraudalent practices, and clinical adequacies its high time to reevaluate your program, instead of sponsoring free rotations for exotic countries like Georgia so u can build your diversity image. In your quest to promote diversity, will I see free clinical rotation videos for polar bears and penguins from Antartica in the coming months?
PLEASE STOP HARMING US WITH YOUR FAKE LIES AND DESCRIPTIONS. WE SACRIFICE A LOT TO BE HERE, and STOP PLAYING EMOTIONAL GAMES WITH OUR CAREERS and FAMILIEIS SO YOU CAN EXPECT A FAT PAYCHECK.
Moving forward, BROOKLYN USCE I hope you can positively understand our fustration with all of our experiences in this building over the many many years and take corrective measures to make sure it is not a recurring trend. We would absolutely love to see brooklyn usce as a profitable and world class institution in the coming years, but at this current rate, many of us don't share this vision.
To current IMGs who are looking for observships, PLEASE PLEASE AVOID BROOKLYN USCE FOR THE TIME BEING. As several hundred imgs have expressed their disdain with this particular program with Dr. K, please look for alternative places to enjoy your rotation. Many of you might be drawn the idea that we can complete rotations for less money and nab an LOR. For those you drawn to that fascination, please read the reddit descriptions about Brooklyn USCE. We have gone through the process and we came out sourly disappointed and fustrated. WE ARE NOT PAID ACTORS TO DISCLOSE FALSE THINGS WITHOUT AN ORGANIC BASIS. MANY OF US have fallen through the trap of this BUISNESS and it would absolutely pain us for another naive to fall into a similar trap we found ourselves over the years. For those imgs who may think they do not have options for rotations beyond BROOKLYN USCE, I would highly suggesting using other platforms like ACEMD or USMLE SAARTHI. Many of my friends who matched this year expresssed positive things about rotations from these places and did extremely well in the match too. JUST STAY AWAY FROM BROOKLYN USCE UNTIL THEY CAN TRULY DELIVER A (>6 months) PROVEN MODEL OF A CLINICAL ROTATION, INSTEAD OF A 30 second HYPOTHETICAL MODEL OF CLINICAL ROTATIONS STARRING HIS FAVORITE PUNJABI STUDENTS on instagram.
IMGs PLEASE PLEASE DONT FALL FOR THIS VIDEO. THIS IS THEIR IMAGINATION OF WHAT THEY DO IN THEIR CLINICAL ROTATION? BROOKLYN USCE, GOOD TO DREAM, BUT EVEN BETTER TO EXECUTE. A day in the life of a Rotation student at Brooklyn USCE! 🥼🇺🇸😍⁣ ⁣ Who says the Residency process has to be stressful? All you need is a str… Instagram IMGs, I know the process is extremely stressful, BUT PLEASE DONT FALL PRAY FOR ANOTHER MAN's PAYCHECK.
(My HUMBLE REQUEST TO THE RESPECTIVE MODERATORS. PLEASE, DONT FILTER THIS POST AT THE BEHEST OF A PHYSICIAN TRYING TO MAINTAIN HIS RICH LIFESTYLE. THIS IS A HONEST AND CANDID POST AIMED AT BRINGING OUT THE HARSH REALITIES OF A BUILDING THAT HAS EXTORTED THE VULNERABILITY OF HUNDREDS OF HELPLESS IMGS OVER THE YEARS. I PERSONALLY KNOW HOW IT HARD IT WAS FOR ME TO MATCH, SO I DON'T WANT OTHER IMGS TO SUFFER BY BLINDING CHOOSING ROTATIONS SUCH AS THIS ONE. HOPEFULLY, THE RESPECTIVE BUILDING CAN TAKE THESE CONCERNS TO POTENTIALLY IMPROVE THE CENTER IN THE COMING YEARS, INSTEAD OF DECIEVING STUDENTS WITH FAKE INSTAGRAM VIDEOs and a WELL CRAFTED AND DECEPTIVE WEBSITE. )

Hello, i would like to ask for any recommendations nga printing sa thesis nga ga hard bind ug ga cd printing. Maayo unta kanang affordable for students (kay grabe nagyud ang gasto namo 😭). Pila kaha usually range sa prices ani? How many days ma process?

• Undergrad nga thesis
• Davao Doctors College (BS Nursing)
• Nasa 90 pages below and manuscript
• 1-3 days processing unta.

