anyone else feel like an idiot on clinicals?

[dumbestsmartguy]

I am a fourth year. I have had one full year of clinicals and I still feel like an idiot on rotations. I make "stupid" mistakes and then obsess about it, worrying that I'm never going to learn everything I need to in order to be a competent doc. Am I alone? I doubt I am. We all expend a lot of energy exhibiting confidence; how many of us are actually insecure underneath? (Come on, its an anonymous forum. Lets hear your story.)

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[evilbooyaa]

It's my first rotation of 3rd year, and I feel like I can do about 75% of what is required of an attending. I might be over-estimating a little, but I feel like the rest of it will come in the next 2 years.

If you make a stupid mistake, learn from it, and know you won't do it again. If you keep repeating the SAME stupid mistakes, then stop and figure out why.

 

[mjl1717]

It's my first rotation of 3rd year, and I feel like I can do about 75% of what is required of an attending. I might be over-estimating a little, but I feel like the rest of it will come in the next 2 years.

If you make a stupid mistake, learn from it, and know you won't do it again. If you keep repeating the SAME stupid mistakes, then stop and figure out why.

This is misleading.. Unless my parents are docs I doubt that Id say I can do 75% of what an attending can do.. (Especially when only beginning rotations)

 

[da8s0859q]

It's my first rotation of 3rd year, and I feel like I can do about 75% of what is required of an attending. I might be over-estimating a little

Just an M4, but I would argue that you are overestimating a lot. A whole lot. No med student on the planet can function at 75% capacity of an attending.

 

[armybound]

I can easily do 95% of what an attending surgeon can do.

I just can't do it properly. Or in the correct order it's supposed to be done in. Or without killing the patient in the process.

 

[kpcrew]

It's my first rotation of 3rd year, and I feel like I can do about 75% of what is required of an attending. I might be over-estimating a little, but I feel like the rest of it will come in the next 2 years.

If you make a stupid mistake, learn from it, and know you won't do it again. If you keep repeating the SAME stupid mistakes, then stop and figure out why.

Yeah, I bet the patient would probably agree with your self assessment and be cool with your stupid mistake.

 

[WashMe]

I am a fourth year. I have had one full year of clinicals and I still feel like an idiot on rotations. I make "stupid" mistakes and then obsess about it, worrying that I'm never going to learn everything I need to in order to be a competent doc. Am I alone? I doubt I am. We all expend a lot of energy exhibiting confidence; how many of us are actually insecure underneath? (Come on, its an anonymous forum. Lets hear your story.)

I'm also an MS4. Feeling you are still incompetent at this point is... completely normal. The worst thing you can do is be 100% confident as a soon-to-be intern, because such feelings will blind you from seeing when you don't know what the F is going on. That's how people get hurt.

 

[umean2tellme]

As long as you learn from these mistakes and don't continue repeating them you'll be fine. We all make mistakes, especially as students. If you knew everything already then there wouldn't be a point to doing the rotations. It's better to make mistakes now than in residency when we actually have some power to do stuff lol. The worst thing that can happen during your rotation is that your attending yells at you and you have to rewrite an H&P or something

 

[Bacchus]

It depends on the day. As a fourth year I still have awful days. I'm doing rotations in what I'm interested in (FM) so I luckily have the experience of past rotations to guide me. However, there are situations that trip me up and there are always questions that can be asked you will not know.

Know major things and pick up the minutiae as you move along. As a fourth year we're obviously supposed to know a great deal, but we are still learning. When you're looking back in a few months you'll realize you have grown.

If you rotate with any third years, you'll realize how your time you put in has advanced your knowledge. If you're around your peers its a lot harder to gauge how much you know since everyone knows about the same.

But like I said, you have your "I answered all the resident's questions" days and then have days where you can't answer 50% of what you're asked. Do the major stuff well and learn, learn, learn.

 

[link2swim06]

It's my first rotation of 3rd year, and I feel like I can do about 75% of what is required of an attending. I might be over-estimating a little, but I feel like the rest of it will come in the next 2 years.

If you make a stupid mistake, learn from it, and know you won't do it again. If you keep repeating the SAME stupid mistakes, then stop and figure out why.

