Can everybody hear me? Can everybody understand me? Halfway there then. My name is Fred Heath. See what I've done there. James Bond style. You can call me Fred. I came all the way from Cardiff, in sunny Wales in the UK, to talk about BDD. Does everybody here know what BDD stands for? What it means? Yeah, I know. That's a very good point, actually. Breakfast-driven development. Yeah, BDD stands for behaviour-driven development. And last time we asked at a conference, someone said, someone said, it's body dysmorphic disorder. Which I suppose is technically true, if you're at a medical conference, but not really for a developer conference. I would also have accepted bug-driven development. I would have accepted bug-driven development. I would have accepted bug-driven development. I would have accepted bug-driven development. I would also have accepted bug-driven development. No, just kidding. That's what I used to do, bug-driven development. And now we just do behaviour-driven development. So we eliminate the bugs, as it is. Basically, I've been practicing BDD now for the last four years, give or take. I'll be honest with you. The first couple of years were a real pain to me. They were very frustrating. I used to have to rewrite my features all the time. I used to have to maintain the features, spend a lot of time and effort. I used to be brittle, I used to break all the time. So it took me a couple of years just to get BDD right. And eventually now, I think I'm at a stage where I can apply BDD at a project and reap the huge benefits. And that's what I'm really here to talk to you about. Is to share the lessons that I've learnt and to avoid the mistakes that I've made. So we're going to get BDD right. So basically, I'm here to spread the BDD love out to you. Can you feel it? Can you feel the BDD love? It's originally the first throw there. Now the back. Can you feel the BDD love coming up? It's just the air conditioning. The BDD love hasn't reached you yet. So just out of interest, just being curious, how many people here have actually used BDD to actually use BDD on a daily basis? Can you raise your hands up? Okay, quite a few then. Quite a few. Out of you raise your hands, how many would you say that you're happy with BDD and you feel that you're getting 100% out of it? Can you raise your hands please? Okay, that's considerably less. Considerably less. And that's natural actually. BDD takes time to master. It takes time to get it right. You learn from your mistakes and you correct them and you move on. And to the people who didn't put their hands up, I say don't give up, don't get frustrated. Just persevere and it will pay off in a huge way in the end. So let's talk about BDD more. Right, what we'll talk about is we'll start with a quick introduction to BDD. Quite a lot of you haven't done it or don't know what it is all about. And then we'll start talking about how to do it properly. What we'll get started, how to define our actors, how to drive behaviour and how to get our features right. And that's pretty important getting our features right because the features are like the basis of a system. If you get your features right then you're halfway there. Getting your features wrong then everything else will just fall apart further on the line, just a matter of time really. And I know because I've been there. OK. Right, we can visualise the development cycle as a kind of a circle or as I call it an onion. And in the centre of the onion we have the development team. The developers, us and we do this software. And in the middle layer of the onion we have the testing team and the QA team. And on the outer layers we have the stakeholders. We have our users system integration if you're doing Scrum you have your product owners. And the way it works is a bit like that. The development team makes the software and they push it out to the testing team and the testing team say yeah that's brilliant, great and they push it out to the stakeholders to the users. I can see some people smiling up there and I think it's not quite right. In real life it doesn't really happen that's just a theory. So what really happens is this. We push on software out to the testing team, the QA. QA say it doesn't behave exactly the way we want it to behave so understand it back to us. We correct a particular behaviour and we push it back to the QA team. So that bit is now working behaving correctly but this other bit is not quite right. It doesn't behave the way we want it to. So we send it back to us. So we go back and forth a few times. We go this testing development loop a few times. Eventually we get it right and we push the software out and release the software to the users or the product owner or whoever. I can hear you thinking what's wrong with that. Surely it produces working software at the end of the day. So what's wrong with that? Well, to answer this question we have to think about toast. Does everybody here love toast? Toast with bread? Butter, jam, yum, yum, yum. Yeah. Hands up if you like toast. Cool, quite a few of us here. I love toast myself and my wife loves toast.  We have this little ritual between us where every other weekend I make breakfast in bed for my wife. So I want to make breakfast in bed I don't mean actually make the breakfast in bed in the kitchen and I put it on a tray and take it upstairs to the bed, right? And we think with my wife she's got very high standards she's got very, very peculiar taste and when she married me, right? Brains and beauty. Now I'm just kidding, of course I've got no brains at all. So she wants a toast just perfect. Yeah? Not too soft but not too crispy either. Not too white and not too brown. But it also depends on the bread as well. Sometimes you have the seeded bread that one of the seeds in and with that bread she doesn't really mind if she gets the bread a bit she's very well done. But with a standard bread she wants it very well done but not too well done. Do you know what I mean? She was just right, just perfect. So what normally happens I will make the toast for her I'm putting a tray with some scrambled eggs and some butter and jam and what have you I'll take it upstairs and she'll say oh Fred you burned it again. It's black so I'll take it upstairs again I'll get my button knife out I'll take it upstairs again and sometimes she will say oh Fred but you scraped it too hard and I was like all gone so I'll have to go back in the kitchen and make another toast and eventually I get it right but I'm thinking why can't I make the toast perfect the first time why can't I just know exactly how my wife likes each particular type of bread so then I can actually get the toast right every single time without having this back and forth all the time kitchen, bedroom, back and forth yeah so that's I think I wonder about the software development as well why do we have this back and forth what can we get software right first time just like we can make toast right first time if we know exactly what we're trying to achieve and that's what behaviour development comes into play that's the problem it's trying to address so if we look at our onion from a BDD point of view it's slightly different so the first thing you can see is that the teams in the development organisation have changed they've expanded a bit they've stretched out so now the development team is no longer in the centre it just stretches out of the middle layer and the testing, the QA team stretches out into the outer layer as well and the same for the stakeholders they're not just on the outer layer they come to the middle layer so they tend to overlap the roles in the development organisation and that's very important for BDD to work right you need to have overlapping roles you can't just be a developer and sit there in the middle and once we give you a test to write a code for you've got to participate you've got to sit there with the people who write the test and sit on with them and write with them and the same goes for the stakeholders, the users or the product owners they need to actually get involved in writing how they expect the system to behave and we'll talk more about that in a minute but first let's see how BDD works so we started the development started from the inside out so we started developing software at the centre we moved to the middle layer and then to the outer layer the behaviour of development is different it's an outside in development so we start from the stakeholders we start from the users, the product owners we sit on with them and we write some features what's a feature a feature is just a behaviour that we expect from our system and a feature is written in natural language what's natural language well to me in English to you might be French or Flemish or German or whatever but the whole point of the feature is written in language that anyone can easily read and the features are meant to be read by anyone if you write a feature that cannot be read by your users or your product owners then it's not a good feature so we're out of features where do we go from there we start writing some step definitions what's a step definition a step definition is just some code that exercises our features so if for example we have a messaging feature then we would have some code and a step definition that goes from the messaging UI and fills in a message body and puts in a header and a recipient and confirms a message has been sent so it's just a code that exercises the feature that's all there is and the final bit in our BDD journey is writing code of course some is going to do it but we're not just writing random code here we're writing code specifically so that the step definitions pass so whatever assertions are made in the step definitions we should provide some code that enables them to pass so if for example of step definitions like I said have a messaging code that goes and send a message and confirms that the message has been sent then we write some code that enables this to happen so what we've done here we started from the behaviour of the system from the features on one hand and we call the code on the other hand so the features the behaviour of the code and the actual code of the system itself are tightly bound the first lesson here was make sure everyone works together so all the roles in the organisations overlap so developers work with testers with the QA, product owners with the users and that's pretty essential for BDD to get it right so what do we bother what do we do BDD first of all you make sure everybody talks the same language features should be read by everyone because everyone talks the same language then everyone understands exactly how the system should behave for its known ambiguity and of course features can serve as documentation if someone asks you how does your system behave just point up to your feature files now most of us in the Ruby world use Cucumber obviously if you come from a Java world there's other tools like JBehave there's Behad for PHP but they all do the same thing all this they run the code against our features through the step definitions and they tell us whether our features, our behaviour is what we wanted to be or not so at any point in development we can actually run Cucumber a nice list of greens and reds and greens are the features that work with scenarios that work and red is what doesn't work so we have this measurable feedback all the time and finally it's a big one we get considerable bug reduction when we release the software to the customer there's a lot less bugs why are there a lot less bugs because we knew exactly what we were building in the first place so we built it in the way that the customer expected there was a study done on TDD a few years back from IBM and a few others if I recall and they found that using TDD reduces bugs about 40-80% compared to non-TDD approaches and BDD is just a TDD approach really use the same principles red, green, refactor and test the front so from my experience actually that number would be even greater with BDD because I've seen considerable reduction in projects that use BDD compared to other approaches but that's just empirical, that's just me okay so enough about the talk enough of the theory let's start doing something with BDD and since we are at our camp what better thing to do really than build our camp so let's build a website call it arcamp.com another website already but just for this afternoon let's build another one okay and the first thing we do the first thing I always do when I start a new system is that I always create a nice big box and what's in the box is our system, our behaviour, our features and what's outside the box is the things that drive this behaviour the things that determine these features and we call these things actors is everyone here from an object oriented or you build background okay does anyone know what an actor is and please don't say Brad Pitt I've heard it before okay got a few people there well an actor traditionally is someone who acts up on a system or is acted up on by a system that's a traditional definition for BDD we need to expand it a little bit expand the term and we need to say an actor is someone or something that dictates behaviour on our system simple as that okay so we have a system this was in the box up there we have an arcamp website who do you think your actor should be or do you think should interact with the website