Resources for wellness and success

All of us here at EMRA care about you and want you to be happy, successful, and healthy. Here are some resources that, hopefully, can make our unconventional 4th year a little better.

** No, we are not accepting any type of payment to promote these apps/websites/books/etc. These are simply resources that we think will improve your life, make you happier, and thus perform better on your rotations.

1. Wellness apps/mental health
1. Apps
1. meditation/sleep
1. Headspace: Some features are free and some you need to pay for. It can be difficult to maintain peace and calm in the ED, but hopefully this can help increase your mindfulness and inner peace.
2. Calm: Similar to Headspace, above.
3. I recently finished my one audition rotation in EM and quickly realized the importance of sleep and how it correlates to my performance in the ED. The ED is stressful, the hours vary, and it can be hard to unwind after a shift. Proactively working to improve sleep is very important. Apps are free with some in-purchases available.
1. Sleep Cycle
2. Sleep Sounds
3. Sleep as Android
2. Fitness- Sometimes the steps taken in the ED are just not enough. We know the benefits of exercise and its importance. Here are some apps that can help maintain or jump-start your fitness routines.
1. Strava- It's like facebook for fitness. It tracks your fitness and you can choose to allow people to see your workouts or not. If you want the social component (which some people REALLY LOVE) you can get and give a lot of positive energy here. You can use the free version or buy an upgraded version- I am an ultramarathoner who has used the app for years and have only used the free version. The free version works great!
2. A nice library of workouts
1. Nike Training Club
2. Daily Workouts Fitness Trainer
3. Aaptiv
3. Zombie, Run! - A new twist on running/walking workouts.
4. 7-minute workout - Self-explanatory. Great for a quick workout.
5. Yoga with Adriene
3. Scheduling/Studying efficiency: Shift work can be a challenge for many to maintain healthy habits and efficiency. Here are some great apps that you can use if you feel like your habits or efficiency is in need of some help.
1. Streaks- track your habits
2. Forest- Mindlessly staring at your phone and scrolling up can be a great detox, but it can be a black hole of time. This app helps you get off your phone and manage your usage.
3. Pomodor : The Pomodoro technique- I listed one website, but there are multiple apps and websites that essentially allow you to stratify/organize how much time you spend on activities. 
4. Flora- fun productivity/scheduling app similar to Forest. You have a tree in the app, and based on how much phone usage you have, the tree grows or … doesn’t grow (it dies).
5. Things- This is a paid app, but it is very popular. Users swear up and down that it is incredibly effective in helping maintain schedules and personal goals.
2. Books/Audiobooks: I am a HUGE BELIEVER in audio books and podcast. I know it does not work for some, but I advise giving it a go. As many of us are traveling a substantial amount of time for rotations, or even to and from shifts, audiobooks and podcasts are great companions for studying, entertainment, and keeping you awake.
1. Audible: Can get a free trial!
2. Audiobooks.com: Can get a free trial!
3. Local library: Some local libraries will let you download an app of their choosing to ‘rent’ audiobooks. It is a great, cheap option if your local library does this.
4. Goodreads: An amazing social media book reviewing/managing platform. You can see what your friends are reading, manage which books you want to read in the future, and read thousands of sincere reviews. Also, great for finding your next book.
5. Resources to find a book to read. I know this can be a barrier to many people, so I included some resources that help you find a good novel that you will enjoy:
1. NPR-book reviews
2. Whichbook- Fun website where you choose on a sliding scale of what type of book you are looking for (funny, sad, intense, scary, etc.) It then gives you it’s recommendations.
3. “The top 100 Books of All Time”- The Guardian. 100 writers from 54 countries chose what they believe to be the best 100 books ever written.
3. Entertainment
1. Podcast
1. Apple Podcast
2. Google Play Music
3. Spotify
4. Here are two apps which you can pay for that help you manage your podcasts a little better than the apps listed above. I would say that these are for the more “advanced” podcast enthusiast.
1. Pocket Cast <$10
2. Overcast $10/year
5. What to listen to?
1. TIME magazine’s best of 2020 so far
2. Search the “top charts” on any of the apps above
3. A little more extensive of a list found here.
4. Support groups/Online counseling: Traveling, working, and the stress from having only one audition rotation can be a heavy burden to carry. Please don’t be afraid to reach out for help. It takes immense strength to admit we need help. Here are some resources and apps. As well, your local institutions should have mental health/wellness advisors or counselors on staff as well. Do not hesitate to reach out for help.
1. Mental Health America has a great list here https://www.mhanational.org/find-support-groups
2. Talkspace: Online therapy, completely online/virtual.
3. Betterhelp: similar to Talkspace
4. Well Connect
2. Rotations-
1. Podcast to help prepare for your rotation and shifts in the ED. The majority of these podcasts have an associated website with recordings of the podcast and show notes. Welcome to the land of “high yield”.
1. EM Clerkship
2. EM Basics
3. EMCrit
4. Emergency Medicine Cases
5. Academic Life in Emergency Medicine Podcast (ALIEM)
6. ACEP Frontline
7. Core EM

1. Apps that every med student should have
1. EMRA app - You can purchase the entire EMRA book here in the app. Has numerous different guides included
2. WikiEM - Frequently used by many residents and EM docs. Great to use to better understand a condition and treatments
3. MD Calc - App that you can download various criteria calculators such as the Wells criteria, GCS, Heart score, etc.
4. Uptodate
5. Epocrates- medication reference tool
6. Diagnosaurus- Quick-reference tool for differential diagnosis
7. Orhtoflow- It’s $6, but claims to be the ‘Orthopaedic specialist in your pocket’. It can be useful for impressing some residents and attendings.
8. Sublux- App focused on teaching you how to read Xray images.
9. Human Anatomy Atlas- Because there is nothing more disheartening than suddenly remembering half way through your patient presentation that you forgot the name of that one artery or vein in that one part of the body.
10. USPSTF- US Preventative Service Task Force. Great for finding any guidelines on preventative medicine.
2. Study Materials
1. Tintinalli's Emergency Medicine Manual
2. Life in the Fast Lane ECG practice
3. WikiEM
4. All podcasts listed above
5. Sublux- this app will be good practice for when you are asked to read an Xray in the ED.
3. Publications
1. “The 3 Minute Emergency Medicine Medical Student Presentation”
2. EMRA and CDEM’s Video on Patient Presentations
4. Housing
1. Air BnB - Can get a significant discount when renting for 4 weeks or more.
2. VRBO
3. Rotating Room- Trusted short-term housing site that allows for professionals and students to find reasonable housing. You can also list an apartment/house here as well if you want.
4. Contact your rotation director. It is possible that they have relationships with local apartment complexes and can help you find a great deal.
5. Food- Depending on how many shifts you're working, this could be a great time to learn to cook or a great time to really get to know the local cuisine.The apps/websites listed below have thousands of recipes for all levels of cooking/abilities or can help you easily find delicious grub.
1. Tasty
2. Allrecipes
3. BBC Good Food
4. Food Network Kitchen
5. Yelp- Find some tasty food in your new home for a month or at your home base.
6. Google Reviews- I highly recommended looking here too for restaurants. An easy, quick glance to help better understand the general population's view on a restaurant.
6. Scrubs- It is a good idea to make sure you bring at least a couple of pairs of scrubs with you, just in case the hospital you are working at does not provide any. In no specific order, below is listed where you can get some scrubs. Some are more expensive than others.
1. Figs
2. Jaanuu
3. Uniform Advantage
4. Walmart: Easy and inexpensive.
5. Amazon
1. These brands have been loved by medical professionals: Just Love, Dagacci, Cherokee
6. Allheart