Any other interns feeling overwhelmed?

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All the other co-interns seem very happy and enthusiastic running around busily doing all their paperwork and admitting new patients. But I feel so tormented inside by the amount of work and lack of satisfaction I am on the verge of tears at times. Only for a year, I tell myself. Only for a year.

Hang in there. It's a steep learning curve. You may have problems, or you may just be acutely aware of how much you need to figure out. August was my worse month of intern year. I made a rule for myself that the only place I could cry was in my car on my way home from work. It was a 10 minute drive, I got it out and then moved on. It was crazy; I switched services, something clicked, and the rest of the year was fine. It'll get better, intern year was actually pretty fun once I got the hang of it.

Also: ALL THE OTHER INTERNS feel the same way as you. 100%. No one is exempt.

At least some of those "happy and enthusiastic" interns feel the same as you, or worse. Take a cue from them, and put on your own cheerful face for the duration. It's only while you are at work, and only for a year, so fake it till you make it.

Make a mental note of every success and thing you get right, and give yourself a pat on the back for it.

Turn every negative experience into a learning opportunity - "It took me too many tries to get that right, but now I know how not to do it", "I didn't notice that, but I will next time", "Now I know who to call about that", and so on.

Talk to your fellow interns, and try to make friends with them. People who have good relationships with their colleagues are more likely to be successful long term than those who are more isolated.

Good luck.

Originally Posted by urdnot

All the other co-interns seem very happy and enthusiastic running around busily doing all their paperwork and admitting new patients. But I feel so tormented inside by the amount of work and lack of satisfaction I am on the verge of tears at times. Only for a year, I tell myself. Only for a year.

95% of interns feel lost, stupid, and completely overwhelmened right now

5% feel like they've got it all under control. Most of them are really, really dangerous.

I felt the same way! I was also on crutches the first week (I was that guy who played sand volleyball 2 days before intern year started and hurt my ankle). Imagine doing those 30-hour calls on a severely sprained ankle!

after walkin on it for 30 hours, it was twice the size when I got home. bad memories!

You're only one week into this. Nobody is "running around, happily getting their work accomplished in a timely fashion" at this point. Some of them just manage to smile as they get overwhelmed.

Originally Posted by Hour30

I felt the same way! I was also on crutches the first week (I was that guy who played sand volleyball 2 days before intern year started and hurt my ankle). Imagine doing those 30-hour calls on a severely sprained ankle!

after walkin on it for 30 hours, it was twice the size when I got home. bad memories!

Haha! At least it was only a week. We had one who injured his Achilles, and had to ride a skateboard looking scooter thing around the hospital for like 2 months. Youd be rounding and something would flash by, your hair blown back...oh dont worry, thats just Dr Scooter!

Just starting to get used to the day-to-day and now I'm expected to manage a med student!

It's only a matter of time before I'm exposed for the fraud I am...

Originally Posted by jazzman84

Just starting to get used to the day-to-day and now I'm expected to manage a med student!

It's only a matter of time before I'm exposed for the fraud I am...

haha, yo tambien. i taught the med student wrong stuff today, i'll clear it up tommorrow and I hope he stops asking me for knowledge.

What's the risk of not being promoted/passing your internship?

Originally Posted by urdnot

What's the risk of not being promoted/passing your internship?

Not sure what you're asking here.

What (numerically) is the chance of this happening? A small but non-zero number.

Or...

What happens if you don't get promoted? You may/should get a chance to remediate but you should assume you're fu**ed.

.