Medicine/EM knowledge for intern year?

[microshar88]

Hi guys,
I hope everyone is doing ok and not getting too nervous before match week.

I feel like my medicine knowledge has really taken a nose dive as I haven't done a medicine rotation in months. In addition, my rotations for 4th year, with the exception of psych audition rotations, have been mainly preceptor based. I have my ER rotation coming up next week and I did it at a pretty chill place because I just wanted to get it out of the way. However, it's not going to be as educationally stimulating as say something in a residency program where they have set didactics etc. Its gonna be a like a community doc just shadowing him during his 15 shifts for the month.

Is this a bad idea? Or should I try and opt for something a little more challenging to help prepare me for intern year? I've done ICU and Surgery earlier this year, but I think my brain has kind of atrophied when it comes to med knowledge type stuff.

Thanks in advance

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[chris pe bacon]

I'm a 4th year also. I'm just trying to relax and enjoy my time with family and friends before July. There will be a ton that I don't know when we start in July. But not trying to stress over it. That's just me though

 

[Armadillos]

Doing a chill preceptor based rotation would actually be good for learning late in MS4 I would think, would be able to directly ask a ton of questions to an attendings about situations you encounter and have a lot of time to read about whatever you feel weak in. (And obviously time to relax as well!)

 

[JohnBender]

I'm also a 4th year so can't help you, but here for solidarity purposes. I essentially feel like I've never even been a med student considering the amount I've forgotten (a slight exaggeration, but still...). I have moments of panic thinking about how much catching up I'll have to do, but figure I'll cross that bridge when I come to it and no better way than being thrown into the deep end as an intern (right??). Like bacon said, just trying to enjoy what's left of 4th year, as such opportunities for relaxation and fun will be rare soon enough while opportunities for (re)learning will be nonstop.

Just know you're not alone.

 

[675015]

Multiple people have told me no matter how much you prepare, you will still be unprepared so its best to just not stress about it.

 

[Psych56]

I'm right there with you. I feel as though I have forgotten a huge chunk of medicine. I'll learn plenty in July...I've just been spending time doing things I won't have time for in the near future.

 

[st2205]

If you do a wards rotation before residency, you're going to feel unprepared come July 1. If you don't do a wards rotation before residency, you're going to feel unprepared come July 1, except you'll be telling yourself "I feel unprepared because I didn't do another wards rotation."

 

[barzan]

On my interview trail, I asked every resident I encountered, How long did it take you to adjust to the environment?
A surprising answer I got was, it took me a whole Year to feel I am in my play ground.

 

[HarryMTieboutMD]

Learning as an intern is MUCH different than learning as a medical student. Basically, intern year cannot be learned in a book (though you should be reading at least some of the time). And the important things get reinforced... over and over and over again. Doing more rigorous rotations will definitely afford you more medical knowledge, but most of the skills of being an intern (very little of which is textbook knowledge) is what you learn while being an actual intern. Of course intern performances usually follow a Gaussian distribution (irrespective of where you train), with the few who are already on attending level at the start of intern year, the few you have to question, and most people (regardless of where they went to med school) fall somewhere in the middle. So, just relax, don't pi$$ off the nurses, don't be embarassed if an MS3 knows esoterica you don't even remember learning, and remember you are there to learn how to be a doctor.

 

[microshar88]

thanks guys. I'm just going to take it easy. I was concerned because a vast majority of our schools rotations are preceptor based. I only had 1 ward based and I did 2 Psych auditions, but the rest were in private hospitals.

 

[st2205]

thanks guys. I'm just going to take it easy. I was concerned because a vast majority of our schools rotations are preceptor based. I only had 1 ward based and I did 2 Psych auditions, but the rest were in private hospitals.

I did preceptor based. I did a lot of IM and other specialties though. Off the top of my head (nephrology, cardiology, neuro, GI, endocrine, sleep, ICU, derm, ER, etc.) They were all pretty easy (ICU was very easy, strangely). Was nervous about intern year and was somewhat out of place as I was used to preceptor, but it's not like transitioning to that is some huge deal that takes months. Overall I felt I held my own and did as well as any other non-IM intern.

 

[NickNaylor]

I'll probably do some very light reading of medicine stuff as a brief refresher before intern year (I did medicine first during M3 and haven't done a medicine rotation since), but I wouldn't worry too much.

 

[masterofmonkeys]

Step Up to Medicine is a great book. A lazy re-read won't hurt.