What rotation are you on? Wait till you get to something like medicine...


IMO the more you learn, the less you realize you know.

 

[mimelim]

It's my first rotation of 3rd year, and I feel like I can do about 75% of what is required of an attending. I might be over-estimating a little, but I feel like the rest of it will come in the next 2 years.

If you make a stupid mistake, learn from it, and know you won't do it again. If you keep repeating the SAME stupid mistakes, then stop and figure out why.

Tell me what you think a week into your intern year. Even the most competent M4s realize quickly they are just at the beginning. I am sure there are attendings out there that I can function at 75% of their capacity right now. But they aren't people that people should use as a measuring stick. I don't know if I will ever be able to be as good as the best attendings I am around. I don't think you can even compare our functionality. And keep in mind, I have a reasonably large ego, even for a surgical resident.

 

[WDeagle]

Tell me what you think a week into your intern year. Even the most competent M4s realize quickly they are just at the beginning. I am sure there are attendings out there that I can function at 75% of their capacity right now. But they aren't people that people should use as a measuring stick. I don't know if I will ever be able to be as good as the best attendings I am around. I don't think you can even compare our functionality. And keep in mind, I have a reasonably large ego, even for a surgical resident.

As a fellow surgical intern I completely agree with this. I still feel like I have no idea what I am doing and it is normal to feel this way. If you are a 3rd year and feel like you know 75% of whats going on than you probably have no idea whats happening.

 

[evilbooyaa]

Just an M4, but I would argue that you are overestimating a lot. A whole lot. No med student on the planet can function at 75% capacity of an attending.

Fair. Point taken. I clearly overestimated my abilities. Didn't mean to sound arrogant/cocky.

Let's call it 7.5% for a better comparison. I think I haven't learned enough to know what I don't know yet.

EDIT - Damn I got slammed pretty hard for that. My bad folks, my bad.

I agree with the below statement:

I just can't do it properly. Or in the correct order it's supposed to be done in. Or without killing the patient in the process.

 

[Bacchus]

Fair. Point taken. I clearly overestimated my abilities. Didn't mean to sound arrogant/cocky.

Let's call it 7.5% for a better comparison. I think I haven't learned enough to know what I don't know yet.

EDIT - Damn I got slammed pretty hard for that. My bad folks, my bad.

I agree with the below statement:

Sorry to gang up more, but as a new third year, your amount of knowledge compared to the attending is infinitesimally small. Same for a 4th year and same for a newly minted intern. You just don't have the experience to back it up. What you're taught in school is not always practical in the real world.

 

[KnuxNole]

Sorry to gang up more, but as a new third year, your amount of knowledge compared to the attending is infinitesimally small. Same for a 4th year and same for a newly minted intern. You just don't have the experience to back it up. What you're taught in school is not always practical in the real world.

This.

Doing well on Step 1 doesn't matter to the residents or attendings. It's more like a pat on the head with a "aww look at this widdle baby, he knows how to say words!" They will still look at you as incompetent, and you'll feel incompetent in lots of aspects in the beginning, especially since this is the first time ever being involved in the hospital.

With time, the experience will build, but a new MS3 is essentially walking into a shark tank. So it's normal to feel overwhelmed and feeling like you know nothing. As long as you are willing to learn, its gonna be fine

 

[MrBeauregard]

Doing well on Step 1 doesn't matter to the residents or attendings. It's more like a pat on the head with a "aww look at this widdle baby, he knows how to say words!" They will still look at you as incompetent, and you'll feel incompetent in lots of aspects in the beginning, especially since this is the first time ever being involved in the hospital.

With time, the experience will build, but a new MS3 is essentially walking into a shark tank. So it's normal to feel overwhelmed and feeling like you know nothing. As long as you are willing to learn, its gonna be fine

I did pretty well on Step 1, and I constantly feel like a flipping idiot each and every day. It has come to my attention relatively quickly that doing well on Step 1 in no way means you'll be a clinical rock star.

 

[chiz2kul]

I did pretty well on Step 1, and I constantly feel like a flipping idiot each and every day. It has come to my attention relatively quickly that doing well on Step 1 in no way means you'll be a clinical rock star.

well said.

