my intern year was awesome...i dunno, i just had an all around great time. 4th year of med school i was a TOTAL slacker, figured since I was paying for my education i could pay to be lazy....i'll admit, i got a little nervous right before coming in, but i didn't go out of my way to do anything special. i did no reading pre-residency. i just showed up to the hospital orientation, picked up my id badge and showed up to my first rotation, on call the first night. it was cool....i was the doctor. no more getting orders cosigned; i was calling the shots. i was definitely supervised by my residents who were getting used to NOT being the intern, after they finally got that skill down.. intern year is a great time.... i'd easily do it over, but i'm probably in a minority.
lessons learned....
1. organization is to internship as oxygen is to life...because of the work that will be imposed on you, you need to develop your organizational skills. a clipboard is just as important as your stethoscope during your pgy-1 year.
2. be nice to EVERYBODY - especially the nurses and ward clerks...it makes those overnight shifts go that much smoother
3. the only dumb questions are the ones that you didn't ask. Don't be afraid to ask if you don't know something. better to admit that you don't know than to make a medical error, or worse lead to someone's death
4. you are not alone. even if by phone, you have some type of backup. utilize those people ahead of you that have gone through what you have, and learn from their experiences
5. forget about step 3 -- it's almost impossible to fail. don't let your learning during your pgy-1 year be influenced in regards to step 3....step 3 is a joke and an absolute waste of time. people in all specialties pass the boards, irrespective of what type of patient contact they are having.
6. in general your chief residents are your advocates -- if your supervision sucks, let them know. if your chief's don't hear it, tell your PD...basically don't be afraid to SPEAK UP
7. be proactive in your learning. you see a patient with something -- read about it...even if you just read 10 or 15 minutes a day....don't let the sleep deprivation (if that still exists once the work hours rules go into effect July 1) prevent you from learning. also, you can only learn so much by osmosis....be proactive.
8. when you're off, you're off. use that off time to get some needed R&R and perform some "self-maintenance". get those haircuts every now and then...splurge on stuff...you finally got a paycheck!
9. a handheld device is becoming standard whitecoat gear now. the drug databases, electronic books, medical calculators...it's helping save time and decreasing the weight of the coat. definitely play with software before you decide to buy it (for example, i still have yet to see a decent patient info tracker in 3 years...)
10. intern year is only 12 months long. 11 or so if you subtract vacations.
good luck. med school is over. you're about to start an awesome ride.
