Welcome to the weekend, folks! We at Postcall decided to aggregate the chillest sections of Postcall and move them to the weekend - when you’re chill too.

Time for some stories! (4 minute read)

1. “Guess what I saw today”

2. Delegation tips to help you save lives (but mostly time)

3. Countdown is on for TikTok

4. A guide to marginal taxes

5. Postcall Crossword

“Guess what I saw today” 

Just some quick stories from the frontlines. Have a riveting tale of your own? Send us your best “guess what I saw today” from the OR, ED, or clinic (anonymized, obviously).

Not something they saw, but we approve nonetheless:

Save Lives, Not Files! 

Helpful Tip Part One - Mastering the Art of Delegation as an Individual

Effectively managing time remains a persistent challenge across various stages of medical training, especially for newly practicing doctors. Dr. Eric Cadesky (GP) states, “[Delegation] is often something that doctors struggle with, as it’s not taught in medical school…”

To help fill this education gap, we’ve rounded up a few helpful tips that we will share over the course of a three-part series. 

For part one, we will be focusing on the importance of outsourcing and delegating tasks on an INDIVIDUAL level to provide greater mental freedom and ensure tasks are executed more efficiently and with greater expertise. 

This week’s tips:

• Time Blocking: Break your daily schedule into “blocks” of 2-3 hours that are assigned to specific tasks. Make sure to stay focused during these blocks as no other task, other than the one assigned, should be completed during this time.

• Eisenhower Matrix: Sort your daily tasks into four categories based upon their level or urgency and importance (Do It Now, Schedule It, Delegate It, or Delete It). 

• 3-3-3 Rule: Use the following rules every day. Dedicate three hours to your most important project of the day with defined progress goals. Dedicate time to complete three shorter/urgent tasks that you have been avoiding (e.g., emails, calls). Dedicate time to complete three “maintenance activities” that are essential for daily functioning (e.g., organizing your work desk).

So in a world where time management is the ultimate skill, delegate like a time-saving hero, and soon you'll be known for healing ailments, not wrestling with admin chaos!

Part Two: Mastering the Art of Delegation as a Multidisciplinary Team Member… coming next Saturday!

Speed Reads 🚤 

1: 🇺🇸 President Joe Biden delivered an energetic State of the Union address, focusing on abortion rights, threats to democracy and the economy — while sparring with critical Republicans.

2: 💃 TikTok may get banned (really) this time. On Thursday, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce voted 50-0 to advance a bill that would give “China's ByteDance six months to divest from short video app TikTok or face a U.S. ban,” according to Reuters. Then, TikTok dug its hole even deeper - it sent a notification to TikTok users to call Congress. So even if legislators weren’t worried before about foreign influence from a dancing app, they will be now.

3: 💊 Wegovy (the popular weight-loss drug by Novo Nordisk) received FDA approval to help prevent heart attacks, strokes, and death from heart issues in adults with obesity. This new approval could lead to better insurance coverage for the expensive drug, though it might remain difficult to obtain due to limited supply.

4: …but their competitor Eli Lilly isn’t as lucky: the FDA has delayed its decision on approving its new Alzheimer's drug, donanemab, because they want to review its safety and effectiveness more closely. There are concerns about serious side effects like brain swelling and bleeding.

5: 🏆️ If getting one hour less sleep has you down… don’t cry just yet. You might see Oppenheimer sweep the prizes at the Oscars. The awards show airs at 7PM ET Sunday (tonight).

Joke of the Day

Weekly Refresher: Marginal Taxes

We sometimes hear from those new to practice (or even residents getting that sweet sweet cash for the first time) that taxes are confusing. Specifically: “could I end up with less money if I earn more money?“

Not to worry, let’s get some basics out here:

1. What’s a marginal tax rate?: Your marginal tax rate is the tax rate you pay on your last dollar of income. The more money you earn, the more tax you pay on the next dollar. But you will never lose money by earning more money.

2. How does tax collection work?: The U.S. uses two tax systems - federal and state. Your total tax depends on income, location, and combined marginal tax rate. As for federal taxes, no matter where you live, it applies uniformly. 

3. What are my tax rates? Here’s a breakdown of your state tax rates, and below is a chart for your federal rates:

Bottom line:

🕹️ Game ⛳️

Show us what you got!

First question: What do you call the impaired ability to perform rapid alternating movements?

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