QofQuimica
Seriously, dude, I think you're overreacting....
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I'm now at the end of my first month of residency. Not sure if it's made me stronger, but it hasn't killed me yet, at any rate. I thought maybe I (and any of the other residents who would like to contribute) could post some about our experiences.
For me, there have been a lot of surprises, some good and some not so much.
This program is really intense to the point that it can be completely overwhelming at times, but it's a supportive culture. I really like our program coordinator. My classmates are a good group too; I'm the only nontrad, but we get along well. I already have a nickname. (Don't even ask.
) The chiefs have been supportive too, and even the consultants and nurses have been patient with me, albeit a little exasperated by my cluelessness at times. No one has yelled at me, even when I probably deserved it. They take work hour rules seriously, and I think we probably fill out about as many evals here as we had to do at my med school. (It has already come to be annoying to many of us.)
One of the biggest difficulties has been wrestling with learning the system itself. How do you call a consult? Can you get a social worker to help with something at 8 PM on a Friday night? Where do you find the chart if it's not on the nurse's desk or in the patient's room? That chart issue is probably my biggest source of angst right now. We're in the midst of transitioning the electronic medical record, and there are about half a dozen different programs with their own userIDs, PWs, and nuances to learn. Plus, some parts of the charts are still paper. In September, the next phase of the transition will occur, and we'll have to go through this whole thing again. We rotate at a couple of satellite hospitals as well, and they have their own EMRs and systems. I'll be going to one of them in August. Sigh.
We were warned ahead of time about running afoul of nurses, that they would try to test us and bust our chops. But on the whole, I've gotten along very well with the nurses. Of course, there are always a few disgruntled people in any group, but the couple I've come across don't get along well with anybody. Two things I've done that I think make a huge difference are learning the staff's names (and telling them mine), and asking them how they need me to do something I'm not sure how to do (like, write an order properly) so that I save both of us time and aggravation. I have found that the nurses are very willing to make suggestions and give me input. Considering that some of them have been at the hospital since around the time I was born, they know a heck of a lot about how to get things done quickly and efficiently.
That strategy doesn't always work though. On days when I leave the hospital late at night, I have been calling security for an escort to my car. Not that I feel unsafe, but I just don't want to walk across a deserted parking lot by myself. This has not won me any friends among the police, two of whom tried to dissuade me from using the service because they felt the campus was so safe. I was uncomfortable enough after the second time that I asked my program manager for advice on how to resolve this. It turned into a whole thing where I wound up talking to the police chief, and wow, there was all kinds of awkwardness when the same officer who tried to talk me out of calling the night before came to pick me up the following night.
For me, there have been a lot of surprises, some good and some not so much.
This program is really intense to the point that it can be completely overwhelming at times, but it's a supportive culture. I really like our program coordinator. My classmates are a good group too; I'm the only nontrad, but we get along well. I already have a nickname. (Don't even ask.
) The chiefs have been supportive too, and even the consultants and nurses have been patient with me, albeit a little exasperated by my cluelessness at times. No one has yelled at me, even when I probably deserved it. They take work hour rules seriously, and I think we probably fill out about as many evals here as we had to do at my med school. (It has already come to be annoying to many of us.)One of the biggest difficulties has been wrestling with learning the system itself. How do you call a consult? Can you get a social worker to help with something at 8 PM on a Friday night? Where do you find the chart if it's not on the nurse's desk or in the patient's room? That chart issue is probably my biggest source of angst right now. We're in the midst of transitioning the electronic medical record, and there are about half a dozen different programs with their own userIDs, PWs, and nuances to learn. Plus, some parts of the charts are still paper. In September, the next phase of the transition will occur, and we'll have to go through this whole thing again. We rotate at a couple of satellite hospitals as well, and they have their own EMRs and systems. I'll be going to one of them in August. Sigh.
We were warned ahead of time about running afoul of nurses, that they would try to test us and bust our chops. But on the whole, I've gotten along very well with the nurses. Of course, there are always a few disgruntled people in any group, but the couple I've come across don't get along well with anybody. Two things I've done that I think make a huge difference are learning the staff's names (and telling them mine), and asking them how they need me to do something I'm not sure how to do (like, write an order properly) so that I save both of us time and aggravation. I have found that the nurses are very willing to make suggestions and give me input. Considering that some of them have been at the hospital since around the time I was born, they know a heck of a lot about how to get things done quickly and efficiently.
That strategy doesn't always work though. On days when I leave the hospital late at night, I have been calling security for an escort to my car. Not that I feel unsafe, but I just don't want to walk across a deserted parking lot by myself. This has not won me any friends among the police, two of whom tried to dissuade me from using the service because they felt the campus was so safe. I was uncomfortable enough after the second time that I asked my program manager for advice on how to resolve this. It turned into a whole thing where I wound up talking to the police chief, and wow, there was all kinds of awkwardness when the same officer who tried to talk me out of calling the night before came to pick me up the following night.
