Advice on intern year scheduling?

[caligold]

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Any advice from interns/residents on what makes an intern year schedule better? I'm filling out preferences right now....

I suspect the answer is highly person dependent- just curious though- if any advice on what works/doesn't work well; ie, spread out the on call months or lump them together, do ICU earlier/later, etc.??

Thanks!

 

[KidDr]

Any advice from interns/residents on what makes an intern year schedule better? I'm filling out preferences right now....

I suspect the answer is highly person dependent- just curious though- if any advice on what works/doesn't work well; ie, spread out the on call months or lump them together, do ICU earlier/later, etc.??

Thanks!

couple questions:
what specialty are you in?
in filling out your preferences, how much say do you really have? (in general, it seems like many programs let you request things like "no call in November" or "ICU month early in the year" or "elective/vacation month in March" and things like that. but you don't typically get to plan out your whole year).

having said that, the 2 main things I'd say is to try and avoid multiple months in a row of call over the winter months (esp if you're doing residency in a cold place). and if you're in a specialty like IM or peds, I think it's probably a good idea to jump right in and get a few ward/ICU months done early instead of starting out with outpatient clinic or something like that.

 

[SocialistMD]

...in general, it seems like many programs let you request things like "no call in November" or "ICU month early in the year" or "elective/vacation month in March" and things like that....

Really? That's crazy. We were asked if we had any "events" for which we needed off, and they tried to schedule our vacations around those times. That was about the only control we had over our schedules as interns.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Really? That's crazy. We were asked if we had any "events" for which we needed off, and they tried to schedule our vacations around those times. That was about the only control we had over our schedules as interns.

Many non-surgical programs do allow such requests (not that they can always fulfill them). I'd imagine it would be a scheduling nightmare.

 

[KidDr]

Many non-surgical programs do allow such request (not that they can always fulfill them). I'd imagine it would be a scheduling nightmare.

sorry...I should clarify what I was trying to say. some programs might let you have one (or maybe two) requests (of the examples I listed), but I think it would be rare that you could request a bunch of those things (i.e. no call in a certain month AND vacation in a certain month AND doing ICU in a certain month, etc etc etc). but it really does depend on your program--the fact that you said you're filling out preferences makes me think that your program may be a little more flexible than some.

 

[Dejavu]

If you have any say in the process, do not schedule an ICU month first. But, do put the hardest months early in the year, when your enthusiasm is high.

There is nothing better than to end the year on "easy" rotations like anesthesia, out-patient clinics, urgent care rotations (I don't know what your program offers).

Mostly, I bet you may not have any say in the scheduling of rotations.

Good luck, and remember, if you have a 8 foot ditch to jump, you do not have to jump 10 feet, so enjoy your outside life as well as work hard. This goes double if you are married and want to stay that way.

 

[asmallchild]

I am planning to end my year on easy rotations. Not sure if it's a good idea to schedule 7 months of uninterrupted work though.

 

[caligold]

Thanks for the advice! Willl put in requests for heavier earlier in year, but not too heavy (icu) first month. We'll see what happens.

Winged Scapula- you are right- I'm going into internal medicine, hence the flexibility (I hope!).

 

[michaelrack]

Request more difficult rotations for February and months with 30 days; request easier rotations for months with 31 days.

 

[lord_jeebus]

If you have an ER month, I think it's a great thing to have early as it really prepares you for the various unexpected things that happen on the floor. ICU is also good for building confidence in acute situations and I don't think starting with ICU is a bad thing.

 

[JonnyG]

Request more difficult rotations for February and months with 30 days; request easier rotations for months with 31 days.

alot of places are doing 4 week rotations that dont follow the months so they can squeeze in an extra rotation a year

 

[dragonfly99]

I recommend not doing the medical ICU during the cold, dark winter months, because you will already be depressed.

 

[asmallchild]

I recommend not doing the medical ICU during the cold, dark winter months, because you will already be depressed.

So my plan for 6 consecutive months of floors alternating with ICUs should be okay? (I'm planning this wicked run from June to December)

 

[LCK]

I think whatever you decide will end up being fine. I have MICU in my second to last month and now wish I had it over with, but if I had it early, I may have been thinking that I wish I had it later for more experience (having said that they probably have lower expectations in the first month or two). Consider yourself lucky if you get to plan all your wards/ICU months in the first half of the year- we have ward/call months ALL year. It has really drained me, but I can finally see the end approaching- I am a prelim. Intern year is no joy no matter what (unless you are doing a cushy transitional year) so it likely matters little how your schedule goes. But I do agree that you shouldn't do one of your few easy rotations right away.

 

[dragonfly99]

yeah, you are damn lucky if you only have 6 call months. That's unreal.
We had 11 of Q3 and Q4 overnight calls...that one noncall month sure seemed like a godsend.
Personally if I only had 6 call months I wouldn't do all 6 in a row, but that's just me.