Salamat kaayo! God bless 😇

The American media is oversaturated with voices misrepresenting the settler colonialist project of Israel. Effectively these voices seek to delegitimize the Palestinians' struggle for independence and self-determination while running defense for the Zionist movement by softening their crimes through a handful of repetitive tactics. One of the most common tactics is to conflate the occupation with a war or conflict. Language is a powerful tool in shaping how someone perceives reality; when American media publications refer to the illegal occupation of Palestine and subsequent violence as a conflict it seeks to create a false equivalency of the violence of the two sides, as stated by a non-profit The Slow Factory “What is happening in Palestine is settler colonialism, military occupation, land theft, and ethnic cleansing. A conflict means there is equal footing which is not the case. There is an active oppressor (Israel) and an oppressed (Palestine). A colonizer (Israel) and a colonized (Palestine).” This inaccurate framing portrays an equivalence that ignores the reality that according to the Congressional Research Service; Israeli military occupation has been supported by US aid with $3.8B a year paid for by US tax dollars since 2016 and continuing for the next ten years. Asia Khatun illuminates this attempt to shroud the realities facing Palestinians in his article written for Jacobin Magazine “The normalization of colonialism begins where it always has: in language. These language choices, be they irresponsible or just ignorant, reinforce the notion that this is a conflict in which both sides have the means to be equally violent toward each other. But the fact of the matter is that Israel is one of the most militarised occupying nations in the world, backed with billions of dollars and weapons from the United States. The power dynamic that Western society at large believes in simply does not exist…” Another common tactic for American media to delegitimize the struggles of an oppressed people against a colonizer is to decry any violent resistance as terrorist attacks. The term terroirist itself is not a description of an amoral group with the sole goal of causing violence, but a political designation that is applied disproportionately to resistance movements and historically seldom applied to the crimes of state actors with the same vigor. The primary distinction that separates if an act of violence is a terrorist act depends on the legitimacy of the actors' claims of being an independent nation in the eyes of the accusor. The United States House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence defines it thus (2002): "Terrorism is the illegitimate, premeditated violence or threat of violence by subnational groups against persons of property with the intent to coerce a government by installing fear amongst the populace." Note the all-important “subnational” distinction in their definition effectively this allows the same inhuman acts of violence done by a resistance movement or religious organization to be declared as terrorist while violent actions by a governmental body of a nation would not be subject to the same label even if the acts themselves bear a near indistinguishable likeness. Terrorism as a distinct denotation of a group is a dubious term at best and at worst is used entirely as a political means to delegitimize any opposition force against the interests of a state. Despite decades of careful deliberation, the UN has no agreed-upon definition of the term terrorism. The issue with the term is that it relies entirely on the perspective of the person using it, depending on your viewpoint an act of violence can either be an unjustifiable act of terror or a legitimate use of one's right to defend their sovereignty. A simple way to think about this idea is in the classic dilemma of the terrorist vs freedom fighter terms, does a person subjected to the ills of a foreign nation seeking to subjugate and oppress them have the right to pursue their liberation through violent resistance? In the case of the Palestinian people’s attempt to liberate themselves from the settler colonial occupation and systemic slaughter, we have a definitive historical record of the General Assembly of the United Nations to refer to the legal rights of these states. Time and again the General Assembly of the United Nations has upheld the rights of states to defend themselves from colonial occupation and specifically upheld the Palestinians' right to defend themselves from Israeli settler colonialism even with violent opposition.
The UNGA unequivocally reinforced the legal right of the Palestinian people and any people to defend themselves from colonial conquest through armed struggle and in the language of the resolution “any legal means necessary.” On December 3 1982 UNGA resolution 37/43 reaffirms “the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples for independence, territorial integrity, national unity and liberation from colonial and foreign domination and foreign occupation by all available means, including armed struggle…” The same resolution goes on to directly address the Palestinian struggle for self-determination “reaffirming the inalienable right of the Palestinian people and all peoples under foreign and colonial domination to self-determination, national independence, territorial integrity, national unity and sovereignty without outside interference…” The resolution goes on to strongly condemn “the expansionist activities of Israel in the Middle East and the continual bombing of Palestinian civilians, which constitute a serious obstacle to the realization of the self-determination and independence of the Palestinian people…” and consider “that the denial of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination, sovereignty, independence and return to Palestine and the repeated acts of aggression by Israel against the peoples of the region constitute a serious threat to international peace and security…”
Another historically common tactic to legitimize a colonial state's actions is an appeal to complexity. As stated in an article by a non-profit Decolonize Palestine titled “It's just so incredibly complicated” “Appeals to complexity, especially in the context of settler colonialism, have been historically employed in an attempt to defend the indefensible. For example, during Apartheid in South Africa, white South Africans would commonly retort that things weren’t so black and white if you can forgive the pun. Similarly, those defending slavery in the United States would argue that while releasing the slaves was the moral thing to do, it was more complicated than that, because it would too greatly threaten the status quo and the economy. Some try to market such arguments as “nuance”, but in reality, they primarily serve the purpose of apologia for heinous oppression.” They continue to apply this logic to the colonization of Palestine “This arcanization serves to make Palestine exceptional, meaning that our normal judgment or morality go out of the window; they do not apply here due to these special circumstances.”Normally, it would be difficult to argue against the right of refugees to return to their homes, but in the case of Palestine these are special refugees created under special circumstances [You can read more about this here]. Our conventional approaches to law or morality are framed as ill-fitting and lacking in refinement or nuance.
Israel openly colonizing the West Bank is different due to its complicated history, it is not occupied it is contested. Consequently, Israel can then argue that the Geneva Conventions don’t apply either. Palestinian prisoners are unique and captured under special circumstances, therefore, they cannot be viewed as prisoners of war, nor can they be viewed as civilians deserving of a civilian court or due process. It’s quite versatile and convenient. It’s complicated because it is special, it’s special because it’s complicated. The cycle continues, and Palestinians continue to lose their lives and lands, yet find themselves unable to clearly indict their tormentors lest they be accused of lacking nuance. These exceptions aim to legitimize what cannot be legitimized and defend what cannot be defended. So that you can look at injustice, oppression, and domination and tell yourself it’s not as clear-cut as it looks.” Illan Pappe describes the mystification of the Israeli colonization in his work with Chomsky: On Palestine, “The last paradox is that the tale of Palestine from the beginning until today is a simple story of colonialism and dispossession, yet the world treats it as a multifaceted and complex story—hard to understand and even harder to solve. Indeed, the story of Palestine has been told before: European settlers coming to a foreign land, settling there, and either committing genocide against or expelling the indigenous people. The Zionists have not invented anything new in this respect. But Israel succeeded nonetheless, with the help of its allies everywhere, in building a multilayered explanation that is so complex that only Israel can understand it. Any interference from the outside world is immediately castigated as naïve at best or anti-Semitic at worst.”
Pappe also touches on another readily used tactic in American media which is to conflate criticisms of the actions undertaken by the current Israeli government as anti-Semitic. This is readily seen in the reporting on the pro-Palestine student protests at American universities. In an article by Fox News, they conflate the protests of university students as “Antisemitic Agitators” titled “Antisemitic Agitators what Protestors at Elite Universities are Shouting.” Not the importance of shifting the language to fit the narrative, the university students protesting for divestment from supporting Israel with their tuition become “Antisemitic Agitators.” Also note that the article strays away from calling the protests Pro-Palestine instead preferring to denote them as “Anti-Israel.” This is furthered by attempts to equate Zionism with Israel and Jewish ethnicity. In an article for the Georgetown Voice Annette Hasnas writes “ Antisemitism and anti-Zionism are linked, and the former certainly can be present in the latter, but it is not always. In fact, assertions that the two are inherently synonymous are themselves antisemitic. Such claims often rely on the idea that Jews as a collective must support the Zionist cause, which is not only untrue but also paints Jews as a monolith. Though the percentage of Jews who oppose Israel is a minority, it is a significant one. As many as one in 10 U.S. Jews actively supports the controversial Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement—a movement aimed at pressuring Israel into conforming with certain demands surrounding its treatment of Arab Palestinian residents of the region.” A coinciding narrative often pushed is the idea that Zionism is an inherent necessity for Israeli liberation continued in the article she combats this notion, “Supporters of Israel will often push the notion that to deny the nationhood of Israel would be to deprive Jews “of all people on earth” of the right to self-determination. But there is no shortage of examples of other peoples without total control of the governments that rule over them, including Uyghurs, Kashmiris, and Basques. These peoples, much like Jews, deserve self-determination, and separatist movements exist within many of them. But to oppose the establishment of an ethnostate for these groups is not generally considered evidence of bigotry against them. To claim that the protection of Jews necessitates a Jewish state is not just wrong, but dangerous. It buys into the arguments made by other ethnonationalists that the existence of a state controlled by one ethnicity or religious group is required to ensure that such a group is protected.”
Two other forms of media manipulation that succeed in obfuscating the realities on the ground in Palestine are utilizing emotive language and passive voice in favor of articles concerning the occupying state, and disproportionately reporting on the deaths of Israelis over the deaths of Palestinians despite Palestinian deaths far outpacing their counterparts. In a qualitative analysis done by Adam Johnson and Othman Ali in an article for the Intercept titled “Coverage of the Gaza War in the New York Times and Other Major Newspapers Heavily Favored Israel, Analysis Shows” the writers detail some of the strategies used by American media outlets that indicated bias that may not be as readily apparent to readers. “In the New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times, the words “Israeli” or “Israel” appear more than “Palestinian” or variations thereof, even as Palestinian deaths far outpaced Israeli deaths. For every two Palestinian deaths, Palestinians are mentioned once. For every Israeli death, Israelis are mentioned eight times — or a rate 16 times more per death that of Palestinians.” They continue by depicting the disparity in evocative language used, “Highly emotive terms for the killing of civilians like “slaughter,” “massacre,” and “horrific” were reserved almost exclusively for Israelis who were killed by Palestinians, rather than the other way around. (When the terms appeared in quotes rather than the editorial voice of the publication, they were omitted from the analysis.) The term “slaughter” was used by editors and reporters to describe the killing of Israelis versus Palestinians 60 to 1, and “massacre” was used to describe the killing of Israelis versus Palestinians 125 to 2. “Horrific” was used to describe the killing of Israelis versus Palestinians 36 to 4.” The deaths of children naturally evokes a bitter sense of injustice and makes for a provocative title for any article therefore it is somewhat surprising that the analysis showed that “Only two headlines out of over 1,100 news articles in the study mention the word “children” related to Gazan children. In a notable exception, the New York Times ran a late-November front-page story on the historic pace of killings of Palestinian women and children, though the headline featured neither group. Despite Israel’s war on Gaza being perhaps the deadliest war for children — almost entirely Palestinian — in modern history, there is scant mention of the word “children” and related terms in the headlines of articles surveyed by The Intercept.” Similarly, the study found that this same discrepancy applied to the deaths of journalists, “While the war on Gaza has been one of the deadliest in modern history for journalists — overwhelmingly Palestinians — the word “journalists” and its iterations such as “reporters” and “photojournalists” only appears in nine headlines out of over 1,100 articles studied. Roughly 48 Palestinian reporters had been killed by Israeli bombardment at the time of the truce; today, the death toll for Palestinian journalists has topped 100. Only 4 of the 9 articles that contained the words journalist/reporter were about Arab reporters. The lack of coverage for the unprecedented killing of children and journalists, groups that typically elicit sympathy from Western media, is conspicuous. By way of comparison, more Palestinian children died in the first week of the Gaza bombing than during the first year of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, yet the New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times ran multiple personal, sympathetic stories highlighting the plight of children during the first six weeks of the Ukraine war.”
TL;DR: The American media uses false equivalence, delegitimization of violent struggle for self-determination through the terrorist label, false complexity, emotive language, passive voice, and selective publishing to obfuscate the realities of the Israeli settler colonialist project.
If you like this sort of content please visit my blog where I write articles and OP-EDs like these from a leftist perspective, thanks! paradigm-shift.blog
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I am not The OOP, OOP is u/ThrowRA_idkidkidk1
Friend’s sister (20’sF) was openly flirting with my husband (40M) in front of me (31F). I told her off publicly and now they want a public apology from me. What action should I take so that I don’t ruin my friendship?
Originally posted to relationship_advice
Thanks to u/_ThinkerBelle_ for suggesting this BoRU
Previous BoRU
TRIGGER WARNING: manipulation, sexual harassment, obsessive behavior, slander
Original Post March 12, 2024
I(31F) am close friends with Lisa (33F) we met at college, and became roommates and I love her to death. Lisa has a sister ‘Amy’ (20’s F) whom I’ve met occasionally in college but she was so young at that time we never really hung out.
Lisa had a bridal shower in February and I financially contributed to most of it since I wasn’t able to be there in person to help with the planning. I gave money to Amy to pay for everything, the decor, food and alcohol. I even paid for an overnight stay at a hotel for all 7 girls. I did all of this because I couldn’t make it to her bachelorette party the week before, I had also paid for the limo Amy wanted to host the party in. At the shower I saw Amy and she was gushing about how I had spent a lot of money on Lisa. I just said if it’s for Lisa I would have paid for anything. Amy was hinting that my job was paying so much money for me to spend on Lisa this much. I’m a new surgeon just graduated from residency, i got a pay bump but not a lot. I’m lucky because my husband is supporting me while I go through fellowship. My husband (40M) is a doctor too but so much more advanced in his career than me. For my wedding gift he paid off the remainder of my student loans. He is amazing and I am obsessed with him.
Wedding happened in March, my husband and I came for the wedding. Family and close friends were invited to Lisa’s parent’s place for dinner after. Amy was very handsy with my husband even during the wedding she was asking him about his job how smart he was to be working in the ICU how hot he was how he looks like a young Alain Delon bla bla. My husband was giving me signals to come to him and I did. This happened at least 2 more times. At Lisa’s parent’s, Amy was wrapping her arm around my husbands back and was serving him drinks and food. I told Lisa’s mom about how Amy’s making me and my husband very uncomfortable and her mom pulled her aside and told her off i think because she came out grumpy. She was still acting like a crazed teenager because when we wanted to leave she wouldn’t give my husband his jacket back to him and kept sniffing it. I had a feeling that she was drunk and completely out of it. My husband raised his voice and told her to stop messing around and give it to him. I yelled “can you stop being so difficult you’ve been shamelessly flirting with my husband in front of me the whole day give me the damn jacket and leave us alone”.
I got a text from Lisa’s mom demanding I publicly apologize to Amy as in post on social media a heartfelt apology because some of the guests heard me yell at her and thought I was overreacting and humiliated her.
Lisa is on my side and told me Amy has always had gold digging tendencies and that this isn’t the first time she’d done something like this. She flirted with her friend’s dad and their next door neighbour who is married when she thought that they were wealthy. Lisa said that she’ll handle it. I already felt so bad I ruined the last moments of her wedding day and now she has to deal with this. I’m ruminating on this a lot lately and wondering if I should apologize to Amy. I don’t want to but then again if I did, I would explain exactly what happened and how it merited my reaction to her. Though this might add fuel to the fire. There is so much drama right now and I want to preserve my friendship with Lisa.
TLDR: friend’s sister flirting with my husband, i ‘embarrassed’ her and now she wants a public apology. I’m thinking of doing it but detailing exactly what happened and might paint her in a bad light. But all this drama could cost my friendship with my friend.
RELEVANT COMMENTS
jamicam