any suggestions in public what you could call a user if you like anyone up sorry sorry the search engine search engine possibly yeah okay that's a possible actor okay let's what about the administrator yeah the guy who maintains the website so let's write that down okay so we have a user user is a person who sits on the from the computer in the room and interacts with the website yeah with the administrator who maintains the website to make sure it's functioning correctly keeps the logs and everything what about the what about the organisers of arcamp don't you think they want some behaviour from the website it's a fair to say the organisers dictate behaviour yeah of course it is so let's put the organisers as well let me ask you a question so we have a data store where we keep all the data for the arcamp website it could be a MySQL database it could be a redis store anything really doesn't really matter now do you think the data store should be an actor or not okay hands up if you think it should be an actor see I'll just trick you there I'll just put my hand up hands up if you think it shouldn't be an actor okay I send a thank what a few people say it shouldn't be an actor the answer is you're both right the answer is it depends if the data store is within our control if we created it we managed it yeah if we have root access to it then it's within our system it's part of our system and it shouldn't be an actor if however the data store is someone else's data store sitting on the cloud somewhere hosted by someone else we can only interact with it through an API but it's external to our system it's not part of our system anymore and it dictates behaviour so we should mark it down as an actor so say for example we use github for our arcamp website so we can I don't know give some code samples for the speakers yeah that github is an actor because when you interact with it through an API it's restricted to us so let's put another actor up here and call him an external API okay right so we've got our actors we've got our system defined what do we got from here something doesn't sit right with me actually looking at this something not quite right can anybody guess what's not quite right with that sorry that's just me being lazy what I don't quite like is the user what's a user user is someone who uses a system what does that mean it doesn't mean much it's very generic isn't it the user system what do they do with it well the way I see it someone who goes for the arcamp website they can do two things with it one is someone like well most people here actually who want to attend the website or attend a conference the second bit is someone who wants to speak at a conference and maybe wants to have been to talk or see who else is speaking so what we can do here we can actually assign these roles to the generic user actor and we can say that the user actor is a delegate and a delegate we can call it that indeed if you like doesn't really matter and this is a person who wants to come to the conference so they go to the website to find out what it's all about and we can have a speaker role a speaker role is someone who wants to speak at a conference and they want to submit a talk for approval okay so what we've done here we've actually specialised our actors we took a generic user actor and we created two specific actors with specific roles and specific demands from the system and that's very important because if we don't do that we can't easily discover behaviour we can't easily write features because a user just too generic we can think of generic things for a user but not specific features and we'll see an example of that in a bit a bit later and we can actually do the same thing with the organisers we can have a salesperson as one of the organisers who might want to sell some tickets for an event after and they could put some address on one of the websites we can have a marketing person yeah true story a couple of years back marketing director where I used to work made us change all the text on our website because he thought it was a bit formal a bit rigid and he wanted to be more cool more street wise and capture younger audience and we did it but that's just an example of someone who's a passive actor ok so lesson for the day for now make sure your actors are specialist it's very difficult to discover behaviour for actors that are generalist specialist your actors ok so we got a system we got a specialist actors where do we go from there the talk is called feature this so when you start writing some features it's very very easy this is some ruby code so all we do for each actor that we have for each specialist actor we ask two questions we ask them what do they expect from the system what does the system expect from them and that gives us a feature ok is that a good feature is that a valid feature how do we know well we need to validate the feature it's solid, it's durable how do we do that for every feature we write a feature story what's a feature story a feature story is just a user story but in a very specific format for that feature so we say that as a specialist actor I want a specific system behaviour so that I can have a tangible benefit ok what's a tangible benefit tangible benefit is a benefit that's measurable that's observable that has an effect has a repercussion let me give an example so we talked about our delegate user our attendee like what does the entity want to do with our website he wants to go to our camp and see what the talks are so we can have a feature and call it conference talk viewer doesn't really matter what we call it as long as it makes sense and we can say that as a delegate I want to see a summary of all the talks so they can decide if I like any or not ok is that a valid feature let's find out ok as a specialist actor, as a delegate that's fine I want some specific system behaviour I want to see a summary of all the talks that's specific enough so that I can see if I like any is that a tangible benefit what does like mean how do you rate like it's very fuzzy what's the effect of liking something I'm not quite sure so that's not a tangible benefit so let's rewrite the feature like that so now we say as a delegate I want to see all the talks so that I can decide whether I want to attend the conference yea that's a massive difference there why is it a massive difference because now we have a tangible benefit and the tangible benefit has very specific outcomes what are the outcomes one, if I like the talks I want to attend the conference what do I do I want to book a ticket really ok so if I don't like the talks if I don't want to attend the conference what do I need to do then and I want to tell the organisers why I'm not attending feedback so I want to say well there are no BDD talks so I won't bother so by having a tangible benefit by having to feature it incorrectly we just discovered two more features for that particular actor right this is an example I came across a few months back actually and I won't name which company but it was like that it was a feature and it was called menu item highlighting and all it was you had a scenario outline scenarios outline by the way are just scenarios with parameters in them if you're not aware so I can pass different values to them but all it did was just make sure that when you clicked on the menu you went to a page the menu entry was highlighted ok simple as that I can see some people blinking I think it's the young ones here ok let me inject something here there was a time and I'm all here there was a time when not every web page was a single page up ok there was a time when we had things called frames and horrible things and menus on the left hand side and all this that's how old I am right and that was one of these actually so you had a menu and clicked on it and a little arrow came up next to the menu the menu was highlighted in some ghastly colour and I looked at this feature on this scenario and I wasn't quite happy with it so I sat down with the guy who wrote it and I said well it doesn't look right to me I said can you actually give me a feature story for this so he tried and he tried and to get a long story short he couldn't and the reason why he couldn't was because he was writing his feature story like that as a user, as a web user when I navigate to any page I click on the menu I want to see the menu highlighted so that I know which page I'm on and I said well I said hold on that doesn't make sense he wants to see what page I'm on he wants to know which page he's on how is that a tangible benefit I mean surely the user knows what page I'm on because one they clicked on the menu link in the first place and two they can read what's on the page so what benefit is it to the web user to have a little arrow and a little highlight and he said well he said really what's happening he said is that a design director wants all the websites for the company to behave in the same way and because we have other websites but when you click on an entry it highlights a menu then we must have the same thing happening on our website too and I said well okay that's fine that's fair enough not a problem but we need to rewrite the feature because it's not a right feature so we rewrote the feature we wrote it like that okay so now we change the actor and we said as a design director I want the site to be navigated consistently with the other sites so that I can maintain a consistent corporate image okay is that a tangible benefit to me no don't care to the web user couldn't care less to a design director is hugely tangible benefit that's the job that's what they pay to do maintain the corporate image okay so we wrote it like that and we left the scenario exactly as it was and the next day one of the QA guys came up to me and he said oh he said I saw the feature for the navigation consistency he said now all our other websites he said they got a little logo on the corner and if you click on it it goes back to the homepage so I think this site should have the same thing really I said okay that's fine can we put the scenario in so we had two scenarios at this point now on that stage I actually left this for a bit I worked on another project for about two three weeks and then I came back to it about three weeks later and I looked at the feature file and we had not two but we had 18 scenarios in there and the reason for that is because people saw the feature and they came up with other ways that consistency was lacking from our website so they added the scenarios in and I was thinking well really doctor bullet here these are 18 scenarios these are 18 bugs that would have come up at some point in the future because when we released the code someone would have seen the website and said well it doesn't behave like the other websites that we have to raise a bug so just by having a feature right written correctly we avoided ourselves the effort and the cost of a huge number of bugs ok so the trick here the tip rather here and you can't see it because it's embedded in an image and the image is not shown for some reason and I apologise for that is that you should always make sure you have your features done right and validate your features against a feature story always have a feature story in your feature make sure that your feature matches a feature story right so let's go back to our delegate actor we have a delegate, a guy who sits on the website almost attend our camp and they like the talks and they want to come to the conference they want to book a ticket so we have a feature called ticket booking and we say as a delegate I want to book a ticket so that I can attend the conference ok is that a value feature yes it is it matches our feature story template feature story template ok so we've got a feature the thing to do now is write a scenario and we normally start with a happy day scenario it's easiest and most frequently encountered scenario so let's write a scenario here ok and the happy day scenario here is a successful booking and given that I go to the booking page I can enter my name and my email and surname and I can click on the ok button and I get a message saying ok you've got a ticket right what's wrong with that can anybody tell me what's wrong with this scenario yeah yes you both spot on really there's actually two things that are wrong with it one like you both said we're talking here about how to do things how to book a ticket now the actor he had the delegate he doesn't really care about putting his name there and saying him over here and clicking that button what they want to do they want to book a ticket as a user as a web user if I go to any website not just our camp and I want to book a ticket for a conference of strictly come dancing I don't really care if I go to put my email there and my surname over there and click that button or somehow to book a ticket that's what I care about and the same goes for the objective the message ticket is reserved appears I don't really care as a user whether I get a message that says hey here's your ticket or whether I get an email with my ticket or whether I get a homing pigeon tapping on my window with a ticket around his little leg it doesn't matter to me as long as I get my ticket that's what matters ok so what happens then if next week my system architect comes into play and he says well listen here he says we decided to change the way we book tickets