Couple of Questions from a New Surgical Intern

[CBG23]

Hello,

I will be starting as a General Surgery Intern this July and am very excited! I had a couple of questions that I was hoping some current residents may be able to help me out with.

1.) I wear glasses. One problem I have noticed however is that, especially during long cases, my face starts to sweat and my glasses start to slide down my nose which is not only uncomfortable, but also potentially dangerous (I almost had my glasses fall into the sterile field!). I tried getting the glasses tightened professionally, but if they are too tight they become pretty painful to wear. Are there any fellow residents out there who wear glasses that have found a solution to this problem? I was thinking about 2 possible solutions: either getting a pair of granny eye glass chains so that if they do fall, they hang around my neck or rigging my glasses so that they have an elastic band along the back and it will be secured directly to my head.

2.) I have a learning disability and am a bit worried about the studying aspect/ board exams in residency. This hindered me during parts of med school until I was able to develop a learning plan that worked for me given a specific set of resources. This requires me to significantly plan things in advance when it comes to developing a learning plan. As such, I was wondering what book(s) and question resources you all would recommend just so I can begin thinking about how I will use them during the upcoming year.

Also, any other tips for an up and coming intern would be welcome. Thanks all,

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[Winged Scapula]

Ok….?

 

[CBG23]

Ok….?

Sorry, I accidentally hit submit before I finished the post

 

[MrBeauregard]

Hello,

I will be starting as a General Surgery Intern this July and am very excited! I had a couple of questions that I was hoping some current residents may be able to help me out with.

1.) I wear glasses. One problem I have noticed however is that, especially during long cases, my face starts to sweat and my glasses start to slide down my nose which is not only uncomfortable, but also potentially dangerous (I almost had my glasses fall into the sterile field!). I tried getting the glasses tightened professionally, but if they are too tight they become pretty painful to wear. Are there any fellow residents out there who wear glasses that have found a solution to this problem? I was thinking about 2 possible solutions: either getting a pair of granny eye glass chains so that if they do fall, they hang around my neck or rigging my glasses so that they have an elastic band along the back and it will be secured directly to my head.

2.) I have a learning disability and am a bit worried about the studying aspect/ board exams in residency. This hindered me during parts of med school until I was able to develop a learning plan that worked for me given a specific set of resources. This requires me to significantly plan things in advance when it comes to developing a learning plan. As such, I was wondering what book(s) and question resources you all would recommend just so I can begin thinking about how I will use them during the upcoming year.

Also, any other tips for an up and coming intern would be welcome. Thanks all,

Your first question made me chuckle a bit. Have you never heard of croakies? A lot of fishermen and frat boys wear them. Many of your attendings probably have something very similar on their loupes. There's no need to get a granny chain for heaven's sake. Just go to a Dick's sporting goods or Cabela's or whatever is near your house that would sell something like that and pick up a pair.

 

[Winged Scapula]

1) As noted above, "croakies" or whatever they are called are commonly worn. They come standard with surgical loupes which you will be getting (and presumably prescription ones). I haven't seen a fraternity brother wearing them since the 80s with their Vuarnets. LOL.

There are a number of solutions - croakies, taping your glasses to your head, contacts, etc.

2) The key to success is organization. This is especially true if you have a disability. Now, you will get your call schedule ahead of time, usually for the month, but there can always be last minute changes. Therefore, it behooves you to have a personal study plan. There are loads of threads about how to study for the ABSITE which you can peruse. I was told that I should read 30 minutes per day at least and it was good advise. Your program will also probably have an educational plan, presumably following the SCORE curriculum. You can supplement that with your own reading, on your own schedule. Nowadays you kids can put get portable versions on textbooks on-line, so it makes it that much easier to read during downtime at the hospital.

 

[Dissected]

I'm gonna go get me some croakies. I've been having this problem as well, thx for the suggestion!

 

[balaguru]

I starting reading a surgical textbook during the end of my 4th year of med school and finished it sometime in the middle of my 2nd year of residency. Unlike most, it seems, I enjoyed residency and I felt part of that was due to feeling prepared most of the time.

 

[CBG23]

Thanks for the replies!

-I ordered a couple of Croakies online and am excited to give them a whirl! Seems like they have gotten some good reviews by people in many fields.

-Winged Scapula: Thank you for your response regarding organization and coming up with a study plan. I bought a day planner and am going to try and schedule things in advance once I receive my rotation schedule in June.