Are the guests at the wedding also your Facebook friends? I don't understand how a public apology on social media would work in this case... I mean, I imagine the guests include aunts, uncles, neighbors, etc., of the family. Are they really going to see your FB apology?

OOP

Her mom wants me to tag her and Lisa so that their family can see it. I don’t even use facebook anymore but her family are still active on it.

jamicam

If you don't use FB then there's your answer.
Lisa said she'll handle it. I'd let this alone.

Update March 18, 2024
Keeping it as short as I can and typos galore cuz I’m oncall.
Previous post got so popular that Amy’s mom found it and texted me to take down (in all caps). I got around to read most of the comments a day after I posted when I finished my shift. I didn’t not apologize to anyone or did anything at all frankly I forgot about it since I had people close to dying on me left and right at work. I gaslit Amy’s mom into thinking that I never did such a thing and that I did not have a Reddit account (she believed it I think since she didn’t text me back, cmon the details I put in that post were exactly what she experienced and she didn’t find it odd?).
For clarification:

1. One of you said I had a spine of a jellyfish (loved that comment) and not apologizing was the right thing to do. I was hesitant and was actually considering giving that apology because of the fact that she fed me and let me stay in her home during thanksgiving and Christmas many years ago when I couldn’t go home to my family. I’m the kind of person who’ll remember every good thing you do for me and do my best to reciprocate or get even so as to not be indebted to you. Idk what kind of mental illness is that, I never retained much of the psychiatric info from medschool.
   
2. A lot of people insinuated that me being docile and restrained in those kinds of situations makes me a bad surgeon to which i say i beg your effing pardon. Would you want someone who’s operating on you have a criminal record for causing bodily harm/homicide? Also I’ve dealt with worse than Amy I’ve survived handling 19 psychotic patients with TBIs for a whole rotation. Me being aggressive would have gotten me kicked out of my fellowship.
   

Things that have transpired:

1. I tried to avoid contacting Lisa since she went off on her honeymoon but because of the popularity of my previous post I decided to give her a heads up. Lisa was more than apologetic, in fact she facetimed me and we had a very teary conversation about her family. There were a lot more going on that I never knew but mine and my husband’s involvement in her family drama was the last straw. She had decided to go no contact with her mom and sister. She also warned me that Amy might approach my husband in some way but no idea how. She’s also getting her extended family involved about Amy.
   
2. My husband does not have any social media (so hot) and he did not give out his number to anyone at all during the wedding. He is anal about loyalty and transparency in our marriage. We have access to each other’s electronics. I know he would never cheat on me. 3 days ago someone called my husband’s clinic asking to get his number for an ‘emergency’ and that she needed to get a hold of his wife. The nurse who answered refused to give a physician’s personal number and the conversation got heated. My husband’s colleague, another intensivist, took over and asked her to tell him what the emergency was so that he could tell my husband himself. The person on the phone argued some more and when the doctor wouldn’t give she hung up. That friend told my husband what happened and said the woman didn’t give her name but had a very high pitched child-like voice. My husband immediately knew it was Amy but we have no proof. I know it was her, she must have searched my husband’s name on google and found where he worked since his professional profile is online along with the name of his hospital.
   

I’m getting more and more irritated by this whole thing and have gone full on mama bear mode over my husband. He was furiously annoyed after the wedding and was saying if the genders were switched he would have definitely gotten punched not even halfway through the wedding. My husband had terrible experiences with women before, two women at different times tried to baby trap him, one did some Sherlock level manipulation and one harassed us when we were dating. He is usually a cool and calm guy but now he hasn’t been smiling or joking around with me like he always does ever since the wedding.
Anywho, my uncle (our lawyer) was consulted, security at my husband’s dept and around our home have been notified. Thank you guys.
PS: Kelly if you’re reading this, do something about your younger daughter before something bad happens. Also you don’t deserve your older daughter.
Edit: a Moriarty level manipulation…now that makes more sense not sherlock tf
RELEVANT COMMENTS
I3ex_G

Damn, can your lawyer uncle draft a letter to scare Amy? Just outlining what she is doing is harassment and the outcome if she continues? Sounds like Amy might need mental help and threats of repercussions might force her mother’s hand to getting her help. Is the dad around? I hope other family members will start pressuring Amy to get help

OOP

Nope, we couldn’t prove it was Amy that called. We just have to wait and see if she does anything. Our only hope is that she stays broke and can’t afford to travel to where we live since it’s far from hers. Her dad’s dead. I hope so too.