now and we're going to use google authentication or twitter authentication or something like that what happens to this scenario then it's useless out of a window as we'll check it so this scenario the way it's written is not durable the second thing that's bad with it it's not very easy to read is it so imagine we had instead of four fields imagine we had ten fields we have ten and I enter line and a click line over there and what would we say about features they must be easy to read if you got ten lines of I enter this detail over there and I click on that button over there people aren't going to read it and you need to make sure your features are readable ok so let's rewrite this scenario I write it like that same scenario given that I enter valid credentials then I can book a ticket simple easy to read durable so tip of the day pretend it's an invisible link tip of the day is make sure your features describe the what not the how the how goes in the steps so when we write our feature that says given I enter valid credentials then I get my ticket then in the step definitions we have some code that basically goes to that particular field on the website enters your surname, enters your password clicks on ok that's where the how goes in in the step definitions the features are for the what what the actor wants, what they expect and the actor doesn't care about how we do it he cares about what we do ok it's my final point for the day it's this a good scenario and again it's a real scenario I came across that some time ago it's a new card request and it says given my account it's valid and my session hasn't expired then I have the option to request a new card now I look at that and I think what the hell does it mean I think what's an account well to the person who wrote this to the product owner or the user or the business person probably a bank account I would imagine to me as a developer it's a user account what's a session again a session to me is an SMTP session or a TCPIP session to the person who wrote that it's probably something completely different it's an application level session or a chat session or something the same goes for the card what's a card is it a bank card is it a membership card a loyalty card and that goes back to the first point we made and the first point if you remember was that everybody works together you need to work together if you work together this kind of ambiguity is rise up early so you can clear this up early that doesn't always work though you have a team and you read that and you think what the hell is going on so what I normally do I normally clear ambiguity is in the feature itself so you always have some space between your feature story and your scenarios and you can write basically whatever you like QCAM doesn't mind and what I do there I clarify terms like this so I say by account women such and such TCPIP TCPIP session and whatever and the other thing you can do as well that I try to do now whenever I can is to have a glossary of terms a table where we have all the terms we use in our features and we clarify each and every term so we have a table that has an account and a meaning of the account and if you host your features on an internet wiki or on a tool or a web tool like relish then what you can do you can actually link your terms to your glossary page so you can make sure that people can click on a term and they see the definition of that term and it's extremely useful and it avoids loads of pitfalls okay so the tip here is basically avoid an ambiguous language if you can and if you can't then make sure you clarified you got a glossary of terms or you write something in the feature file itself right so that's the end of my talk for the day basically and just to summarize what I've done with a quick intro to BDD and we talked about how you start writing your features how you discover your system discover your actors and make sure that you know your actors because they're the ones who drive your features and when you write your features just do it right get a nice feature story that describes the what know the how that's a summary of basically the tips and tricks that I want to impart today everybody works together very important know your system and your actors and make sure your actors are specialist you can derive behavioural specialist you can do it easily from generalist actors then every feature must tell a value story and features are about the what's happening not the how's happening but the web definitions what's in the features and finally just make sure you use clear and ambiguous terms okay and that's the end of my talk really and I'll spend five minutes taking some questions


What's up, everyone? Happy New Year. It is 2023 and it has been a while since I've made a video. So I'm just going to get right into it. This year I am starting a new account challenge. So I'm going to start the year at $35,000 and I'm going to see how much I could grow my account to. Now, what I usually did in the past is I grew my $35,000 account into $50,000. And then every time I grew it to $50,000, I would wire out $15,000 to pay myself a paycheck as an effort of good faith or good work or good whatever it is. So I'm going to do that same thing. So my goal this year is to grow my $35,000 account into a million dollars by the end of the year. Now, there's going to be a couple of rules that are associated with this account. I'm going to have a max loss on the account. I'm going to have a max size on the account. I'm going to have auto liquidation on the account. And I'm just going to show you guys what is possible to be done using a PDT account. Now, when I first started trading, I really, really, really found success when I grew that $30,000 into $50,000. Because what usually ends up happening is the more money that I had in my day trading account, the more risk I was willing to take, the more confident I was willing to be. But as I was growing my account back in the day, I needed to have some money in the bank and I needed to have a paycheck and I needed to be able to put that money that I made aside in case of a rainy day or whatever may happen. So this year, starting today, I am now officially using a $35,000 account to day trade. I'll be posting my PNLs every single day on Instagram, Instagram.com slash my Investing Club. And going forward on YouTube, I'm going to start doing chart recap videos. So I asked you guys what you want to see more of and the audience on YouTube wants to see more videos of my annotated charts and me recapping it. So I traded a bunch of stocks today. So going forward, I'm going to have these videos of psychology, talking about trading, talking about everything. And I'm also going to be making videos on going over my charts, going over my entries, going over my exits so that we can kind of track this progress of this $35,000 account together. Now, the broker that I'm using for this account is Success Trader. They have seven locate sources, the most locate sources on Wall Street. And as a short bias trader, I need to be using a broker that accommodates what I'm looking for. And for me, Success Trader is that broker that I am using. Now, I'm going to give you guys all the parameters, all the risk parameters later on in forward videos, but today was already a really solid day. I mean, I don't know if I could zoom into this thing, but pretty much almost a $5,000 day on my first day. So my $35,000 account is almost at $40,000 already. And every time it gets to $50,000, I'm going to wire out $15,000 and put that in my bank as a good job paycheck for doing all this hard work. So I'm excited. I want to show you guys what's possible. I want to show you guys, I want to go back to my roots of trading. You know, what I used to do is, you know, grow this $35,000 account into $50,000 and wire it out. But as I became more advanced and as I had more opportunities, I would let my accounts grow and grow and take advantage of really big opportunities with that. And now that I'm kind of don't really need to do that anymore, or, you know, still, you know, I just want to show you guys what I can do. Right. I just want to show you guys what I can do with a smaller account. And, you know, starting an account with $500, starting an account with $1,000 is not really, it's really tough. It's really, really tough, but in day trading, you know, a $25,000 account is pretty much, you know, the PDT account. You need to have a PDT account, right? You know, there's some people that start with $10,000, that's great. Some people that start with $15,000, that's great. But to be a full-time day trader, to be day trading all day long, you need a $25,000 account. And the reason I did $35,000 is to give myself a little bit of a buffer. Right. So that's that. I'll be posting the PDNLs. I'll be posting the progress. You guys could watch the progress. Maybe every month we'll do a review on my broker statements. But yeah, going forward this year, $35,000 account starting today. So let's talk about trading today. So today was a crazy day. We had a lot of runners. VVOS was the main runner that I was trading today, up pretty decent on it so far. Still actually trading right now, recording this video at 12 o'clock market time. So a couple of things happen. Let's first talk about KALA's buy it, right? So today KALA was on buy it. So what that means is after T plus two, after the first day that you trade a stock and you are shorting it, you have two days after to cover that stock. If you do not cover that stock within two days and the broker cannot find a borrow, they will buy you in. What that means is they will just slowly put your order into an algo that buys you in throughout the day. Now, knowing that a stock is on buy ins is very, very important for short sellers because that tells me that I should not be trading that stock today because there's going to be elevated demand from all the shorts that are forced to cover today. So going forward, when I see a stock that's a low flow that is on buy ins, I'm going to look to go long. So KALA this morning opened up at $31. It is currently trading at $50. Stock is up 60% on buy ins. So all the shorts that held overnight that are being forced to buy it is pushing the stock higher, plus momentum traders coming in and buying in the stock. So buy ins for a stock are very, very bullish and the broker usually has a list of buy ins. So at MIC, we find out which brokers are buying in which stocks and that's an opportunity to go long. So that's number one. Number two is yesterday we had a massive, massive runner on JSPR. This stock went from $0.70 to $4. Massive, massive move and collapsed today. So I actually shorted that today around $2.60 and I got out around $2.20 or $2.10 and made a pretty decent amount of money on that today, the backside of the move. Now, what ends up happening on these stocks is when a crazy stock moves like JSPR on day one that goes from $0.70 to $4, the next day traders are looking for that next stock. What is the next JSPR? What is the next runner? What's the next hot stock and oftentimes that next stock, that next runner that is hyped up does not live up to what the primary stock was. So JSPR went from $0.70 to $4. So today, everyone was looking for the next $0.70 stock to go to $4, $5, $6. And that's where VBOS came in. So VBOS was a stock that was $0.70 that pushed all the way up to $3. And now as I'm recording, this is that $2.15. And I think by the end of the day, it should be around $1.50 or $1.80, right? Because what ends up happening is the next runner, the next pump is never as strong as the initial one. So the next runner that gets pumped tomorrow as the next JSPR is already going to be the third one or the fourth one that ran, which means that's probably not going to move as aggressively as each day passes. The runners become less and less violent if they are being compared to the first initial runner, right? So small caps are hot. There's plenty of momentum in the market. We're making a pretty decent amount of money trading right now. And yeah, so hopefully I hope we have a new penny stock tomorrow that's going to be pumped again as the next JSPR that goes, you know, from $0.70 to $2 and then collapse all the way back down. But today was a really solid day because we avoided a KALA because of buy-ins. We did not short it. Not want to short that because of buy-ins and it went straight up. Now we're going to be implementing that strategy to go long. JSPR was a day two stock pushed up on day one, tanked on day two. We shorted the bounce on day two, made money and VVOS was being pumped as the next JSPR, but oftentimes these stocks as each day passes, they are not as strong as the previous day. So solid trading today, really, really happy 2023 starting out on a good front. And I am excited to grow this $35,000 account into a million dollars by the end of the year and I'm going to be documenting the entire journey. So more videos like this coming, more trade recap videos coming and also leave me a comment of what other additional videos that you want to see. We could do monthly recaps, we could go into the trader view stats. You guys tell me what content you want to see and I will show you what is possible with growing this $35,000 account. So thank you everyone. Leave a like, leave a comment, subscribe to the channel and let me know exactly what you want to see from me. Thanks.


