#attendinggoals

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T: Hello, you're listening to #attendinggoals, a subset of @residentunwellness. I'm here with Dr. Julia Switzer, who is our lovely assistant program director here at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Welcome Dr. Switzer!

S: Thank you for having me. 

T: So in honor of our first holiday special of #attendinggoals, we have a couple of questions that we would love to ask our lovely attending here. The first is, please describe what your skin type is like and what is your current skincare routine? 

S: Okay, so my skin type I'd say is generally dry. I also have been told in the past that I have a touch of rosacea so I get red patches sometimes. Overall, I've been pretty good in terms of acne, blemishes, things like that, although in pregnancy I did have an issue with that that was hormonally mediated... Yeah, I think that's pretty much it. My current skin care regimen is pretty basic. I wash my face in the morning with an over-the-counter commercial gentle cream cleanser. Usually, I look for things that say age-prevention, wrinkle-prevention, but I like to try different things so I try those. I’ve also been using this line called Beautycounter. I don't know if you're familiar with it? 

T: Where do you get it? 

S: So I originally bought it from a woman who I knew in Chicago. Kind of like one of these lines that you can become a salesperson for and I find this to be a good way to support other women who are home raising their kids when this is their source of income. So anyway, I went to a party where we got to try a lot of different products and I ended up buying one of their moisturizers, which I really like. It has a nice smell and it feels really soft on your skin, so I've been using their day moisturizer, and then I also use a night cream from that line. At nighttime, after I wash my face, I also use a serum from Origins. 

T: Do you remember what that serum is called? 

S: It’s in a nice green bottle with a gold top... it's like one of their age-defying serums.

T: Do you have a specific skincare wishlist this holiday season? Something you've got your eye on? I know you mentioned Beautycounter being one of your go-to skincare lines, but is there something a little more available for the residents that they could go out this holiday season and pick up? 

S: So one thing that I have sort of brought into my practice is on Sunday evenings or Monday evenings, I like to do like a “spa shower” because I find during the week it just got so busy; I'm jumping in and out of the shower and I might cut corners with my skincare and you know, whatever else. So on either Sunday night or Monday night, I use every product possible just to make sure I get it. I wash my hair, condition it, blow it out, and then I do a face mask. I have one that I was gifted which is a really nice exfoliating chemical mask, but I also experiment with drugstore ones, so like some of those nice masks that you can buy for like $1.99 or something that you either put on and it warms up or cools your skin or it smells nice just to give myself a little extra special treatment. I think those are things that even residents, you know, without a lot of expense, can try something nice for themselves. The whole experience of it is nice, though whether it's really doing anything great for my skin, I don't know, but it's a nice self-pampering experience. 

T: Yeah, it’s definitely a nice self-care thing that they can do. Do you feel like you do different things now that you're an attending versus as a resident? 

S: Well, I have had facials now that I'm an attending which I never would have done as a resident. Although I’ll go there and they kind of tell me like, what are you doing, you're not doing enough, but that's because there's been years of neglect. So I have had facials which is really nice, and then yeah, I think I just allow myself a little more leeway in terms of being able to buy more expensive products that I might not have purchased as a resident. 

T: What other things did you do for your emotional and mental wellness in residency, outside of the realm of skincare and beauty?

S: Mm-hmm that's a great question. I think I did a lot of things with friends and family, like just tried to really maintain my connections with others. I was lucky that I went to residency where I had gone to college and medical school, so I had a lot of friends that were still in the area who were not people that I saw and worked with every day... some of them were also doctors so they could sort of understand life as a resident, although not necessarily as an OB/GYN resident. I also had people that were completely outside of medicine, so if I wanted to just take a break from that I had people who I could hang out with or do things with and explore other interests. I had a friend who was really into theater and would always invite me to shows in Philadelphia that I never would have encountered on my own, so I think maintaining connections with other friends and family was really important. Especially during this holiday season, people are flying back to see their family and see their friends, so I'm sure that helps a lot too for their mental and emotional well-being. 

T: Switching gears just a little bit, I know a lot of our chiefs are thinking about job interviews, possibly going to fellowship... having been through the interview trail and having had multiple jobs, are there any travel tips or skincare tips that you would give to our chiefs who are looking for a job who want to look their best and land that perfect spot that they've been dreaming about since they were an intern?

S: I think one that is really underappreciated and very cheap is to drink water. We are so bad at that in our specialty because we're running around all the time and JCAHO doesn't let us have our water out, but it really does make a difference. I can always tell on my post-call day in particular when I wake up from my nap; I mean, I can see that my the bags under my eyes are deeper than they normally are because I'm dehydrated, so I'd say when you're flying, when you're traveling, when you're working, staying hydrated is really important. And then just trying to stick with your normal routine. I think it helps to relax, to go through your normal routine, and then that way you can put your best foot forward. Try to get some rest on your normal schedule. Try to do your skincare regimen, get your tea or your coffee in the morning, whatever it is that you normally do, to try to normalize your appearance at interviews to help you perform better. 

T: Did you have go-to look? 

S: Well it's interesting you ask that because when I was interviewing for my first job I was moving to California, and so I really did struggle with that because coming from the East Coast in the winter then go interview in Los Angeles. I really wasn't sure what to expect. You know, we tend to be very “dark suit,” very formal on the East coast, and on the West coast, maybe it was a little different, but you know, I didn't have a lot of money so I just wore my suit. Maybe I mixed it up a little with whatever I was wearing underneath and then you know I have pretty basic makeup skills, so I didn't do anything really special. I think I didn't try to do anything extra because God help me if I had messed it up… it would have been ridiculous. 

T: I didn't even think of it like that, because I feel like a lot of the residents I see seem to separate into two camps. Some, you know, really trying glam it up and try and make themselves feel, you know, as normal and professional and as nice-looking as they can in the hospital, while some of the residents kind of go the other way, which is fine too. Like whatever makes you feel like you're ready to face the day. I guess we've heard the other attendings say like, when you're at an interview, you should be yourself because you're not going to be a different person when you're working that job, right? 

S: Yeah. 

T: And then last but not least, the New Year's coming up! Do you have any wellness goals or resolutions for the year? 

S: Yeah, so I like I said, I'm working on drinking more water. I recently bought some stickers for my calendar so I can keep track of my hydration a little bit better. I've also been working on my cardiovascular health... now that I'm an attending physician, I have more access to equipment, which is great, like I bought a peloton, so I'm gonna be working out on that more in the New Year. That's my goal. 

T: Well, thank you so much for taking this time to talk to me! I have brought a small gift for you. Thanks. I know you had mentioned sheet masks, so I hope you use this during your Sunday or Monday night spa shower. Thank you so much!