~
procrastinating_b

Why’s everyone got an uncle lawyer lol

OOP

I’m half Asian. That uncle is Asian too. That should answer your question

Forsaken_Woodpecker1

I’m rolling this response is hilarious 🤣

NEW UPDATE

Update 2 - Final Update May 16, 2024
I’ll try and see if I can update on here since I cant update again on relationships advice. Posts are in my profile for now.
I’ve got so many dms wanting an update but some (legal things) happened since and I couldn’t tell especially since everyone that was involved knows about this post already.
We have the number of the woman who called but it wasn’t Amy’s number (I have her number) but she could’ve gotten another number. At that time, I was almost confident it was her so I got the name of the person the phone number was registered to. We’ll call her Cece Smith. What threw me off was this person had been using that number for 7 years BUT I later found out this woman lived/lives in the area Amy lives. I called Lisa to ask if she knew who Cece is and lo and behold Cece is Amy’s best friend. I told Lisa about the call to the clinic, she went silent, said she had to go and ended the call.
The next day (March 21st) Lisa texted me that she had gotten a verbal confession from Amy about the call to my husband’s clinic. Not only that, when everything happened right after the wedding, I had not blocked Amy from my instagram yet. She must have gone through my followers list and found my husband’s family, dm-ed them with ‘evidence’ that I was cheating on him. Wedding was on March 10th, the call was on March 15th, I blocked her March 16th. Some time after March 10th she had found and gotten in contact with my MIL, 2 SILs and my niece who is 13 years old about my ‘infidelity’. There were skeptical thank God and contacted my husband on March 23rd. I swear to god this girl is so stupid i dont get why she would waste her time on doing this and doing it very poorly at that. My SIL sent a screenshot of the chat from “mizz_(Amy’s real name)” to my husband and he wanted to throw his phone to the wall. Lisa sent me the recording of the entire call she had with Amy admitting to everything and some serious threats about what she would do to me. One of which that she was going to report me to my state medical board (no basis whatsoever like I said, she is an idiot, the premium kind).
We got in touch with my uncle (yes the lawyer who u guys were so baffled about seriously why is it so surprising that I have an uncle who’s a lawyer his wife is a lawyer and so is their daughter, they are a very righteous family idk what else to say), we sent a C&D letter telling Amy to not contact me, husband and in-laws and I let my chief of surgery and head of my program know about this just in case.
March 29th she really reported me to the medical board (it doesn’t have to be doctor-patient related, a doctor could be harassing someone in the grocery store and a witness can report that doctor to the board, THAT is the purpose of creating this avenue to complain) even though they were warned about this, they still had to do the preliminary investigations on me and interview me to hear my side. Major pain in the ass for me especially since I’m 5-months pregnant. The case on me is closed.
April 3rd Amy dm-ed my niece again with ‘new evidence’ of my infidelity. My sweet niece ran to her mom who told my husband and me. We got a court ordered restraining order against her now. When all of this happened, Lisa was helping me along the way, the cherry on top was when Lisa had access to Amy’s email and her instagram (she never logged out), posted how she tried to homewreck a marriage and outing Amy online with screen shots and snippets of the phone call. Lisa changed her password and Amy couldn’t log in to delete it. Lisa made this known to her entire family and they are putting pressure on her mom (hi Kelly) to rein her in. I dont know the specifics but they are using the family inheritance or some heirloom as a bargaining chip for her to behave good. The girl has some mental issues for sure would love to give her a lobotomy.
I hope to god this is the last of this and Amy stays away from us but I have this gnawing feeling that she’s going to try something again. Lisa is the hero in this honestly, she’ll continue to keep an eye out to see if Amy starts shit again (if she does Lisa’s going to hire a hitman so she says).
I dont even know how to TLDR this. Read it or don’t. I hope this is the final update. To the people who don’t believe this happened it did happen but since it’s so unreal, i don’t blame you.
Ps- husband and I are going to couples counseling together as per advised in the comments of the prior post. We are doing very well, he’s planning an intimate gender reveal soon for me (he knows the gender since he’s a trained sonographer lol).
If there’s any question I’ll be happy to answer. Will delete this account in a few days
THIS IS A REPOST SUB - I AM NOT THE OOP
DO NOT CONTACT THE OOP's OR COMMENT ON LINKED POSTS, REMEMBER - RULE 7

