What's going on guys?
Dr. J. MedSchoolInsiders.com.
Today, let's talk about what's in my backpack.
Surgeon edition.
This is the North Face Surge II and I've had this for several years
I love it for a few different reasons.
Now before I get too much into the details, it's important to note that I ride my bike to work.
Or when I was a med student I used to ride my bike to school.
So a lot of the advantages I see from this backpack are based off of that.
But I think it translates to most of you, whether or not you ride your bike.
So the first is that this backpack is very, very comfortable.
Even when I'm riding my bike, it has a slimmer profile,
so heavier objects are held closer to your center of gravity.
And if you remember that torque is force times displacement,
having heavier weight further from your back is gonna put more of a torque on your back.
You don't want that.
So keeping that weight really close is important.
I used to have a larger Vanir backpack, one of those swiss backpacks
and it was-- It would ballon out and I could hold so many things
but I felt a lot more strain on my back.
So that's one of the reasons I love this.
Again, North Face Surge II.
Had it for about five or six years now and I love it.
In the first main pocket, I of course, keep my laptop or equivalent.
Recently, I bought the iPad Pro 12.9 inch with Apple pencil and leather sleeve
and I love this thing.
This is a total game changer.
I'm not only able to type my notes,
but I can also write seamlessly and switch between the two.
I actually released a video on the MedSchoolInsider's channel
that goes over how to best use this with iOS 11, if you are a student.
So check that out.
So next in this pocket, there's a smaller pocket here for an iPad, books, things like that.
I generally keep either a Kindle Paperwhite or an iPad Mini.
The Kindle, I think is a great choice if you want to read a book and keep it light.
I can keep, you know, dozens of books on this small device.
It holds a charge for weeks.
Then moving on to the next pocket, this is the middle pocket.
And of course, as a surgeon, we still need to use our stethoscope.
So I keep this on hand.
I also only keep two small folders.
Now again, because I ride my bike and weight is a top priority
or keeping things light is a top priority for me,
I generally only have two folders.
One which is maybe school related or class related and one that's for everything else.
This is probably not enough to hold all your documents.
But the way I like to do it is use my phone, using the Scannable or Scanner Pro app,
scan documents, import it into Evernote and then it becomes searchable,
and I can access it from anywhere on any device.
That's my philosophy, that's why I like to do this.
But of course, do what works best for you.
In this small side pocket over here, I always have a lock handy.
And in case, I take this to the gym
and I of course, want to lock up my valuables,
I have this on hand.
Now next in this pocket,
I really like the organization here because you have mesh here
and multiple sub pockets here.
In this mesh, I keep all my electronic charging and small little devices.
So I have for example, charger for my iPhone.
I also carry this power brick around.
In hospitals, we generally get poor reception
and that drains your battery even further.
So this I use very regularly.
This is a Kmashi 5000 mAh.
I also have an SD card, micro SD converter.
Thunderbolt cables, micro USB, etc.
Of course, got my pens.
These are actually the most commonly used.
These are...
So these are the Pilot G2 pens and they're ultra fine at 0.38 millimeters.
The reason everyone uses these is that they're cheap,
you can write very quickly and they work very well.
They're reliable and you-- like everyone uses these in the hospital,
so I highly recommend them.
Of course, got to keep some hand sanitizer on hand.
Of course, have some sunscreen lotion.
Especially when I'm riding my bike in the summer heat.
Another smaller pocket I keep an eye mask,
in case I can squeeze a quick nap during the day somewhere.
I have some earplugs. Same reason.
I also keep zinc for... if I'm feeling, I'm getting a cold.
So vitamin C has not been demonstrated to actually shorten the whole duration
or decrease the risk of having a full-blown cold.
But zinc has been shown to decrease the duration and intensity
of a upper respiratory illness or a cold, whatever you want to call it.
So in the next pocket, I have a Moleskine or Moleskin Small notebook.
This is the size that works best for me because you can quickly put it in your...
either your scrub pocket, your white coat pocket,
and I generally write fairly small.
This is super useful for quick notes and just... if you need to write down something quickly.
I generally take notes on my iPad,
so a small notebook like this will last me,
you know, a month or more.
Another thing I never leave the house without is a Lacrosse Ball.
Now you may be wondering, why I keep a Lacrosse Ball in my backpack,
when I'm going to work or even when I used to go to school.
The reason is self myofascial release.
So for those of you who use foam rollers at the gym
and maybe PVC pipes, things of that sort,
you know exactly what I'm talking about.
If you have a sore spot, some muscle tightness, a knot you need to get out,
a foam roller is obviously too large to carry around in your backpack.
But these little things carry many of the same benefits in a much smaller package.
Now, it is also key to always carry snacks.
I have this protein bar from Garden of Life.
And Lara bars.
I like these because they're less processed and they have healthy ingredients.
I try to minimize the amount of whey protein.
Too much of that is not a good thing.
Next in this pocket, this is a nice little padded pocket you can keep more delicate items,
I keep my headphones actually.
These are Etymotic HF5 headphones.
I got really into headphones back in college and in medical school.
And these are my favorite.
They are super accurate.
And I put these shure foam tips on them, and what these do is act like ear plugs.
So when I put these in, I literally just hear my music nothing else
and it saves my ears because I don't need to crank up the noise.
This is noise isolation, which is different than noise canceling.
So noise canceling is an active process.
You use microphones and put in sound frequencies,
that essentially cancel out humming noises or constant noises around you.
Great for airplanes.
These are much, much, much better at just isolating sound
so that you don't hear anything.
So you won't be able to hear people talking to you as much.
You won't be able to hear, you know, a plane engine or whatever.
This is great for you if you want to study and get things done.
Highly recommend them.
Again, link down below.
Right vertical pocket here.
I keep all my biking gear.
So, whenever I'm biking I'm wearing these gloves.
They have some padding on the palm and key areas for your hand.
And of course, also keep bike lights.
I did a lot of research on figuring out which are the best bike lights to have.
I'm really happy with this.
CatEye Volt 800.
It is super bright.
Has multiple features, multiple different pulse modes as well.
Same with this rear light.
Now I also always keep one of these tape measures.
Because in plastic surgery,
preoperatively before the surgery,
you often need to make measurements and markings.
So this comes in handy.
And in this other vertical pocket...
let's keep that there.
I also have a Nalgene water bottle.
Now this may seem excessive and huge.
This is a 1.5 liter.
But the thing is you got to stay hydrated.
There's just a slew of health benefits.
I generally go through about two of these per day.
Sometimes a little bit more than that.
And I have this on the carabiners so that it doesn't fall out of my backpack
when I'm moving around.
I have another carabiner here.
In case, I'm riding back from home or from school
and I want to pick up groceries or dinner, whatever it is.
I'll be including descriptions and links to all of the items
that I discussed in this video, down in the description below.
Thank you all so much for watching.
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And I'll see you guys in that next one.
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