It's my first rotation of 3rd year, and I feel like I can do about 75% of what is required of an attending. I might be over-estimating a little, but I feel like the rest of it will come in the next 2 years.

If you make a stupid mistake, learn from it, and know you won't do it again. If you keep repeating the SAME stupid mistakes, then stop and figure out why.

like you didnt hear it enough already - but you really have no idea what you're doing right now. And no, the rest of it wouldn't come in the next 2 year lol. good job trolling though!

 

[futuredoctor10]

It has come to my attention relatively quickly that doing well on Step 1 in no way means you'll be a clinical rock star.

This. I have noticed SOME people with ridiculous book smarts cannot translate their skills in a successful, efficient manner in the clinical setting.

 

[DrSnips]

Sorry to gang up more, but as a new third year, your amount of knowledge compared to the attending is infinitesimally small. Same for a 4th year and same for a newly minted intern. You just don't have the experience to back it up. What you're taught in school is not always practical in the real world.

True. No matter how much you study, your ability to make correct clinical decisions is probably going to relate mainly to whether you have seen the condition and its management before as part of your training experience. Once you reach attending level, most cases will be simple pattern recognition. Since I still think heavily about the patient cases I take on, I know I have a ways to go.

 

[Renaissance Man]

I feel like an idiot trying to take BP, pulse, RR. I'm just an MS1 but I am sure this feeling of ineptness won't go away until months upon months of experience.

 

[VenusinFurs]

I feel like an idiot trying to take BP, pulse, RR. I'm just an MS1 but I am sure this feeling of ineptness won't go away until months upon months of experience.

Lol this is so adorable.

I, too, am a dumb M4.

 

[Hoju]

I'm an M4 and still feel like an idiot at times. It looks like that will not stop any time soon.

 

[migm]

It's my first rotation of 3rd year, and I feel like I can do about 75% of what is required of an attending. I might be over-estimating a little, but I feel like the rest of it will come in the next 2 years.

If you make a stupid mistake, learn from it, and know you won't do it again. If you keep repeating the SAME stupid mistakes, then stop and figure out why.

lol.. also second feeling like I'm always missing that one key thing (finding, connection, diagnostic test) in M4, aka my diffs still suck.

 

[Germanada]

Honestly, this thread just completely made my day.
I am a Med 3 on my first rotation, got pimped mercilessly at the end of a very long shift on a very busy and scut heavy rotation, and got torn to pieces and came home feeling like the world's biggest ***** and idiot.

It's nice to know you're not alone, kinda

 

[mjl1717]

Sorry to gang up more, but as a new third year, your amount of knowledge compared to the attending is infinitesimally small. Same for a 4th year and same for a newly minted intern. You just don't have the experience to back it up. What you're taught in school is not always practical in the real world.

So true! Because what you read about in the books may be completely different from what happens in real time clinical inter actions!


Also looking at the big picture..This was stated.. Making a mistake is one thing.. But if you "improve" or learn after each mistake/case that is some improvement..

 

[VenusinFurs]

lol.. also second feeling like I'm always missing that one key thing (finding, connection, diagnostic test) in M4, aka my diffs still suck.

I hope I'll be better by the end of M4. I actually imagine I'll be worse given how easy the rest of my rotations are...

 

[DrSnips]

I hope I'll be better by the end of M4. I actually imagine I'll be worse given how easy the rest of my rotations are...

Lol, same here. Somehow I don't think forensic path and EKG reading are going to be great electives for formulating differentials.

 

[dr zaius]

Sorry to gang up more, but as a new third year, your amount of knowledge compared to the attending is infinitesimally small. Same for a 4th year and same for a newly minted intern. You just don't have the experience to back it up. What you're taught in school is not always practical in the real world.

I cannot count the number of times during my few months of third year that I have gotten the response, "According to the textbook, sure, but in real life the correct answer is..."

 

[Bacchus]

I cannot count the number of times during my few months of third year that I have gotten the response, "According to the textbook, sure, but in real life the correct answer is..."

Exactly. Step-wise management, pft. Its to be known for Step/COMLEX II, but isn't practical. You're not going to bring a patient back 3 times to order blood work.