The American media is oversaturated with voices misrepresenting the settler colonialist project of Israel. Effectively these voices seek to delegitimize the Palestinians' struggle for independence and self-determination while running defense for the Zionist movement by softening their crimes through a handful of repetitive tactics. One of the most common tactics is to conflate the occupation with a war or conflict. Language is a powerful tool in shaping how someone perceives reality; when American media publications refer to the illegal occupation of Palestine and subsequent violence as a conflict it seeks to create a false equivalency of the violence of the two sides, as stated by a non-profit The Slow Factory “What is happening in Palestine is settler colonialism, military occupation, land theft, and ethnic cleansing. A conflict means there is equal footing which is not the case. There is an active oppressor (Israel) and an oppressed (Palestine). A colonizer (Israel) and a colonized (Palestine).” This inaccurate framing portrays an equivalence that ignores the reality that according to the Congressional Research Service; Israeli military occupation has been supported by US aid with $3.8B a year paid for by US tax dollars since 2016 and continuing for the next ten years. Asia Khatun illuminates this attempt to shroud the realities facing Palestinians in his article written for Jacobin Magazine “The normalization of colonialism begins where it always has: in language. These language choices, be they irresponsible or just ignorant, reinforce the notion that this is a conflict in which both sides have the means to be equally violent toward each other. But the fact of the matter is that Israel is one of the most militarised occupying nations in the world, backed with billions of dollars and weapons from the United States. The power dynamic that Western society at large believes in simply does not exist…” Another common tactic for American media to delegitimize the struggles of an oppressed people against a colonizer is to decry any violent resistance as terrorist attacks. The term terroirist itself is not a description of an amoral group with the sole goal of causing violence, but a political designation that is applied disproportionately to resistance movements and historically seldom applied to the crimes of state actors with the same vigor. The primary distinction that separates if an act of violence is a terrorist act depends on the legitimacy of the actors' claims of being an independent nation in the eyes of the accusor. The United States House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence defines it thus (2002): "Terrorism is the illegitimate, premeditated violence or threat of violence by subnational groups against persons of property with the intent to coerce a government by installing fear amongst the populace." Note the all-important “subnational” distinction in their definition effectively this allows the same inhuman acts of violence done by a resistance movement or religious organization to be declared as terrorist while violent actions by a governmental body of a nation would not be subject to the same label even if the acts themselves bear a near indistinguishable likeness. Terrorism as a distinct denotation of a group is a dubious term at best and at worst is used entirely as a political means to delegitimize any opposition force against the interests of a state. Despite decades of careful deliberation, the UN has no agreed-upon definition of the term terrorism. The issue with the term is that it relies entirely on the perspective of the person using it, depending on your viewpoint an act of violence can either be an unjustifiable act of terror or a legitimate use of one's right to defend their sovereignty. A simple way to think about this idea is in the classic dilemma of the terrorist vs freedom fighter terms, does a person subjected to the ills of a foreign nation seeking to subjugate and oppress them have the right to pursue their liberation through violent resistance? In the case of the Palestinian people’s attempt to liberate themselves from the settler colonial occupation and systemic slaughter, we have a definitive historical record of the General Assembly of the United Nations to refer to the legal rights of these states. Time and again the General Assembly of the United Nations has upheld the rights of states to defend themselves from colonial occupation and specifically upheld the Palestinians' right to defend themselves from Israeli settler colonialism even with violent opposition.
The UNGA unequivocally reinforced the legal right of the Palestinian people and any people to defend themselves from colonial conquest through armed struggle and in the language of the resolution “any legal means necessary.” On December 3 1982 UNGA resolution 37/43 reaffirms “the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples for independence, territorial integrity, national unity and liberation from colonial and foreign domination and foreign occupation by all available means, including armed struggle…” The same resolution goes on to directly address the Palestinian struggle for self-determination “reaffirming the inalienable right of the Palestinian people and all peoples under foreign and colonial domination to self-determination, national independence, territorial integrity, national unity and sovereignty without outside interference…” The resolution goes on to strongly condemn “the expansionist activities of Israel in the Middle East and the continual bombing of Palestinian civilians, which constitute a serious obstacle to the realization of the self-determination and independence of the Palestinian people…” and consider “that the denial of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination, sovereignty, independence and return to Palestine and the repeated acts of aggression by Israel against the peoples of the region constitute a serious threat to international peace and security…”
Another historically common tactic to legitimize a colonial state's actions is an appeal to complexity. As stated in an article by a non-profit Decolonize Palestine titled “It's just so incredibly complicated” “Appeals to complexity, especially in the context of settler colonialism, have been historically employed in an attempt to defend the indefensible. For example, during Apartheid in South Africa, white South Africans would commonly retort that things weren’t so black and white if you can forgive the pun. Similarly, those defending slavery in the United States would argue that while releasing the slaves was the moral thing to do, it was more complicated than that, because it would too greatly threaten the status quo and the economy. Some try to market such arguments as “nuance”, but in reality, they primarily serve the purpose of apologia for heinous oppression.” They continue to apply this logic to the colonization of Palestine “This arcanization serves to make Palestine exceptional, meaning that our normal judgment or morality go out of the window; they do not apply here due to these special circumstances.”Normally, it would be difficult to argue against the right of refugees to return to their homes, but in the case of Palestine these are special refugees created under special circumstances [You can read more about this here]. Our conventional approaches to law or morality are framed as ill-fitting and lacking in refinement or nuance.
Israel openly colonizing the West Bank is different due to its complicated history, it is not occupied it is contested. Consequently, Israel can then argue that the Geneva Conventions don’t apply either. Palestinian prisoners are unique and captured under special circumstances, therefore, they cannot be viewed as prisoners of war, nor can they be viewed as civilians deserving of a civilian court or due process. It’s quite versatile and convenient. It’s complicated because it is special, it’s special because it’s complicated. The cycle continues, and Palestinians continue to lose their lives and lands, yet find themselves unable to clearly indict their tormentors lest they be accused of lacking nuance. These exceptions aim to legitimize what cannot be legitimized and defend what cannot be defended. So that you can look at injustice, oppression, and domination and tell yourself it’s not as clear-cut as it looks.” Illan Pappe describes the mystification of the Israeli colonization in his work with Chomsky: On Palestine, “The last paradox is that the tale of Palestine from the beginning until today is a simple story of colonialism and dispossession, yet the world treats it as a multifaceted and complex story—hard to understand and even harder to solve. Indeed, the story of Palestine has been told before: European settlers coming to a foreign land, settling there, and either committing genocide against or expelling the indigenous people. The Zionists have not invented anything new in this respect. But Israel succeeded nonetheless, with the help of its allies everywhere, in building a multilayered explanation that is so complex that only Israel can understand it. Any interference from the outside world is immediately castigated as naïve at best or anti-Semitic at worst.”
Pappe also touches on another readily used tactic in American media which is to conflate criticisms of the actions undertaken by the current Israeli government as anti-Semitic. This is readily seen in the reporting on the pro-Palestine student protests at American universities. In an article by Fox News, they conflate the protests of university students as “Antisemitic Agitators” titled “Antisemitic Agitators what Protestors at Elite Universities are Shouting.” Not the importance of shifting the language to fit the narrative, the university students protesting for divestment from supporting Israel with their tuition become “Antisemitic Agitators.” Also note that the article strays away from calling the protests Pro-Palestine instead preferring to denote them as “Anti-Israel.” This is furthered by attempts to equate Zionism with Israel and Jewish ethnicity. In an article for the Georgetown Voice Annette Hasnas writes “ Antisemitism and anti-Zionism are linked, and the former certainly can be present in the latter, but it is not always. In fact, assertions that the two are inherently synonymous are themselves antisemitic. Such claims often rely on the idea that Jews as a collective must support the Zionist cause, which is not only untrue but also paints Jews as a monolith. Though the percentage of Jews who oppose Israel is a minority, it is a significant one. As many as one in 10 U.S. Jews actively supports the controversial Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement—a movement aimed at pressuring Israel into conforming with certain demands surrounding its treatment of Arab Palestinian residents of the region.” A coinciding narrative often pushed is the idea that Zionism is an inherent necessity for Israeli liberation continued in the article she combats this notion, “Supporters of Israel will often push the notion that to deny the nationhood of Israel would be to deprive Jews “of all people on earth” of the right to self-determination. But there is no shortage of examples of other peoples without total control of the governments that rule over them, including Uyghurs, Kashmiris, and Basques. These peoples, much like Jews, deserve self-determination, and separatist movements exist within many of them. But to oppose the establishment of an ethnostate for these groups is not generally considered evidence of bigotry against them. To claim that the protection of Jews necessitates a Jewish state is not just wrong, but dangerous. It buys into the arguments made by other ethnonationalists that the existence of a state controlled by one ethnicity or religious group is required to ensure that such a group is protected.”
Two other forms of media manipulation that succeed in obfuscating the realities on the ground in Palestine are utilizing emotive language and passive voice in favor of articles concerning the occupying state, and disproportionately reporting on the deaths of Israelis over the deaths of Palestinians despite Palestinian deaths far outpacing their counterparts. In a qualitative analysis done by Adam Johnson and Othman Ali in an article for the Intercept titled “Coverage of the Gaza War in the New York Times and Other Major Newspapers Heavily Favored Israel, Analysis Shows” the writers detail some of the strategies used by American media outlets that indicated bias that may not be as readily apparent to readers. “In the New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times, the words “Israeli” or “Israel” appear more than “Palestinian” or variations thereof, even as Palestinian deaths far outpaced Israeli deaths. For every two Palestinian deaths, Palestinians are mentioned once. For every Israeli death, Israelis are mentioned eight times — or a rate 16 times more per death that of Palestinians.” They continue by depicting the disparity in evocative language used, “Highly emotive terms for the killing of civilians like “slaughter,” “massacre,” and “horrific” were reserved almost exclusively for Israelis who were killed by Palestinians, rather than the other way around. (When the terms appeared in quotes rather than the editorial voice of the publication, they were omitted from the analysis.) The term “slaughter” was used by editors and reporters to describe the killing of Israelis versus Palestinians 60 to 1, and “massacre” was used to describe the killing of Israelis versus Palestinians 125 to 2. “Horrific” was used to describe the killing of Israelis versus Palestinians 36 to 4.” The deaths of children naturally evokes a bitter sense of injustice and makes for a provocative title for any article therefore it is somewhat surprising that the analysis showed that “Only two headlines out of over 1,100 news articles in the study mention the word “children” related to Gazan children. In a notable exception, the New York Times ran a late-November front-page story on the historic pace of killings of Palestinian women and children, though the headline featured neither group. Despite Israel’s war on Gaza being perhaps the deadliest war for children — almost entirely Palestinian — in modern history, there is scant mention of the word “children” and related terms in the headlines of articles surveyed by The Intercept.” Similarly, the study found that this same discrepancy applied to the deaths of journalists, “While the war on Gaza has been one of the deadliest in modern history for journalists — overwhelmingly Palestinians — the word “journalists” and its iterations such as “reporters” and “photojournalists” only appears in nine headlines out of over 1,100 articles studied. Roughly 48 Palestinian reporters had been killed by Israeli bombardment at the time of the truce; today, the death toll for Palestinian journalists has topped 100. Only 4 of the 9 articles that contained the words journalist/reporter were about Arab reporters. The lack of coverage for the unprecedented killing of children and journalists, groups that typically elicit sympathy from Western media, is conspicuous. By way of comparison, more Palestinian children died in the first week of the Gaza bombing than during the first year of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, yet the New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times ran multiple personal, sympathetic stories highlighting the plight of children during the first six weeks of the Ukraine war.”
TL;DR: The American media uses false equivalence, delegitimization of violent struggle for self-determination through the terrorist label, false complexity, emotive language, passive voice, and selective publishing to obfuscate the realities of the Israeli settler colonialist project.
If you like this sort of content please visit my blog where I write articles and OP-EDs like these from a leftist perspective, thanks! paradigm-shift.blog

