What does "intern" mean?

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iqe2010

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I've seen this word used several times here..what exactly is an "intern?" Is it used interchangeably with "resident" or is an intern a medical student during their clinical rotations? I think I read that your first year of residency was actually your intern year. Someone please shed some light on this? Thanks!
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iqe2010 said:
I've seen this word used several times here..what exactly is an "intern?" Is it used interchangeably with "resident" or is an intern a medical student during their clinical rotations? I think I read that your first year of residency was actually your intern year. Someone please shed some light on this? Thanks!
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internship = first year of residency
 
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What are people who are doing their clinical rotations called? Aren't they interns? Or don't they have a particular named associated with rotations?
 
Geneticist said:
What are people who are doing their clinical rotations called? Aren't they interns? Or don't they have a particular named associated with rotations?
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They are called "M3's" and "M4s," at some places, "MS3's" and "MS4's" at others (MS = medical student, in case anyone couldn't put that together), and sometimes are called "student doctors." Thus, the student doctor network.
 
When you guys are done answering OP's question, would you mind giving my mom a call and explaining the whole intern thing to her too? Because I swear I've talked it over with her very very slowly like fifteen different times and she still isn't getting that an intern is a first year resident.
 
rhesuspieces said:
When you guys are done answering OP's question, would you mind giving my mom a call and explaining the whole intern thing to her too? Because I swear I've talked it over with her very very slowly like fifteen different times and she still isn't getting that an intern is a first year resident.
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QFT. There is an age beyond which such explanations are utterly ineffective. Elucidating its mechanism would probably make a great publication opportunity for a young gunner.
 
Pons Asinorum said:
QFT. There is an age beyond which such explanations are utterly ineffective. Elucidating its mechanism would probably make a great publication opportunity for a young gunner.
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Good to know I have a topic if my current thesis falls through.
 
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Geneticist said:
What are people who are doing their clinical rotations called? Aren't they interns? Or don't they have a particular named associated with rotations?
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Usually they're just called med students, I've also heard clerks.

To add to the confusion: M4s at most places do a "sub-internship" rotation, which might be why interns are getting confused with med students.
 
Third year rotations are sometimes called "clerkships". The first year of residency training is called the internship and those doing an internship are "interns".

Now it has become confusing because many people who have never been to medical school are claiming to have internships and to be interns. Good luck explaining it to anyone.
 
LizzyM said:
Third year rotations are sometimes called "clerkships". The first year of residency training is called the internship and those doing an internship are "interns".

Now it has become confusing because many people who have never been to medical school are claiming to have internships and to be interns. Good luck explaining it to anyone.
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This is what pisses me off. When people say things like "I'm doing an internship at a hospital this summer." They're gonna be doing the exact same thing every other medical school hopeful is..
 
the ACGME has dropped use of the term "intern" and says that these folks should be referred to as first year residents. thus the term no longer has any meaning in ACGME training programs, properly speaking.
 
As I used it in my previous life, the terms "intern" and "internship" had to do with positions sought not for permanent employment but for training, either paid or unpaid. This is what I believe is generally understood by most people and is why they're confused when used in the context of becoming a physician.
 
gravitywave said:
the ACGME has dropped use of the term "intern" and says that these folks should be referred to as first year residents. thus the term no longer has any meaning in ACGME training programs, properly speaking.
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Unfortunately, it does not seem that the AOA has done this as well.

If anyone's looking for an excuse to not apply DO...here you are :)
 
gravitywave said:
the ACGME has dropped use of the term "intern" and says that these folks should be referred to as first year residents. thus the term no longer has any meaning in ACGME training programs, properly speaking.
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I think this actually happened quite a while ago. I think the term originated from when people would only do one year of residency (an internship) and then go do general practice. This hasn't been the case in 40-50 years though. It stayed on in the form of people doing an internship and then a formal residency afterward.

I never tell patients I'm an intern - it's just one more confusing term. I tell them I'm a resident. My youthful appearance lets them know I'm not the chief. ;) But when I'm introducing myself to other doctors, I often say intern, because I don't want to pretend to be further along than I am.
 
iqe2010 said:
This is what pisses me off. When people say things like "I'm doing an internship at a hospital this summer." They're gonna be doing the exact same thing every other medical school hopeful is..
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What makes you assume that? Some may have connections. Some may actually be legitimately doing more than a typical premed gets to do.

That being said, I could see how some would find the term's broad use confusing. The fact is that quite a few fields in healthcare employ an "internship year." (Clinical Psych comes to mind, for instance.) Even "residency" has been copied -- quite a few hospitals have "RN Residency" programs for 1st yr RNs. One of the hospitals I worked at had such a program but simply called it their "RN New Grad Program." A hospital where a friend was a phlebotomist hired him directly into their RN Residency program when he finished his BSN and NCLEX-RN. He did that and then become a staff RN once he had finished it.
 
Even residency is a misnomer these days. How long has it been since newly minted docs were actually "in residence" at the hospital where they were training? I mean, yeah, it seems like you live there but they do send you to your real home on a regular basis. It's more akin to post-doc training in the PhD world, hence the "PGY" nomenclature.
 
Captain Fantastic said:
Even residency is a misnomer these days. How long has it been since newly minted docs were actually "in residence" at the hospital where they were training? I mean, yeah, it seems like you live there but they do send you to your real home on a regular basis. It's more akin to post-doc training in the PhD world, hence the "PGY" nomenclature.
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So true. A friend of mine did her residence in the early 1950s and she lived in the hospital, sent all her clothing, even nylon stockings, through the hospital laundry and ate all her meals in the hospital cafeteria. That was part of the compensation package (free room, board & laundry) back in the day.
 
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