Keys to preparing for a successful first year of residency
Posted by [email protected] on Apr. 26, 2021 / Subscribe 0
By SAM HARRIS, MD
Core Faculty
Internal Medicine Residency | Baptist North Mississippi
I want to start off by congratulating all of our incoming interns. I cannot wait to meet each of you in person, get to know you and watch you learn and excel in your journey. I also want to congratulate anyone reading this who interviewed or applied with us and ended up matching somewhere else. I wish you the best. For those who did not match, keep working toward your dreams and I hope for better results in your future. For those who are reading this and hoping to apply for the 2022 class or further in the future, good luck and I hope to meet you soon.
In this blog post, I am going to give some advice and tips for transitioning from medical school to intern year. This is a big step and, honestly, it is intimidating. As a student, you sometimes feel like a small part of the team - gathering data, presenting findings, reading and researching to try to improve medical knowledge and sometimes offering ideas or recommendations. When you make the transition to an intern, you are now a doctor and life or death decisions are literally in your hands. Yes, you always have assistance and backup with an upper level or the attending, but you still have to make decisions and place orders that could save a life or cause harm. That is a big deal and one that should not be taken lightly. Know that we as a staff are all here to help you become more confident and better physicians and provide that extra layer of support for our interns who may feel the absence of an upper level resident.
First of all, I want to recommend that this summer before July 1 you take some time for yourself or for you family. Whether that means traveling (safely, of course), exercising, focusing on hobbies, or just relaxing, it is important for your wellbeing. Once intern year starts and you are working long hours, stressing over patient care, reading to stay caught up on medical knowledge, etc., it is easy to lose focus on wellness, but important that you find this work/life balance. People who know me know that I always advocate for enjoying your time off and having something outside of medicine that brings you joy to help prevent burnout.
I also suggest taking some time to become familiar with Mississippi and Oxford. I love Oxford, and I know that the rest of our staff do, as well. Enjoy the good food, culture, and outdoor activities in the area. My wife and I enjoy going out to eat in the many excellent restaurants, and walking or running in the parks and trails around the area. If you need any recommendations, each of us has our own favorites, and we will be happy to make suggestions.
Now, as much as I would like to tell you to just have fun this summer and show up for orientation refreshed and ready to go, I feel like I would be remiss if I did not include some tips on how to come in prepared for residency and start off confidently on day one. No matter if your first rotation is night shift, inpatient wards, clinic, or a consultation month, you will be expected to hit the ground running. Our team and other attendings who you will be working with will expect you to possess medical knowledge to take care of patients in a safe way. Here are a couple of things to consider in order to prepare:
- Come up with a plan for how you want to treat or work up common complaints in the hospital, such as chronic pain, headache, chest pain, shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, confusion, atrial fibrillation with RVR. You will receive nursing calls from patients with these complaints and need to have a diagnostic/therapeutic plan at the ready.
- Make sure that you are up to date with your ACLS and comfortable with the algorithms.
- Study for Step 3 if you have not taken it yet. You will not have a lot of time to study during your busy months in residency. Studying will also prepare you for seeing patients and seeing patients will also prepare you for Step 3.
Those are just a few things that you can do prior to starting on July 1 to be better prepared. Now, I will also offer a few tips for when you do start working:
- Listen to your nurses. The nurses spend more time with the patients than we do, and if they are concerned enough to call you about something, you need to take it seriously. If there is any question, it is always best to go evaluate the patient yourself.
- In the same vein, remember that patient care is a team effort. Communication is key. Make sure to communicate daily with patients, families, nursing, consultants, and other important support staff.
- Be confident in yourself, but know your limitations. Do not be afraid to ask for help.
- Do not call a consult without seeing the patient first. Consultants will frequently ask about physical exam findings or parts of the history that you cannot obtain only by chart review.
- Remember to order AM labs before you leave for the day. You do not need labs every day, but it is hard to chart review or be prepared for rounds if you forgot to order an important lab the night before.
I hope this is helpful. If you have any questions for me or there is anything that I can help y’all with before you move, after you get to Oxford, or after you start working, do not hesitate to reach out.
See you soon!
Sam Harris, MD
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