I just gave my graduation speech a few nights ago and packed the entire thing with Cosmere quotes/references. (Mostly SLA, but there were some others.) I figured some of y’all might enjoy it so I thought I’d post it.
Alright, the less I talk, the smarter I seem, so I’m going to try to keep this short. ‘The question is not whether you will love, hurt, dream, and die. It is what you will love, why you will hurt, when you will dream, and how you will die. This is your choice. You cannot pick the destination, only the path.’ Reflecting on this quote from one of my favorite authors, Brandon Sanderson, I'm reminded that it is the path that is important.
My family went on a trip across the United States a few years back. The vast majority of things I remember from that trip weren’t the destinations; it was how we got there. For example, one of the parks we visited was Chaco Culture National Historical Park. I don't remember much from the park itself, but what remains etched in my mind is the arduous 13-mile dirt road we had to navigate to reach it. It was extremely bumpy and basically like driving through the desert itself. We could only drive 15MPH…. 15MPH for 13 miles, I REMEMBER THE ROAD. But when I think back to our trips, it is one of the first things that comes to mind…. and…. we laugh about it.
The end is rarely what you tend to remember; it's how you get there. It is the journey that teaches us, challenges us, and ultimately defines who we are. Whether the journey is difficult or enjoyable, there are lessons to be learned and memories to treasure. Ultimately, we all end up in the same place, but how you get there is your choice. Throughout my experiences, I have tried to ensure I put the journey before the destination, aiming to learn from both the positive and negative aspects along the way. As Sanderson wrote:
“There are always several ways to achieve a goal. Failure is preferable to winning through unjust means. In the end, all men pass. How you lived will be far more important than what you accomplished.”
An important part of every journey is the shortfalls. Yes, there have been times when I've stumbled and fallen short, especially in planning events or acquiring new skills. Every failure allowed me to have an opportunity to learn from my mistakes and not make them again. Do I always remember not to make those mistakes? Of course not! But the lessons were there. You can’t build yourself as a person if you don't fail. “That is life. The longer you live, the more you fail. Failure is the mark of a life well lived. In turn, the only way to live without failure is to be of no use to anyone.” - yet again, Sanderson quote.
While we navigate our individual paths, let us embrace the journey – the highs, the lows, and everything in between. Failure may be unavoidable, but it's our response to it that shapes us. Getting back up, persisting, and eventually succeeding – that's where real growth and fulfillment are found. It's through our experiences, failures, and triumphs that we truly come alive and make our mark on the world.
To bring this to a conclusion, I want to encourage my fellow students, graduates, and even those who are further on in life to remember and appreciate the path you are traveling on and know that the most important step you can take is always the next one.

Hello I am a nursing student po. First year. Done na po 2nd sem namin and I still haven't payed pa po my balance (52k) not even once kasi im financially unstable po. Ako na lang po nagpapaaral sa sarili ko. Yung money po na nakukuha ko from my part time is enough lang po for my daily needs (pangkain, pang proj, other school fees and such). Next week po enrollment na again and hindi me makakapag enroll hindi ko pa na pay yung rem bal ko. Baka po may alam kayong student loan services na pwede ko pong applyan without the need of guardians po. I am 18 years old po. Is that possible po? Gusto ko pang mag aral pleaseTT

first i’m gonna give some backstory — i started taking the pill (junel fe) in 2020 when i was 16, and i was on it for about two years. i stopped taking it in july 2022 (i was 18 then, i’m 20 now) once i stopped, i first realized that it had absolutely ruined my mental health without me realizing it, but i also noticed my periods getting increasingly heavier, longer, and more painful - before starting birth control i had short, light periods and i rarely experienced bad cramps. but i started to experience absolutely debilitating cramps that would keep me up at night, make me nauseous, and i would even lay there and cry because they were so painful and nothing helped.
i found a new OBGYN at the beginning of this year that had really good “reviews” and scheduled an appointment to talk to her about my awful periods because my mom and my sister both have endometriosis. she did recommend birth control, but i wanted to avoid it if i could, so she prescribed me tranexamic acid (Lysteda) to help lighten my periods and potentially reduce the pain of my cramps. i gave up on it pretty quickly because i genuinely didn’t notice any difference, and i started to accept that my next choice would be some form of birth control. i have always been scared of IUDs, but my sister had recently gotten the Mirena and she loved it so far, so i started to look into it. i decided it would be a good fit for me because 1) it’s low maintenance and is good for so long, 2) it has no estrogen, and 3) it could potentially stop my periods. i am also in a long term relationship and while i wouldn’t be upset if i did get pregnant, i’m a college student and i would love to get through school and establish my career first.
i told my gynecologist that i had made up my mind and wanted to give the Mirena a shot, she explained the pre authorization process, and she let me know she pre-treats all of her patients after i told her my concerns with the insertion (she’s an angel). it did take like 2 months to even get it pre authorized through my insurance because i was having some issues getting it fixed and active again, so i had A LOT of time to doom scroll on every reddit thread and tiktok video i could find and freak myself out. we were finally able to schedule it and i had it done yesterday!
like i said i had a lot of time to freak myself out about it and that’s exactly what i did. i have heard people say it was an easy process, and i have heard people say it was the most traumatic experience so i was prepared for the absolute worst. my doctor prescribed me misoprostol to take the night before to dilate my cervix & a 1mg xanax to take before the procedure. before my appointment i was literally so anxious that i was super nauseous and shaking. i took the xanax about 45 minutes before just to be sure i was getting the full effect by the time i got to the office, and it worked wonders for me. i didn’t take any ibuprofen or tylenol. i genuinely think without the xanax my anxiety would have made the insertion 100x more uncomfortable.
once i got there, i peed in a cup, the nurse took my blood pressure, had me sign a couple forms, and then i undressed and my doctor came in pretty quickly after that. i asked her to walk me through the whole process even though i knew she would anyways. she put the speculum in, which really wasn’t bad, i just felt pressure. then she cleaned my cervix (i think LOL) and then she measured it. i’m actually not sure if she used a tenaculum, but this part was definitely not comfortable. the pain wasn’t enough to make me scream or ask her to stop or anything, but it was enough to make me squirm a bit and squeeze my own hand as hard as i could, and make a sound of discomfort, but she kept telling me i was doing great, and that part was super quick. then she actually inserted the IUD, and it felt the same as her measuring my cervix — i was a little squirmy, squeezed my hand, and made some noises, but it was over faster than i could take a deep breath. the whole procedure probably lasted less than 2 minutes and she told me i did great which made me feel good, lol. i probably could have gotten up right away to get dressed but i did lay there for a few minutes to make sure i didn’t get lightheaded and pass out. the nurse also brought me a pad for the bleeding but i was already prepared with a panty liner and i personally didn’t bleed enough to warrant a pad.
she sent a prescription for 800mg ibuprofen through to my Walgreens pharmacy, so i had my dad drive me there before taking me home (he’s a saint for being my ride) and i went in by myself to pick it up and while i waited for them to fill it, i literally walked around the store picking out snacks for 20 minutes. i did feel some period like cramps and they did get worse as time went on, but like i said i’ve experienced some excruciating cramps and those were obviously bearable enough to wander around walgreens for 20 mins.
after that, i went home, took an 800mg ibuprofen, set up all my snacks next to me in bed, snuggled with my cats and scrolled on my phone a bit, and then took a nice nap until my boyfriend got home from work. yesterday evening i felt perfectly fine, probably still happy from the xanax, and i took another ibuprofen before bed. today i have experienced some mild cramps, but i’m still taking the prescribed ibuprofen because why would i choose to deal with that?! i also did bleed yesterday, but today i have barely experienced any spotting.
moral of the story is that everyone is so different, but the thousands of horror stories about IUD insertions that i read almost scared me bad enough to change my mind about getting one at all. i highly recommend asking your doctor to pre treat you with anti anxiety meds and misoprostol (my appointment notes said i was 7cm dilated, and without the misoprostol my procedure would absolutely not have gone so smoothly) and if they deny you, find a different gynecologist that will listen to your concerns and be dedicated to making sure you’re comfortable. i promise they are out there! don’t let all the negative stories deter you - it’s painful but quick, and not everyone has such a traumatic experience. i wanted to share my story for anyone like me who is scaring themselves to death.
if anyone reading this has had a traumatic experience getting an IUD, or was denied any type of pre treatment, i am so sorry you had to go through that. women deserve better.