Calling all teachers, Wes Moore, the CEO of Robin Hood, one of the largest anti-poverty forces in the nation, best-selling author, a combat veteran, and a social entrepreneur, will be one of the keynote speakers at this year's Teach Conference. A day to engage, empower, and inspire. Saturday, March 2 at the Hyatt Hotel. Attendees will enjoy breakfast, lunch, a swag bag, and so much more. Information at wjct.org slash teach.


We're somewhat hard to come by early on in this game. Just how difficult is that race pitching stuff? Well, they did a good job today. It's always hard to make an adjustment when you phase a different picture in every bad. So they did a good job. They have a good bullpen, too, so I think that was the key of the game. You look at that night, then you hit that huge home run, and you have Aaron Judge going up against Pochette there. Are you thinking this is going to be another one of those nights where you guys find a way to get it done? Actually, every time that he's stepping on the play, you're expecting something to happen. He's the best player in the league right now. And I say, you're always expecting something good to happen when he's stepping on the play. It's tough to see how much success that he has had in this kind of struggle a little bit tonight. I mean, that's going to happen. That's going to happen. He's being great all season long. And it's tough when you, I think this is their start against this team, and he just facing last week. So they were able to make the adjustment. This is how the game is. It was a bad day for him. We have to give them credit. Marlon, did you think that Judge's ball had a chance off the bat, or did you think it was a broken bat? We hear the sound, but when we saw the ball flying, we were expecting to go. It was almost, he has a crazy power, and everybody else hit the ball like that. It's going to be a blue rail overture. But unfortunately, it didn't go out. Tomorrow's another game.


Colgate dental cream to clean your breath while you clean your teeth and help stop tooth decay and Luster cream shampoo for soft glamorous Corrosable hair bring you our miss Brooks starring Eve Arden Once again for another comedy episode of our miss Brooks written by Al Lewis Well last Tuesday was Valentine's Day and our miss Brooks who teaches English at Madison High School Look forward to celebrating the occasion with Madison's biology teacher mr. Phillip Boynton Of course, mr. Boynton isn't the most dashing person in the world But what he lacks in ardent emotion he more than makes up for by his passionate lack of interest in romance In fact, I have long suspected that if mr. Boynton is ever hit by one of Dan Cupid's arrows He'll remove it with a scalpel cauterize the wound and kick Cupid right in his quiver. I Was discussing my reluctant dreamboat with my landlady last Tuesday at breakfast I can't understand it Connie. You're young attractive good company charming. Thanks, Mrs. Davis. What are you doing after school? Now I'm serious somebody ought to take mr. Boynton by the shoulders and give him a good shaking I've tried that, but he's not a very good rumber dancer Besides I really shouldn't complain we've been out on several dates in the past few weeks I know that dear, but where does he take you on these dates to the zoo? Exactly and he took you there again yesterday, didn't he? How do you know? It's obvious if it's that obvious. I'd better spray a little sweet air around You were at the zoo by the way you were dreaming last night I got up to get some water and as I passed your room you were screaming like a wounded buffalo Well, that's absurd. Mrs. Davis. I don't know what I'd be screaming about it was only a flesh wound Well cheer up dear here are some Valentine greetings that came for you this morning. Oh, thanks, Mrs. Davis. Let's see This one's from Walter Denton. I recognize the handwriting Well an original poem read it out loud counting all right It says my heart tick-ticks for you my queen with a steady watch beat of a new long gene Dear miss Brooks. I think you're keen won't you be my valentine? That's the feminine gender Listen to this mrs. Davis This is from stretch snodgrass really you mean he can write just about Here it is when it comes to athletics, I get plenty of breaks But when it comes to scholastics, I ain't no great shakes But since being in your English class, I don't sing the blues because nobody nowhere never taught me better than use What I call a flattering Valentine Why don't you open this next one Connie even I can recognize the sender of that Oh, mr. Boyd and put his return address on the envelope naturally when he invests in the stamp He wants to be sure it gets somewhere Well listen to this You're on my mind where ere I go even when I'm alone at a picture show But especially do I think of you when I happen to pass our local zoo? There he goes again How about you Connie? Did you send mr. Boyd in the Valentine greeting? Yes, I mailed it yesterday I didn't sign it of course, but I think you'll know where it came from What did you say in your greeting Connie? It was an original bit of verse mrs. Davis called I must go where the wild goose goes Let's see if I can remember it. Oh, yes to my Valentine mr. Boydton though I must go where the wild goose goes I also know what the wild goose knows you'll think I'm jesting I suppose but no goose winds up in any zoo If he's really on his toes Why Connie that's beautiful. It's a wonderful idea for a song. Oh, I don't know. It's not very commercial But I've been thinking mrs. Davis today being Valentine's Day I'd like to get mr. Boydton to take me to a restaurant for a change Where does he usually take you to dinner? We split a hamburger in front of the lion's cage I strongly suspect it's the same kind of meat the lion gets There's one thing I should be grateful for I suppose. What's that? He doesn't serve it to me on the end of a stick I'm sure mr. Boydton realizes that this is a holiday Connie He'll probably take you to a lovely restaurant. No, he won't mrs. Davis He was just telling me yesterday. How pressed he is for money seems he spent two dollars for a rare white mouse He's experimenting with it at his home and he's home Good heavens Connie. How can mr.   Boydton for some ancient debt and force it on him Then he'd have to take me to a nice place to eat that sounds like an excellent idea Connie Do you have any extra money? One dollar net now if I had another dollar or two I could Mrs. Davis I Pass Connie I Barely have enough money to do today shopping. I'd love to help you dear. Oh forget it mr. Davis I guess I'll have to forget it too. Oh That must be Walter Denton. He's driving me down to school this morning again. What's wrong with your car? Yes I'll fix some more toast and get some jelly out that boy's one of the biggest eaters I've ever seen He does do pretty well by the groceries Valentine's Day greetings to the fairest of the fair and I hope my little verses aren't getting in your hair Times are most enchanting but upon them. Let's not brood Pull a chair up to the table and start swelling up your food That's what I like about Valentine's Day, miss Brooks. It puts everybody in such a good humor But before I join you for breakfast, there's something I'd like to take care of what's that here's the buck I owe you you lent it to me way back in September for a ticket to the ballgame I'll bet you don't even remember it. What do you want to bet? Here miss Brooks take it and if you don't mind a rather personal suggestion Why don't you slip the dollar to mr. Boynton mr. Boynton sure so he'll take you to a restaurant for once instead of the zoo What yeah, you could tell him you owe him the money for some ancient debt or something Walter how can you even think of such a thing too? That is I know you mean well, but do you really think it'll work sure it'll work Well, how about you it won't leave you short will it oh not a bit I got the money from stretch snot grass last night. He's owed it to me since August But stretch doesn't make very much working in his father's pet shop Maybe you shouldn't have taken it from him. Oh, he doesn't work at the pet shop anymore His father fired him after the beef beef.  His father just means to punish him I guess but meanwhile stretch wound up with a job after school It pays three times as much. Where is he working in turkey heaven? How did he get in? The world is turkey heaven. It's a restaurant, mr. Brooks Of course stretch is only a bus boy now But who knows how far he can go if mr. Turk takes a liking to him mr. Turk the owner Turk's turkey heaven the place is called if you tell me mr. Turk's first name is Tom I'll hit you with a drumstick Well spot, miss Brooks, maybe mr.  I'd almost rather stay home tonight Wait a minute if I add this dollar you gave me to the one I've got already we could come on Walter We've got to get down to school for the election. What election? I've just elected mr. Boynton the man most likely to blow me to dinner with my own money Darling Eve Arden will continue in just a moment, but first here is Vern Smith No other dentifers offers proof of such results proof that Colgate dental cream helped stop tooth decay before it starts two years research at leading universities using Colgate dental cream hundreds of case histories Makes this the most conclusive proof in all dentifers history on tooth decay Conclusive proof that when teeth are brushed with Colgate's right after eating Colgate dental cream helped stop tooth decay Before it starts. Yes, the toothpaste you use to clean your breath while you clean your teeth now offers a safe Proved way to reduce tooth decay Modern science shows decay is caused by mouth acids, which are at their worst right after eating Brushing teeth with Colgate's is directed helps remove acids before they harm enamel Colgate dental cream has been proved to contain all the necessary ingredients Including an exclusive patented ingredient for effective daily dental care Get Colgate dental cream today big economy size only 59 cents Always use Colgate dental cream to clean your breath while you clean your teeth and help stop tooth decay before it starts Remember no other dentiferous offers proof of such results Well, we got to school before it was time for my first class And I headed directly for the biology lab to confirm my valentine date with mr. Boynton His enthusiastic reply to my reminder almost swept me off my feet.  