Archives for December 2020

We’ve all had those days in the winter where you ache as soon as you wake up. We’ve all experienced muscle soreness, stiff joints, and other pains. Cold weather, especially if you spend a lot of time outdoors, can affect your body in different ways, and sometimes just the effort of staying warm is enough to cause significant aches and tired limbs. Here’s a look at five ways to deal with these winter aches.

Slow Down

At this time of year, one of the biggest causes of aches and pains isn’t the cold weather. It’s the time that we spend running around shopping for gifts, scrubbing our homes, and working extra. If you are busier than ever but still trying to fit all of your daily activities in, you need to start listening to your body. If you are achy and tired, take some time out. Relax in a hot bath, get an early night, and enjoy some rest time.

Get a Check-Up

Aches and pains when it’s cold can be completely normal. Our joints get stiff, we exercise less and ache more when we do. But this isn’t always the case. You know your body. Listen to it. If you ache much more than you’d expect or are experiencing pain with no clear cause, then it’s time to head to your primary care doctor for a check-up.

If you want a second option, or don’t feel comfortable with your current healthcare provider, try to find one using a merit-based incentive payment system. ChartSpan offers a merit-based incentive payment system (MIPS) focused on quality and patient care. Using a MPIS means you know your healthcare providers offer you the very best in quality, preventative care, and chronic care management.

Use Heat Therapy

Heat is a powerful tool when it comes to pain relief. If you are struggling with general aches and pains or DOMS following a workout, relaxing in a hot bath or applying heat packs or hot water bottles to affected areas can be a great idea. But, if you have a specific injury or swelling, an ice pack or cool patches may be more effective.

Stretch it Out

Stretching before and after exercise is always important. It can be even more beneficial in the winter when your body has to work harder to stay warm, and your joints are a little stiffer. Always warm-up and cool down before exercise, even if it’s just a few simple stretches. When you are achy, a yoga routine could help stretch your muscles, and a few stretches when you first get out of bed can warm you up, stretch out tired muscles and joints and get your blood pumping.

Stay Mobile

When you ache, it’s tempting to curl up on the sofa for the day and avoid moving as much as possible. But, while rest is important, staying still for too long can increase stiffness and pain. It’s also harder to stay warm while you are still, and while you may feel better at the time, it will hurt more when you get up. It’s ok to swap a run for a walk and a wights session for yoga. It’s ok to spend the day at home. But, make sure you keep moving, even if it’s just stretching while you wait for the coffee to brew.

Winter aches and pains can be normal. If you are worried, don’t hesitate to see your doctor for more help and advice.

 

Becoming a doctor is perhaps one of the most fashionable and most desired profession to get into. Countless parents across the country are hopeful that their child can get into this medical centric role, mainly for the financial security it provides, but also the status and satisfaction that comes with the role.

However, with its huge desirability, it may be a shock to many that there are a few unexpected truths and myth-busting realities that surround the profession of becoming a doctor. The reality is, there is a lot of stuff involved in learning to become a doctor that the general public aren’t aware of, as well as how their day to day life operates. Here is a look at some of the insider insights about becoming a doctor, as well as pursuing a career in the medical industry in general.

Studying is Hard

It’s no secret that to become a doctor you need to be academically gifted and to have obtained high grades throughout your educational career. These harsh requirements are there for a reason. Studying to become a doctor is really demanding and super difficult, perhaps even more difficult than a nursing degree. In fact, despite these courses only allowing in the greatest minds who may not have struggled in their education before this point, learning to become a doctor may be the first time in their lives where educational demands may be too much.

Suddenly, people who breezed through school are now having a hard time, and this can be jarring and may cause a bit of a knock to their confidence. It’s important for studying doctors to be prepared because they may not be top of the class anymore, and they need to learn good, practical studying methods to make sure they keep up with the course and the content.

The reason studying can be such a challenge to even the most accomplished academics is because there is such a high volume of information that students need to obtain really quickly, with there being a larger amount of examinations in the first two years of the education too, which can be super overwhelming. This means that every doctor you see has gone through a rigorous educational program and have been able to get through the other side.

The Lack of Social Life is a Myth

It’s a common misconception that people studying to be a doctor, and even doctors themselves, can’t have a decent social life because of their work or study commitments. This is entirely false and most likely a ploy to deter people who may not be that dedicated to the profession, as you will undoubtedly have a social life in the medical profession.

When studying, you’ll find that you’re surrounded by a small group of friends, who are all on the same schedule, meaning that post-lecture parties and outings are inevitable. Plus, when you are a doctor, most have quite a lot of free time as they may only have 3 or 4 shifts a week, giving doctors a lot of opportunities to be sociable.

What people may be confusing a lack of social life with is a lack of flexibility. There will be instances where you may miss events because they happen during a scheduled shift, and unlike other roles, it’s very hard to get that shift altered or covered as a doctor as it is in any other profession. There are roles within medical care where you have a more sociable schedule, such as being a nurse practitioner. You can find a good comparison between doctors and nurse practitioners here.

Doctors Need to Develop a Filter

Due to the job description of being a doctor, many will find themselves in awful and disgusting situations almost on a daily basis. Doctors are constantly getting exposed to wounds, broken bones, bodily fluid, and other nasty things that they simply get used to and shrug off over time.

However, this desensitization means that when interacting with non-medical professionals, they’ll have to develop a filter and save people the details to not put others off their lunch. Doctors might have been able to build up a strong resistance to a lot of the stuff they see, but common folk haven’t, so they need to be cautious not to speak about too bad a topic.

Developing a filter can also benefit doctors when working. As their role is very high stakes, high pressure and in a fast working environment, things can get stressful. It’s important that doctors learn to handle this stress and definitely avoid snapping at people or being a grump. This is because people need a calm, confident, and composed doctor as this will lift their spirits. Just do be aware that even if your doctor appears pleasant and placid in reality, they probably want to scream every profanity under the sun.

Becoming a Doctor isn’t a Get Rich Quick Scheme

There is a stereotype of the ‘rich doctor’ that goes around and is probably the stereotype that encourages people to try and become a doctor. Of course, the role’s financial rewards are good, as a doctor can expect a salary of $200,000 to $500,000 per year; however, getting to that position isn’t easy or straightforward.

Reaching that level includes a lot of hard graft and time getting educated and rising through the ranks in various different, far lower-paying roles. With the financial burden of getting a medical education and the time spent competing courses, residencies, and training, becoming a doctor who obtains this level of financial stability is a lot of hard work.

So if you’re an individual looking to become a doctor purely for monetary reasons, it may be worth reconsidering your future. This is because those with the potential to become doctors also have skills to get comparable paying roles in other sectors, such as business, law, or engineering. The educational process to get these roles is a lot quicker, meaning that you can start earning a lot in these roles early on.

This means that patients and the general public can be assured that the people looking after them aren’t just in it for the money and are instead passionate about being a doctor and helping them. If they weren’t, they simply wouldn’t put themselves through the ordeal it is to become one.