So I am taking my NCLEX exam on June 6th which is about 2 weeks away. I’ve been using ATI as a study tool to practice questions as well as using mark klimeck lectures as I’ve heard they are good.
I am getting extremely discouraged because I did good in nursing school but was never good at the ATI tests. I’m taking these CAT exams. The first one I got a 66% with 37th percentile (difficulty moderate), the second one I took I got a 71% with a 21st percentile (difficulty moderate). WTF! I just don’t understand does this really mean I am doing worse than 29% of nursing students in the US? :/
If anyone has any tips or resources let me know. I do not have the money to pay for any extra tools, but if you know of anything free! Thank you!!

Hello. I'm a nursing student who has been collecting various great resources for the NCLEX. I thought I would make it available to those on our reddit since you all have been very helpful to me. The list and instructions is in this pastebin. https://pastebin.com/edit/A0emZbbU The password is nclex
I hope it is a blessing to all of you!

Hello. I'm a nursing student who has been collecting various great resources for the NCLEX. I thought I would make it available to those on our reddit since you all have been very helpful to me. The list and instructions is in this pastebin. https://pastebin.com/edit/A0emZbbU The password is nclex
I hope it is a blessing to all of you!

I just completed my medical abortion process and I want to share the experience in detail to help any women because I know these threads helped me. My boyfriend and I are 20 year old college students and found out I was pregnant after a failed plan B. We know we are in no place to have a baby and keeping it was never really an option. My parents are very traditional and strict so I had to hide this entire pregnancy and abortion process from them. My boyfriend is not allowed over so I went through it completely alone. I had awful morning sickness, my breasts were VERY swollen and I had a missed period. Once we took a test and found out we scheduled an appointment at planned parenthood. We did it online and got an appointment about a week out. The planned parenthood visit went like this. We arrive, fill out some paperwork and wait to be called to the back. The medical abortion pill was $550 without insurance. Thankfully my boyfriend had money to afford it. If you don’t have the full amount they will let you pay what you can on that date and I believe let you make payments. Once called the back my boyfriend had to stay behind for a few medical questions but they let him in shortly after. I was explained the process of how the take the pills, what to expect, and what was not normal. I was also told nobody has died from this which made me much more comfortable. I then sat up on the chair and the nurse gave me an ultra sound over my stomach with the gel, i just had to pull my pants down a slight bit it was non invasive. We were then asked if we would like to see and have our own copies of the ultrasound, we took them. Seeing the baby did not change our mind about the decision which I was afraid of. After the ultrasound I singed consent and took the first pill. There are 2 pills involved in this process. After taking the first pill (3 pm) I felt nothing. I went out to eat with my boyfriend and spent time with him. I had slight cramping but nothing bad. I then went and picked up my medicine. They prescribed 800 mg of ibuprofen for pain and a nausea medication. The medication only costed about $25 for both. Again I don’t have insurance and I want to include prices for those who don’t ! I went home that night and decided to take the second pill the next day. ( If pill is taken vaginally you can take it immediately or the next 48 hours ) The next day I woke up with my usual morning sickness. I made sure I was not vomiting so I could take my pain medication before taking the second pill. I took my medication for pain at 3:00 pm and waited about 45 minutes for it to kick in. At 3:45 pm I inserted the 4 pills vaginally. There are two ways to take these pills; orally or vaginally. I chose vaginally due to my morning sickness and I didn’t want to throw them up before they could work. The doctor told me whatever way you choose does not affect the likelihood of the abortion being successful. The pills just have to sit in a mucous membrane for 30 minutes and dissolve. Inserting them was easy and not scary I would recommend it if you are vomiting! I then laid in bed and sat on the phone with my boyfriend waiting for it to kick in. I made sure I had thick pads, changed of clothes, a heating pad, ginger ale, iced water, gatorade, and strawberries near by as I was going to be alone. Almost exactly 30 minutes later, I started feeling the cramps. They came on strong and VERY quickly. Right after I began bleeding a little bit. Withing 5 minutes of the first cramp I was laying on the floor in, honestly, excruciating pain. The ibuprofen and nausea medication did not work for me at all during this process I have to be honest.My stomach began to hurt and I vomited soon. I hung up on my boyfriend because the pain was just too bad to talk. I made my way to the bathroom and sat on the toilet. I did have bowel movements, not quite diarrhea like some people experience. The cramps at this point were absolutely terrible. They were very strong and came in waves with not much time in between. I genuinely felt like I was incapable of bearing the pain. ( you are) I began to sweat a lot and I was yelling and crying in my bathroom , I didn’t care if my parents found out at this point. The good news is, it only lasted about an hour. I passed only small clots and felt a huge relief. I then went in my bed and shivered and rocked myself to sleep. I was in and out of sleep with cramps but I still slept very well (2 hours). My boyfriend called me and woke me up and it just felt like I had really bad period cramps. I did bleed only small clots so I was worried it didn’t work. I then began to bleed a lot into my pad so I went to the bathroom. This part may be triggering and TMI. When I sat down I peed and it was mostly blood. I then felt my vagina open slightly and I released the baby. I was 6 weeks and the baby was honestly bigger and heavier than I thought. It was the size of a big orange. The embryo was released in the sack, I didn’t see it at all I only felt it luckily. I then laid in bed with cramps for another hour and felt well enough to shower. I also have to note , my friends and I noticed I looked very glowy and healthy after ! It was very odd like releasing the baby made me look normal again. I don’t know if this has happened to anyone else. I took a very hot shower and let myself bleed out the excess with the hot water running on me, this helped a lot. I then went out with my friend to get a sweet treat and I am pretty much back to normal. I am eating, no nausea, slight pain from cramps. I am still bleeding but not much. I hope this helps anyone who is lost or afraid or going through this alone. I did it and honestly couldn’t imagine someone near me while going through that. I do not regret my decision at all as I know it was the right one. Our bodies are amazing you will probably be fine by the next day !