Brooks if you're expecting any elaborate celebrations, of course, I'm not mr. Boynton I just thought we could do something simple and inexpensive. You mean like go to the no Before we make any plans, let me give you these two dollars. I owe you two dollars. Yes, it was for a gas I picked you up in my car one night last may and when we ran out of gas you bought 10 gallons for me I bought 10 gallons.  You say this happened one night last may May say was that the evening we were coming from the zoo? We weren't coming from the casino in montecarlo Here mr. Boynton take the two dollars Oh, but I don't seem to remember this incident miss brooks. Let me take a look at my little black book Black book. Oh, yes. I enter all my expenditures into during the fiscal year That way. I know just how to budget myself for month to month Now, let's see 1949 august july june. Here we are may May 1st light bulb 15 cents Colour button five cents May 2nd 25 razor blades nine cents May 3rd macurachroman bandages 90 cents May 4th stamp for let it a mother three cents Month supply of frog food for pet mcdougal 12 cents that must have been the month mac was on the diet It's funny. I can't seem to find any record of that gas bill. Please mr. Boynton. It must have slipped your mind. Just take Let's look a little further, please May May 11th ink 10 cents stamp for let it a mother three cents May 14th shoelaces five cents stamp three cents May 16th laundry 75 cents may 18th stamp six cents. Oh, that was mother's day. I wrote mom airmail She must have been thrilled two days later May 25th pair of socks 35 cents sports shirt three dollars. That must have been the day you had the beer I don't remember that item at all see you just forgot to put the two dollars down now. Please take the money and let's not Thanks, mr. Brooks. It's certainly nice of you to remind me about it You know this two dollars is going to make a big difference in our valentine day celebration You mean dinner for two mr. Boynton for two well with this money. I can buy peanuts for every monkey monkey in the zoo So class if you'll just turn to page 18 We can all go to lunch Miss Brooks. Oh miss Brooks. Can I talk to you for a minute? What is it harriett?  He owed you and I'd like to do the same thing Here miss Brooks. Here's the dollar you laid out for two of my lunches last month But harriett, I treated you to those why should you treat me to lunch miss Brooks? Oh, I don't know. Maybe the market went up Please miss Brooks. I insist that you take this dollar, but harriett. This is probably your lunch money Oh, it isn't stretch snodgrass owed me this money for months. He just paid me back this morning Good old stretch since he's been working at turkey heaven. He's loaded like a turkey Thanks harriett. This money is going to come in very handy Now if I could just think of somebody else who owed me some money Wait a minute. Your father owes me a dollar since last December. I'm going right over and collect it I'll walk you to his office miss Brooks But if I were you I'd be very careful how I approached daddy. He wasn't in a very good mood this morning What was wrong? Well mother played a little valentine joke on him She got a big heart shaped hole in his morning paper And she said she'd like to see his face at the breakfast table at least one day a year That should be plenty.  I'm glad I didn't send him a valentine Well, here we are miss Brooks. Good luck. Thanks harriett. Now stand back. I'm going to open the cage Uh, pardon me mr. Conklin. Oh, oh good afternoon miss Brooks and thank you for the valentine greeting Valentine greeting, but I know you chose to remain anonymous But certain subtleties of phrasing gave you away. The biggest hint of course was in the signature from an admirer Oh, I'm not the only one that Madison who feels that way about you mr. Conklin, but I am glad you like the card Yes, it is a dandy You probably know it by heart, but I'd like to read it aloud for you if I may certainly sir. I'd love to hear it again It goes As our principal you've ruled us with a firm and steady hand you've hustled and you've bustled on our work You've carefully planned though. You've guided us and chided us I've really been in clover because I know it won't take very long before you topple over Mr. Conklin, I have a confession to make that is not the card. I sent you it isn't That's strange. It's the only one I got. Oh, mine must have been held up in the mail I'll send it to you. I mean you'll get it tomorrow I'll be looking forward to it Now I've got to finish checking the business accounts of the school library, mr. Brooks So if you'll state your business, yes, sir You may not recall this mr. Conklin, but during the first week in december I was taking care of the office while you were out and the collect telegram came for you It did yes, and I paid for it.  Good day, miss brook But mr.  So I gave him a dollar you tipped the messenger boy It was only three cents. You're very generous with my money Well, the messenger had no change either and as I say it was just three cents and the amount is immaterial It's the principle that's involved. Oh, you're not so involved mr. Conklin Please miss brook I've always felt the tipping is definitely unamerican, but the messenger boy didn't mind. He was a little old frenchman However sooner than violate your code just give me 97 cents and I'll write off the balance under the marshal plan I am not small miss brooks. Here's your dollar. Oh, thank you, sir. Now if you'll excuse me Just one moment, please in going over these accounts from the library I find that you're six weeks past due on a book a book Oh, yes, that was the one I brought home for mrs. Davis She can't seem to remember just where she put it. She didn't even read any of it yet Obviously the book was called how to improve your memory It listed at one dollar and fifty cents and I'll thank you for the money right now Oh, but mr. Conklin, we're still looking for it and we may these accounts are all being closed out immediately miss brooks If you find the book, we'll be happy to make an adjustment But I can't afford a dollar fifty at this time. I haven't got it to give you tut tut tut tut tut miss brooks I just handed you a dollar And that you must admit was like found money Like money found at the bottom of a snake pit Look, mr.  All right. Here you are Now may I go mr. Conklin? Certainly. Good day miss brooks. It's a lulu so far Hi miss brooks. Oh, hello stretch. Thanks for the valentine. Oh, that's okay. Go to the cafeteria for lunch I might as well. I have fifty cents.  I just got a cold in the head Well, it's nice to know there's something in there By the way, how are things at fort nox? Where turkey heaven? Do you like your new job? Oh, I like it real good. Of course. I'm just a bus boy now, but if I work real hard I don't always have to be a bus boy. I can go places especially if you get your own bus You don't understand miss brooks from a bus where I could get to be a waiter And then I could go from waiter to mater mater d d hotel We seem to have lost contact somewhere Let's start again. Shall we Mater is short for mater d hotel, you know the head waiter who runs the whole restaurant usually Boy to be one of them. You sure got to be elegant. Yes. I know you only talk to the creamer society The most cultured well-bred best mannered people in the whole world boy And you know what happens when you're a mater d what? If they don't slip you a five spot you don't give none of them crumbs a table Who said it takes a heap of culture to make a mater d That's a long way off I guess Meanwhile, I'll just keep picking up glasses and learning the business at least it's good exercise for me I do a lot of bending over bending over sure. I drop a lot of glasses too But a true nice restaurant miss brooks. They got roast turkey fried turkey and cream turkey My favorite is their special turkey or grating. It's turkey hash varnish with cheese And it's served in a shaving dish Have you ever tried that? No, I prefer boiled turkey shellacked in the cassasserole Is that good? Oh take a glass of domestic turpentine with it and you're out of this world Oh before I forget miss brooks Here's a credit slip for two free dinners at turkey heaven The boss gave it to me for working extra hard over the weekend two free dinners But stretch I can't take this You've earned it by your labors. You're the one who should profit by your own efforts. You and nobody else Well, that's enough acting for one day hand it over Here you are miss brooks. It's no good to me anyway after nibbling on turkey all day. Who can eat? Wait a minute stretch. I've got an idea I want you to find mr. Boynton and give him this credit slip. Mr. Boynton That's right, but whatever you do don't mention to him that I know anything about it now. Is that clear? Yes, ma'am. I'm to find mr. Boynton then give him the slip and mention that you don't know nothing about it No stretch. You're not to mention that I know anything about it. Sorry That grammatical carelessness will be the death of me It's been a very nice walk mr. Boynton, but we're nowhere near the zoo Well, I uh, I changed my mind about that miss brooks Before we left school, I decided that this being valentine's day I'd like to take you to a restaurant for dinner. Oh wonderful. May I pick any place I want? Well, that is uh, I'd like to go to turkey heaven. Go ahead pick any place you want Say now, this is a coincidence. Isn't that turkey heaven right ahead of us? That's right miss brooks. It's uh, rather expensive, isn't it? Oh money isn't everything come on. Let's go in Say it's a good thing. It's early. We won't have any trouble getting a table. Oh fine Look at that turkey being carried out of the kitchen. Isn't it a beautiful bird? Oh, yes it is, but look isn't that stretch snodgrass with that tray of glasses? Yes Hi miss brooks, mr. Boynton. I'll pick up the glasses later.  