anxiety

[abc56]

anyone else experience anxiety with their rotations? im finding myself (an anxious person anyway) to be getting really bad anxiety at the end of the weekend, when its time to go back and face the god awful residents (im on surgery right now and despise it)

any given night of the week i just get so nervous about the next day. the thing is, it usually turns out FINE. i even have fun on most days. im productive and things go well. but i have this irrational anxiety either way.

this anxiety usually fades as i get used to the rotation (have only done surgery for 1 week now). i have trouble constantly adjusting to new hospitals, new residents, new attendings, even new computer systems!! nobody seems to remember that we are brand new and have no clue where anything is or how things work in surgery compared to IM compared to ob etc. my new resident is terrible and makes me feel like an idiot whenever i ask her a question.

i know, you people probably think im crazy. but im sick of being a lowly 3rd year that gets yelled at and gets zero respect. it SUCKS!!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[felipe5]

my friend, i feel you on this one. I do not consider myself an anxious person, infact I pride myself on being quite the laidback guy.... yet I've noticed that at the start of my hospital based rotations (obgyn, IM, inpatient peds) the utter feeling of cluelessness and really not knowing how things work can make for a horrible feeling of impending doom....alas 99% of the time everything goes smoothly and life goes on. I don't fall apart, get angina or have mental breakdowns or anything, but there are definitely times (especially towards the start of a rotation) where my confidence level plummets. I've come to grips that this just comes with the territory of starting something new...it takes a while to get used to things, but once they do things start running smoothly and I start feeling much more confident about myself. And of course by the time you have the routine decently down, its time to move on. Try and take the first week of a tough rotation to really get to know whats going on your service, what kind of personalities you're working with, what people expect and want from you and maybe how you can contribute and try and learn without pissin' people off. Try to stay cool as a cucumber...remember that you're not alone...plenty of 3rd years are feeling like **** all over the country

 

[chagall]

Or you could end up like me, and repeatedly get comments on evals like "this student's timidness compromises his performance"...ouch! If having that stuck in my mind isn't counterproductive, I don't know what is. I need to figure out how to act (at least) not anxious, or something...this sucks.

 

[abc56]

so as a follow up to yesterdays anxiety ridden post, i would like to say that today turned out FINE. 99% of the day was good (1% was bad, when the resident was being a complete jerk to all of us). but she can kiss my you know what. its not my fault shes a miserable person who sucks at life. maybe shes misunderstood but im not about to try to figure her out!

 

[thewebthsp]

Clerkship year was painful, no doubt about it-- however that being said, certain rotations were a lot of fun (OB, Fam med, outpatient peds, psych, medicine)

The best advice I can give is, first RELAX -- or find a way to relax. That means go see a movie once a week, go work out 3-4 times a week, play a game of pickup, do 1 thing outside of medicine consistently. Sleep at least 6 hours a day (or try, esp if on surgery). Eat good meals.

Second, try to know your patients as best as you can. This is something which is student and effort dependent. Know what day of antibiotic they're on, when they came into the hospital, their name, etc.

Third, try to read 1 hour every day. If you miss, it's ok. If you do an hour, then make sure to also do one hour of something fun, the more active the better. If you can READ BEFORE you start your clerkship (but dont let that compromise doing something(s) outside of medicine).

Fourth -- if you say something to the team on rounds-- THINK twice what you are going to say. It's ok to offer suggestions but use caution!!!

Fifth, be confident, or try to be as much as you can. Anxiety (which I showed a lot of unfortunately) is the antithesis of confidence. So, obviously if you manage to relax (eg do something other than medicine!), you'll do better. On the other hand dont be an ass, or arrogant, etc. Just know you're doing your best, and show that to the team. And, if you get corrected by someone with more experience make sure you show you appreciate their help in trying to be a better physician to be. Don't correct someone else.

Sixth, be a good person. Sometimes you'll get credit for this, sometimes not, but you'll feel good if you show you care to your patients, and to your teachers and your fellow students. Even if things don't work out, being a decent human being goes a long way...

Last, no matter what just realize this is only a year, and it's a year where you're supposed to make mistakes and learn. Try to keep things in perspective, even if there are days you question even being here.