In need of advice for my relationship, might be long. I might not be masculine enough for my gf.
My gf (19F) and I (20M) have been dating for almost a year and a half. We’re in college and are pre nursing students. We plan on attending the same college around the same time. We had a talking stage for 3 months and then I asked her out. *Important note: We ONLY see each other once a week. We see each So a little a bit about her life is that she’s always been masculine. She’s always been cold for majority of her life because her parents never really expressed any love for her and according to her, her dad has never told her “I love you” or anything in that matter. She’s always been around a tough group of family members that have never really shown any emotions. She’s started to express/show emotion like anger,crying ,upset when she started dating me. She’s the oldest of 3 sisters so she always has felt responsible and very mature with the things that have happened in her life before.
I, on the other hand am a soft guy. I’ve been raised in a loving family that shows affection and emotions.
Throughout our relationship, she’s said she’s been feeling more feminine because of me. I brought it out of her more according to her because due told being with me, she has felt as she doesn’t have to use her brain a lot because I do the decision making which is good in my opinion.
There have been that I would want more and we have spoken about this many times such as her being more affectionate because I’m a very affectionate person overall because how I was growing up and other things I’ve been wanting but would never force her because I don’t want to change her for who she is but I do believe it is good to get out of your comfort zone to meet your partners needs such as showing affection because that is something that they would want more and etc. She has been working on that and I have noticed that she has been showing more affection but then sometimes goes back to now showing much at all. We both support each other a lot.
The first year of the relationship it was mainly going out for 90% of the time such as new places that we haven’t been to around the area and recently even just traveled to Cancun in February of just this year just us 2. When we came back, we both agreed to just go over to each others houses most of the time due to her wanting me to save money for nursing school so we don’t really go out as much, just to each others houses. Sometimes I have felt as like I’ve always been asking her when she can hang out when I would want her to ask me because it just feels to me as I’m the only one interested or putting majority of the effort in the relationship.
Another thing is my sex drive. We didnt have intercourse until close to our 6 months (I lost my virginity to her). It’s always been really high all throughout the relationship since we started. We have had a few pregnancy scares which scared her where her period have been a few days late and of course that’s normal for her to be scared because we’re young. We’ve always used protection and thank god the condoms have never ripped. I’ve never forced her to do anything she didn’t want to do with me if she didn’t want to do it. She’s scared of birth control because of the effects it can do to her body and she has tried it once in February but got off of it due to her not being able to get any anymore at the moment which led to that period go missing that whole month since she got off of it. Yes, we took pregnancy tests and they came out negatives (took 2 tests, one test per week) and no symptoms of anything when her period came this month so she wasn’t scared anymore. I felt completely fine with this but I have felt and I did mention it to her that I have been feeling unwanted sexually because I personally think sex is a very important factor in a relationship. It’s not everything in a relationship but I do think it’s up there in my list (probably because I’m a guy). I spoke to her about it and we compromised on possibly doing it more because she also wants to do it but is scared which again, I would never force her to do anything if she doesn’t feel like it.
It started about a month or 2 ago we started distancing ourselves for some reason at some points and we’ve tried to communicate it because we’ve said since the beginning that communication is a big thing for every relationship and it always will be. Just this month we have almost broken up a couple of times because of the things I have mentioned and other things such as her wanting me to dress with jeans more when I go to her house and I want to be comfy in my shorts and crocs to her house hanging out and we don’t decide on going out until I get there and talk about it later that day which is her wanting to change me as well as being a bit “controlling” in a way because it’s like she’s not accepting for who I am but we spoke about that too and she said she has to accept it because that’s just how I am and she doesn’t want to change me because that’s just wrong. I have said that I would never go in shorts or anything underdressed to a family party she invites me to or anything.
Another thing is that she has told me she’s felt a bit too overwhelmed when I show her affection by wanting to kiss or hug her a lot which is my way of showing affection and love which I’ve tried to stop showing as much and I have but I have felt like it’s just not me. One recent thing is that she has said she likes her alone time but if I leave her alone for too long, she feels as if I’m pushing her away and she misses me a lot but when I do text back, she gets annoyed. She doesn’t know why she feels that way and she knows it isn’t like that but doesn’t know why she feels like that. I’ve explained to her that I don’t want her to feel that way and if there’s anything I could do to not make her feel that way.
I’ve noticed for the past week she has brought her “masculine” side out more and I’ve told her that I noticed that and she said “I think it’s because I’ve been wanting to get my s*it together for nursing school and the things I have to do because no one is gonna do it for me.” Which I understand because it’s true but in my opinion, that doesn’t mean she has to be more masculine towards me or make much sense in that aspect.
Today, when we were eating at Chick, she said she’s never been with a soft guy before because she’s always been with a tough family and was always acting cold majority of her life because of it and would want me to be “stronger” as I took it as being more masculine which made me feel some type of way because I’ve treated this girl really good all of the relationship. When she said that, I told her “I’m not sure if I can because that’s just how I am.” I told her “maybe you need a guy that’s like that for you.”
Also, today she got bothered whenever she offers me her food and I don’t take a bite because I say no but then when she doesn’t want it anymore, I take her food and eat. I’ve explained to her it’s because I want her to get full which probably won’t make sense. I said I wouldn’t do it anymore and start taking her offers so she wouldn’t feel that way when she asks me next time but it still seemed like she got bothered when I said that.
If I remember correctly, she also said we can never have some type of a normal conversation because I always end up being really annoying to her and just can’t be calm.
It honestly feels as if we’re slowly getting tired for each other but we don’t want to give up in the end. I think it’s a little phase in the relationship that we could get through because I really do love this girl and I don’t want to lose her and she says she feels the same that she wants to keep fighting for us. These aren’t even arguments at all either. We haven’t argued in a while so I’m not sure. I’m not trying to make this girl seem as if she’s the problem either so I’m not sure what to do anymore? If we should take a break or just break up? Any advice would be helpful regarding to my situation 😕
Tl;dr - Not sure to continue this relationship anymore due to the things that have been happening with my gf and I.

My content is aimed at nursing students, black hair care, arts and crafts. Yet I get 240 views. I use the creator insights.
And ppl stay on my video for a few seconds only I’m so annoying I keep posting to

I am a current junior planning to apply to Emory early decision, and I was wondering how my application would match up to the people who got in ED.
Applying for: pre med
GPA W: 4.8
GPA UW: 3.53 (this is my biggest worry)
9 APS, 1 ACP
Predicted SAT Score: >1550 (have been studying A LOT, practice scores just under this range)
ECS: • JV Cross country 2 years (had to quit because of an ankle injury)
• Basketball Rec team 4 years
• Sports Medicine athletic trainer for my school (106 hours)
• Science Olympiad 3 years, awards in regional/ state level
• nursing home volunteer (~100 hours)
• shadowed a sports medicine doctor and a dermatologist (30 hours each)
• conducted research project through Georgetown online research program course
• currently participating in published research through a course at my school
• conducting independent research project this summer surrounding cancer biology and antio gene interactions
• participated in Midwestern's Health careers institute for high school students (25% acceptance rate)
• hosted a basketball tournament for a local hospital charity in my city
• NHS member
• In a club that volunteers and helps homeless people
• took "future of the business world" course through UPenn
• magic club
• south Asian club
LEADERSHIP: • captain of my basketball team • co captain of science Olympiad team • communication leader for the homeless awareness club • president of Magic club • executive of south Asian club
AWARDS: • science Olympiad 1st place state • science Olympiad 3rd place regionals • Spanish honors society • NHS presidential service award • (maybe) first generation recognition program
Overall, I think I have an alright shot, but my GPA really worries me. Is there anyone that has gotten in with similar stats to mine?

For one of our assignments, we had to code a program that does some calculations and (among some other things) plots three equations on the same figure. I was having some trouble with this, so I went to office hours for help. It's a little hard to explain without the full knowledge, but basically he told me that instead of having a variable for the went on the x coordinate I should instead just make a variable that the ratio of that value and another value, because it would be "easier, better, more efficient, y'know." I did this for the first two lines, and it worked. However, for the third one, it did not work because the x-axis variable was on its own (not divided by that other variable). It ended up being a big hassle to try and get the program to work this way; it would have been easier to just have the values as a variable normally. Why did he tell me to do the ratio then? Maybe he was just wrong; I mean teachers make mistakes, it happens.
In lab, we had to find how many 'steps' it takes for this motor thing to do a full 360. My lab partner and I followed the lab instructions, ran our little experiment, did some math, and we got a value of 2052. The number seemed really high to us so since the professor was right by us anyways we asked him if our number looked right. He said (this is an exact quote), "Nah you're way off here." His tone was completely serious, and both my lab partner and I thought he was being serious. We started checking our work, but it looked right to us, so we asked the group next to us. If I remember, they got ~2040 or so. Then we asked the TA and he said the expected theoretical value is 2048. I think our number was very close, and clearly not "way off." Why did he say it was way off?
Lastly, in lab we basically had a circuit set up and a program that would tell the circuit to rotate this motor. However, my lab partner and I weren't able to get the motor to rotate. We asked the professor for help and he said that our circuit was too messy, and that we need to make it neater before he would help us. I thought this was a bit harsh but understandable, since our circuit was messy and hard to follow. I started cleaning up the circuit, but then my lab partner figured out what the problem was. The problem was in the code all along, not with our circuit. I stopped cleaning up the circuit so we could move on to the next part. Now, our circuit was just slightly cleaner than most of the other groups' circuits, but still kinda messy. A few minutes later the professor came around and said that we didn't clean up our circuit. My partner told him that we solved the problem and are moving onto the next part. Then the professor said something along the lines of "No, no you guys cant move on like this" and then unplugged a few of the wires in our circuit and when I told him to stop he just walked away and then started telling the group next to us that their circuit was too messy too.
Normally I brush it off when someone says that a teacheprofessor is "out to get them," but I really can't help but feel like this professor is purposefully messing with me. I'm not sure what to do about it. It doesn't help that the professor is also mean and condescending. He says things such as "well maybe if you went to lecture, paid attention, and put in a little effort, you wouldn't be struggling like this" to me and other students.
What should I do? I just want to get a good grade and move on.

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They're giving away three scholarships in total, one each for a EMS, Allied Health, and Nursing student. Degree and certificate seeking students qualify. https://www.platinumed.com/scholarships/