Then if they feel like picking up a turkey leg in their hands, who cares?  Hope you enjoy everything Incidentally, I didn't spill the beans to you know who about you're knowing about the two free dinners to you know Stretch go get mr. Boynton a glass of water and bring a couple of menus while you're at it Yes, ma'am. I'll get them right away Miss brooks, I've decided there's no point in my trying to deceive you. So I'm gonna come clean Stretch gave me a credit slip for two free dinners here Really? Well, wasn't that sweet? Here you are folks water and menus. I'd like to advise you to read the menus pretty careful though The prices in here are mighty steep. Oh, we don't have to worry about that stretch. Mr. You know who has a credit slip for two free. You know what? Now let's see what should we order gosh miss brooks There's something I forgot to tell you what's that this slip isn't good on holidays and today is valentine's day Oh, no stretch. That's terrible. Oh now now calm down miss brooks. I'm not going to see you disappointed Credit slip or no credit slip. This is one holiday. We're going to celebrate and celebrate right Well, miss brooks, what do you think of it? Isn't this a magnificent bird? It certainly is mr. Boynton Now come over here. There's a pelican in this case I promise brooks returns in just a moment, but first dream girl dream girl beautiful luster cream girl Tonight yes tonight show him how much lovelier your hair can look after a luster cream shampoo Luster cream world's finest shampoo No other shampoo in the world gives k-dumas magic blend of secret ingredients plus gentle aniline Not a soap not a liquid luster cream shampoo leaves hair three three ways lovelier Fragmently clean free of loose dandruff glistening with sheen soft manageable Even in hardest water luster cream lathers instantly No special rinse needed after a luster cream shampoo So gentle luster cream is wonderful even for children's hair Tonight yes tonight try luster cream shampoo Dream girl dream girl beautiful luster cream girl You owe your crowning glory to A luster cream shampoo And now once again here is our miss brooks Well when the zoo closed mr. Boynton and I caught the five o'clock hamburger and headed for home But as we passed a nice secluded bench I stopped him Look mr. Boynton we may not be able to afford a fancy restaurant But we can still celebrate valentine's day after all we are together We have a bench in the park and school is over But how can we celebrate on a park bench miss brooks?  Conklin by gale gordon Others in tonight's cast were jane morgan dick crana gloria mcmillan and lennard smith Doctors prove palm olive soap can bring you a lovelier complexion in 14 days Yes, 36 leading skin specialists proved in tests on 1285 different women that palm olive soap facials using nothing but palm olive Brought new complexion beauty to two women out of three Just wash your face three times daily with palm olive soap each time for 60 seconds Massaging palm olive's beauty lather onto your skin then rinse So start your palm olive facials today. Remember Doctors prove palm olive soap can bring you a lovelier complexion in 14 days Mystery liberally sprinkled with laughs listen to mr. And mrs. North the exciting fun-packed adventures of an amateur detective and his beautiful wife Tune in tuesday evening over most of these same stations and be with us again next week at this same time For another comedy episode of our miss brooks barblamon speaking It's a serious the only a born cast in the system


So today we're going to talk about arguably one of the most important rotations that you may not even know about that you may have to do in medical school. Let's get into it. Hey friends, welcome back to the channel. In case you're new here, my name is Lex, I'm an internal medicine physician and today we are talking about the infamous away rotation. Now if you're not familiar with what an away rotation was, you're not alone, I definitely was in your shoes. And as a fun fact, something I don't think I've ever shared on this channel is that I was actually applying for an away rotation because before I went down the internal medicine route, I actually thought I was going to be an emergency medicine doctor. And that happens to be a field where an away rotation is recommended. You went through the application process that will break down for you step by step later in today's episode and actually got into a program. Now ultimately I made the pivot to go to internal medicine instead, but this entire episode will be relevant to you, especially if you're considering competitive specialties or at least have the idea that you may be wanting to go to one. You're not quite sure, but it's arguably one of the most important rotations that you have to do, especially if you're considering a competitive specialty. So today we're going to break down everything from exactly what an away rotation is, which feels actually may require it as well as a step by step on exactly how to do the application process. So first let's talk about what an away rotation is and why they matter. So basically this is exactly what it sounds like. As a fourth year medical student, you travel a way to another medical school or another institution and do a rotation in a specialty that you're interested in. Now these away rotations are typically anywhere from two to four weeks. Now students will typically do these rotations anywhere from April all the way to August or September of the year that they're about to apply to residency. So for example, as I'm making this video, we're currently in March. So we're about to have fourth year medical students who are going to find out literally in about a week where they're going to go to residency for the next three to seven years of their life. But we're also having third year medical students who are about to be fourth years and are considering what they want to do and what residency they want to apply to. Now for those third year medical students, during that time span anywhere from April to May, all the way up to August, even going into October, students have the potential to do an away rotation in those competitive specialties. And they matter for a variety of reasons for both the student as well as an institution that you'll be doing your rotation at. Now from a student's perspective, if you are applying to a competitive specialty, you want to ideally increase your chances to go to a program that you're really interested in, maybe for geographic or competitive reasons by ideally doing a rotation there. So they get some face time and interactions with you. That way I understand this person may be a good fit for a program. And for you as a student, you also have the chance of becoming familiar with something that could be your future home for the next few years, including just the geographical location, the facilities, the faculties, other residents that may be working with you as colleagues if you happen to get into that program. And one of the biggest advantages of an away rotation is that if you're accepted to do an away rotation at an institution, it increases your chances of being offered an interview. Often it's very common to say that if you had done an away rotation, you're guaranteed an interview during that next application cycle, thus increasing your chances of matching to at least a program, if not that one. And on the flip side, from an institution's perspective, ultimately they want future doctors who want to be at their program.  You essentially are doing a very prolonged interview compared to the typical 20, 30 minute residency interviews that you do during an application cycle. Now you get two to four weeks for people to really know who you are, how you work, and what you're all about. So next let's talk about what specialties actually require an away rotation. Now to keep this simple, the majority of specialties that you may consider to be competitive likely also recommend or even require an away rotation. If you're guys interested in the most competitive specialties, we've actually done a full breakdown here. I'll link that down below in the description. But common examples for specialties include the field of dermatology, ophthalmology, orthopedic surgery, plastic surgery, neurosurgery, ENT, radiology, and even IR programs. And as I mentioned earlier in that episode, even the field of emergency medicine, which is what I was considering, actually recommend that you do another rotation at another institution because it actually requires two letters of recommendation, one from your home institution, one from your way of rotation, both essentially vouching for you on your ability to become an EM doc. Now those are the common specialties that require one, but you may be asking, what about my field? Maybe if I wanna go into internal medicine or family medicine or pediatrics or fill in the blank, do I actually have to do an away rotation? The answer is probably not, but if you have very specific preferences of where you wanna be geographically or you really wanna go into a competitive specialty within your field. For example, if I really wanted to go to Harvard or Yale or fill in the blank, John Hopkins for internal medicine, then maybe I wanted to do an away rotation there to increase my chances of going there. Now those weren't necessarily my ambitions when I was applying to residency and I still happened to get into a really great program. But if you have very specific preferences of where you wanna be geographically, what program institution is essentially what you want your life to look like for the next several years and ideally will shape and direct where you live ultimately as an attending, then an away rotation may be something you consider. Now the part about today's episode that I'm most excited about is actually explaining step by step exactly how to apply for an away rotation. Now if you're not at that point of your journey where you're getting ready to apply for an away rotation, basically you're not a third or fourth year medical student, go ahead and just bookmark and save this video for future reference in case you need it and go ahead and skip to the important things to consider that we'll talk about to summarize the rest of this video. One important pearl and piece of advice before we get into the step by step is to know to do this as early as possible. If you know you're going into any of those competitive specialties that we broke down, it's very important to go ahead and start this process early, usually around February, March and April of your third year of medical school. If you're late, that's okay, just get right into it. The reason is is because the amount of programs that are available is very little. You can imagine lots of students that are also wanting to go into these competitive specialties are also applying and sometimes they're just limited spots that don't work with your schedule and your rotations that you just have to do for your institution. So again, do this as early as possible. I definitely did when I was applying to emergency medicine, and it was still very stressful. So go ahead and try your best to do this as quickly as possible. But now let's get into the step by step and we're actually gonna have one of our MD journey team members, one of our study coaches, Dallin, who's a fourth year medical student as I'm making this episode going into dermatology, who's gonna walk you through the same step by step process that he did to apply to Dallin. So let's transition to Dallin to see breaks down the step by steps on how to apply for no way of rotation. Hey everyone, so I'm gonna be talking about how to apply to away rotations and the program that you use to apply to the majority of away rotations. So you use something called the VSLO system and if you just Google VSLO student, Google should take you to the right spot. You can click here on visiting student and learning opportunities. So this is a program linked with double AMC that allows you to streamline back application process to multiple different electric rotations or away rotations and sign in. I already have an account so I can just go ahead and sign in, but if you don't have an account, you can create an account right here. So I'll just go ahead and sign in and this will take you to the dashboard. I think it's important to make sure that all of your personal information is updated and that it was transferred over from double AMC correctly and that your home institution contact information all looks correctly. Next, it's important to know where you want to do an away rotation. In order to look at which programs offer away rotations, you can click find electives. And for this video, we're just going to look for an away rotation in dermatology at the University of Utah. So there's a lot of different filters you can use here. I'm just gonna click specialty and go into dermatology and then city, I know it's in Salt Lake City apply filters and it'll come up right here that there is actually an away rotation for dermatology at the University of Utah and that it is a four week long rotation. You can click learn more. This is probably the most important page that you're going to find about each program because it tells you everything you need to have in order to apply to this rotation. So for example, University of Utah wants you to have a transcript, CV, your resume, a photograph. Most programs actually want these and then some will ask for a personal statement. Most ask for a letter of intent asking, why do you want to do a rotation at our program? Others will actually ask you to have a letter of recommendation usually from one of the faculty at your home program. And then I think, I mean also what's important is it shows what dates they offer away rotation. So make sure that the dates that they offer rotations align with your home program schedule and then you can fit it in to your rotation schedule. I had it saved. So I clicked on save but this will say save right here. You can save it and go to save delectives and it'll be right there in your save delectives. The way that you add all of these different documents is here you click my documents. And you can upload all the documents that you need to have in order to apply downloaded right here. You can upload them. So very simple, nothing too difficult. Once you are actually applying for these programs, you add the electives by going to add electives and clicking on that and here are all your saved electives, very easy and streamlined process. Once you apply, you can click on tracking and this will show you all of the programs that you've applied to, all of the programs that are looking at your application that are under review. And then for me, I applied to an away rotation at Geisel School of Medicine for dermatology and I applied to multiple time slots in order to increase my chances of getting an away rotation there. As you can see that I did not get into this time slot but I did for this time slot. So it is important to apply to multiple time slots in order to increase your chances of getting an away rotation. But in a nutshell, that is how you apply for away rotations using the VSLO system. If the program is not in find electives, usually that means that they don't use VSLO and they may use their own type of system in order to apply and in order to know if they do offer, just check out their home program website and you should be able to either reach out to a coordinator that could help you or they may have information on their website. But all in all, that's how you apply through the VSLO system. Very simple, very streamlined and I think it's very worth applying to away rotations especially for those competitive residencies. Thank you. So hopefully you guys enjoyed that step by step on down and breaking down exactly how to apply for an away rotation. Again, if you're not at that point in your journey, go ahead and just save and bookmark this video. Let's go ahead and talk about important things to consider for your away rotation. And number one is that the programs that you may be considering may not be on the same schedule at your home institution. So for example, if you do rotations on a four week basis, where that first week starts and where the last week ends is basically where you have a spot to do a rotation. But if for some reason, another institution is staggered where their rotation starts where you're kind of in the middle of a rotation at your home institution it may not be possible to kind of figure that out. Or maybe you have to work to squeeze in a vacation where you can still do it. But if for some reason your home institution and the institution you want to do a rotation on have staggered schedules, it may be very difficult to fit that in. Number two is because these spots are very limited as well as competitive, it's important to keep your schedule very flexible and open when you're considering these rotations. In fact, when I applied emergency medicine I had mentally prepared myself to have no away rotation anywhere from as early as July all the way it is late as September. I managed to get one at that sweet spot in August for emergency medicine but I had to be ready to basically be able to shift and adjust my schedule depending on when I got that acceptance. This also helps increase your chances that you actually get a spot at the program that you're interested in and thus again increases your chances at getting that interview and that's matching. Finally, it's important to mention that doing away rotation is by no means cheap. Not only do you have to pay for the application fees and that can vary depending on how many programs you apply to, but also just the fee of getting to that institution traveling especially if it happens to be in a different state or across country. And then of course the living cost for those two to four weeks that you'll be at that rotation it easily gets very expensive and this doesn't even include the money you're about to guarantee spend on all those applications for residency as well as traveling for those interviews. So it's very important before it gets to this phase to save as much as possible but also be very critical on the decisions that you're making of is this a program that I really want to go to or does it just seem nice to say I went to X program for an away rotation? If you have no desires of going there, first of all you're just taking up a spot that somebody else would take but two you're spending money that you could either have used on your residency application or have spent two to four weeks at another institution that would have been a better fit for you. But that guys is the breakdown of exactly what our way of rotation is as well as how to apply. If you have any questions make sure you drop them in the comment section down below. Happy to answer them either in a future video or in your comments individually. Now, if you're early on your medical journey and you want pretty much all of the pieces of advice I wish somebody had just given it to me on my first day go ahead and check out their free Med School Success Handbook it is a document that I'm updating on a weekly basis absolutely free of tips on how to study better be more productive. Ultimately get to this phase in your journey where you're applying residency and you just now like, I got this. If you want that level of confidence go ahead and check out all those tips. And if you want the step-by-step approach of how to just crush it during your first year residency as a first year doctor go ahead and check out our highly reviewed program the Intern Survival Guide which I'll link down below as well. But as always my friends if you enjoyed this episode go ahead and support the channel but just hit that like button really quickly hitting that subscribe button and notification bell to be notified when new videos like this come out and checking out this entire playlist that we made for you on everything you need to know about how to just crush it as a brand new doctor in residency. As always my friends hopefully we were a little helped to you guys on your journey. Thanks for being a part of ours. We'll see you guys in the next one. Peace.


is an important part in the making of the United States Marine. Lieutenant Jr. Gray, Annie Group Prime, Chevrolet Corps, United States Navy will deliver the graduation prayer. Ladies and gentlemen, please rise. Plus three, on this day of great celebration, we give you thanks for these young men of Charlie Company who have earned the title Marine. We give you thanks for the gifts and abilities you have given to each one of them, which they now bring to strengthen our Marine Corps. We give you thanks for the drill instructors, company officers, and Italian leadership who have shaped and molded these young men into Marines. We are grateful to stay for the families who have supported them every step of their journey. For their mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends, we give you thanks. We ask, oh, holy one, that you be with these new Marines as they continue in their training. Keep them safe and bless them.  Bless our nation. Bless these new Marines. And God, bless the United States Marine Corps. Amen. Amen. Thank you. Please be seated. The landing general, for a way forward through Deepo San Diego, welcomes you to one of today's historic event in the life of the Marine. Their graduation from boot camp. Approximately 40 weeks each year, for the past 100 years, new Marines have been part of San Diego for service with units of the Marine Corps around the globe. The primary mission of a recruit Deepo is to provide basic training to recruits in the West of the Mississippi, which represents approximately 51% of all applicants in the Marine Corps each year. The Deepo is also home to a recruiter school and a drill at the start of the school. All our efforts here are geared toward one end, producing America's finest fighting force, the United States Marines. This morning, Company C versus recruit trained battalion, recruit trained regiment, will form in March to the Marine. Following the passing review, the graduating Marines will return from and center of the reviewing stand for final dismissals. The staff for today's parade is comprised of Marines from the recruit trained regiment. The commander of troops is Captain Roberto G. Cruz, Company Commander, Company C versus recruit trained battalion. The parade ascent is Captain Manuel Aguilaris, a second officer, Company C versus recruit trained battalion for recruit training regiments. The units are now being called to attention and the ascent is commanded, the sound ascent is called, will begin today's parade. Four Marines are two Marines displayed up-stand performances in two individually operated events. Private Christopher Electra Aguilaris from La Tune, 1,055, is the company high student, scoring a 343 out of 315. Private Kors Guns, ascent, are acting. From La Tune, 1,053, is the most missed victory, scoring a 298 out of 300 for the physical fitness test, and a 300 out of keeping aboard from the Marine Corps Association and Foundation. It's the company honored veterans for training. Staff Sergeant Hayden T. Blackmore and the primary marksman instructor with the La Tune High Hacker Club, 227 for La Tune, 1,055, for Matthew Masurado, recruit training, this provides a subject required to produce basic parades who function effectively in Garrison and are trained in rudimentary individual and field combat skills, and practice the personal and professional traits which distinguish them as parades. Examples of these traits are discipline, the achievement of a state of discipline, which asserts respect for authority, incident, and will go against the orders, and the self-reliance to maintain or improve those traits, which is exemplified by the Marine. Military bearing, consistently demonstrating military presence and personal awareness, as well as the proper wearing and maintenance of uniformity, a spirit of war, acquiring the common spirit of a Marine Corps that inspires enthusiasm, devotion, drive, initiative, teamwork, addressiveness, determination, moral courage, integrity, camaraderie, and a burning desire to work with and for others toward excellence in common goals, parades at five and one, whenever and where the nation calls in the harshest conditions, of the most brutal terrain, and against the most formidable enemies. Parades that met the ideals of freedom, with grit and the national fields changed, and capabilities evolved. History proves that true patriot comes from the individual Marine, the steel resolve, the drive to overcome any obstacle, and the warrior spirit to fight on against all odds. It takes that steadfast faithfulness, several miles to core, country, and each other that abounds throughout our story legacy. Marines today remain in combat for deploying around the world, confronting every challenge with courage, loyalty, and faithfulness. Their resolve to be the most ready, when the nation is least ready, to defend freedom anytime and anywhere, to stand ready to aid those devastated by natural disasters, to pay tribute to those who have forged our proud legacy, and to honor the veterans and loved ones who faithfully stand beside Company C. Today, marks the end of the 13th week for their training cycle. They have marched countless miles at Camp Petals and on this parade day, and have been trained as our all Marines, as basic riflemen. In addition, due to an intensive physical training program, their strength and endurance have doubled since their arrival of order and diva. Their Marines qualified to take their place in the ranks of a world's finest of mind organization. It's our now being alive from left to right in order to get them into their exact positions for the parade. The next portion of the ceremony will be our national anthem. We welcome veterans and members of the armed forces to join us in rendering a parade on for the military solution. For against what not served in the military, it is proper etiquette turn the national anthem to place the right hand over the remarks, and for those in the audience wearing make here, to remove it. Will the guests please rise for the presentation of the colors. Ladies and gentlemen, our national anthem, please be seated. Parade crest, the parade ashton, will give the commandant sound off, which signals the band of parade forward at the assembled Marines, walk like military marching music, not in state's parade. Many who have helped shape our history will join us here today in keeping with the tradition of once a Marine, always a Marine. We would like to recognize that at this time, those in the audience who have served as Marines, please rise. Ladies and gentlemen, a round of applause. Welcome to Marine Corps of Crew Depot, San Diego, and a congratulations ceremony for Charlie Company. We're doing official for your general friends who joined us from the first Marine Logistics Group located about 30 miles north of here aboard Camp Mountain. Welcome, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, the purpose of today's ceremony is to recognize these new Marines and everything they've accomplished. Their journey began 13 long weeks ago when they stepped on the yellow footprints and committed to becoming Marines. They arrived as individuals, perhaps a little unsure of their decision, but stand before you as a confident team of smartly disciplined Marines. During the past three months, we developed a physical mental toughness so they're able to thrive in complex, and pay out in environments. They learned to set some war fighting skills. Like Atlas Miles, learned how to operate the field and completed intensive martial arts training. They were taught how to decide, act, and communicate with initiative, clarity, and exceptional judgment. They proved themselves to be leaders of character who inspire and train others with dignity and respect. Their training culminated with a variety of assets from the crew school, a grueling 54-hour test of teamwork and endurance. Throughout, they came to understand and embrace our core values of honor, courage, and commitment, with a very clear understanding that being a Marine carries a special trust and confidence in the high expectations of the American people. Now, as you might imagine, this awesome transformation didn't happen by itself. And I'd like to thank those who were involved. First, we recognize each Marine's training started long before they got here. The foundation of their character started with you, in your homes, in your schools, in your communities. I want to thank all the parents, families, friends, as well as teachers and coaches in the crowd for everything you've done. I assure you that your love and support was vital to their success. So thank you for all your attention to the Marines wearing the distinctive canned bank covers, our drill instructors. It's impossible for me to put the words they're passion, work ethic, and commitment. From the moment we're recruited live, there is a drill instructor with them 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They've spent every waking hour teaching, training, mentoring, and leading these young men. Ladies and gentlemen, these drill instructors have made a tremendous and lasting impact on your loved one. Trust me, these Marines will never forget the name, the face, or the voice of their drill instructors. So please join me in a well-deserved round of applause for the drill instructors in Charlie County. The families of the drill instructors are seated just to the left of their viewing stand. No group knows better than that. Time, dedication, it takes to make Marines. While their drill instructors were on duty, these houses and dams showed all the cooking, cleaning, shopping, homework, appointments, dog walks. I can go on. My wife and I have four-watt animals, two of them are children. We completely get it. Simply put, we couldn't have accomplished our mission without their support. So please join me in a big round of applause for the families. Finally, I'd like to recognize our highly skilled marksmanship, martial arts, water survival, and academics instructors. Our exceptional chaplain, corpsman, and entire medical team have been doing an amazing job at ensuring our physical, mental, and spiritual readiness. And of course, the dedicated recruiter who saw potential in the Marine. The faculty of two Marines who with us today, I'd like to recognize. First, Corporal Masurada is joining us from one big steel train in the town. We're going to coach the train with the two who achieved the highest right for a sport. Staff Sergeant Blackmore, seated to his left, is joining us from Phoenix, Arizona, where he recruited today's sergeant. Job well done, gentlemen. Keep up the great work. And ladies and gentlemen, if you'll excuse me, while I address the new Marines, one last time is their battalion commander. Good morning Marines. Good morning. Ladies and gentlemen, Charlie Company. Company, I know it seems like a lifetime ago when you were offered the challenge of becoming a Marine. When you arrived on your buses and stepped on the yellow footprints, graduation was probably the last thing on your mind. You're probably thinking, what have I got myself into? And how do I get these guys to stop you on enemy? We had a lot to learn, so very steep hills to climb, but you get it. You have right here in the title, Marine. Be proud of your accomplishment in the uniform you now wear. And I'll leave you with this. Whether you've served for four years or 24 years, remember, it's not about you.  It's about that Marine standing to your left and to your right. It's about all these people in the stands in this great nation which you swore to defend. So serve a fighter, serve with courage, and serve with commitment, and you'll do well. Congratulations again, Marines, on your tremendous achievement. Please take care of one another and remain Semper Fidelis. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to introduce to you America's newest United States Marines. Brigadier General Phillip N. Cricks, commanding general, First Marine Logistics Group, Camp Pendleton. He is a Company 5 Brigadier General, Jason L. Morris, commanding general, for Marine Corps Group Depot San Diego and the Western Retreat Region. Phillip N. Cricks, commanding general, First Marine Logistics Group, Camp Pendleton, California. Brigadier General Cricks is a native of the Cruces, New Mexico, and was commissioned in 1991. After graduating the basic school, Brigadier General Fitz attended Marine Corps Engineer Officer's Force and obtained the Military Occupational Specialty of 1302, Combat Engineer Officer. Brigadier General Fitz has served in a variety of challenging buildings and numerous commanders to include, serving as a construction platoon commander at Marine Wing Support Squadron 374, commanding officer at Headquarters Company, Marine Wing Support Group 37, commanding officer at Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 115, commanding officer at Headquarters Regiment, First Marine Logistics Group, commander at US Marine Forces South, branch head at Engineering and Explosive Ordinance disposal, Deputy Commandant and Logistics, and the Deputy Director at Capabilities Development Directorate, Deputy Commandant, Combat Development and Integration. Brigadier General Cricks currently serves as the commanding general for First Marine Logistics Group, Cap Townsend, California. His awards include the Legion of Merit with two gold stars in lieu of Third Award, the Bronze Star, Defense Meritorious Service Medal with one gold star in lieu of Second Award, Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commodation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commodation Medal with two gold stars in lieu of Third Award, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and the Combat Action Regiment. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Brigadier General Phillip M. Fritz in conflicts around the world, including places whose names are immediately sustained with hurrying courage and dedication, Terror Bomb, Evo Chima, Busan, Incheon, Shudson Reservoir, California, The Honor Graduate, Brooklyn II, Brennan J. Edward, Brooklyn II, 1051 and the Lance Corporal, David K. Hoffman from Stanton Valley, Arizona. Lance Corporal Hoffman is also the recipient of the Chessi Polar Board towards outstanding Meritorious Performance while in recruit training. The Honor Graduate, Brooklyn II, 1053 and the Series Honor Graduate is Private First Bloods Juan A. Morellis, Paris, Brooklyn, Brooklyn II, 1054 is Private First Bloods Nicholas G. Mendoza, Brooklyn, Kenosha, Wisconsin and The Honor Graduate, Brooklyn II, 1055 is Private First Bloods Joshua C. San Jose, Brooklyn, Kirtland, Washington, Jason Jumman, The Honor Graduate of Company C.