Becoming a more knowledgeable intern

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So I started my residency and I am finding (as all of us are I'm sure) that there is a lot I don't know. On top of that, there is stuff that I feel I should know, that I seem to have forgotten/don't know. It's hard to force yourself to do work during floor months where you're pushing 80 hours, but I was wondering what resources senior residents/attending recommend to become more knowledgeable about pediatric topics in general to become a better physician, and as a secondary benefit, to do well on in service exams and boards? I try to read about my patients but it would be nice to have a resource on my phone or ipad that I can use to just read something different when I have a few minutes downtime during the day, for example. I was thinking reading one Peds in Review article per 1-2 days. The problem is I'm trying to just randomly read articles like that but they are obviously very dry when I haven't connected it to a patient. I was thinking maybe just using a board review book that I can use to get a more concise review of a topic (with uptodate/journals if I need more). Is there anything that people recommend that you think sticks out, especially things that are written in a way that you can remember more easily? Any help is appreciated.

Basically I want to create a long term habit of reading/listening to something every single single day, even if its not much and making it a part of my routine. Hopefully, overtime that adds up.

 

[Perrotfish]

So I started my residency and I am finding (as all of us are I'm sure) that there is a lot I don't know. On top of that, there is stuff that I feel I should know, that I seem to have forgotten/don't know. It's hard to force yourself to do work during floor months where you're pushing 80 hours, but I was wondering what resources senior residents/attending recommend to become more knowledgeable about pediatric topics in general to become a better physician, and as a secondary benefit, to do well on in service exams and boards? I try to read about my patients but it would be nice to have a resource on my phone or ipad that I can use to just read something different when I have a few minutes downtime during the day, for example. I was thinking reading one Peds in Review article per 1-2 days. The problem is I'm trying to just randomly read articles like that but they are obviously very dry when I haven't connected it to a patient. I was thinking maybe just using a board review book that I can use to get a more concise review of a topic (with uptodate/journals if I need more). Is there anything that people recommend that you think sticks out, especially things that are written in a way that you can remember more easily? Any help is appreciated.

Basically I want to create a long term habit of reading/listening to something every single single day, even if its not much and making it a part of my routine. Hopefully, overtime that adds up.

The keys to learning are patients and patience. Your first priority should always be to read on whatever you didn't understand that day. That being said if you want some easy reading material above and beyond reading on your patients my recommendations are:

Ward: The pediatric national nighttime curriculum (google it). Its a free website of lectures concerning common calls you get from the nurses. Great resource for triaging nursing phone calls, about 30 useful lectures in all.

Nursery: Baby 411. A book about babies written for parents. If you can memorize it and regurgitate it you're half way to being a nursery pediatrician.

Outpatient Clinic:
Baby 411 (again). It covers topics relevant up to 12 months
Toddler 411: The sequel to baby 411 covering topics up to 5 years
The asthma educator's handbook: A comprehensive guide to the outpatient management of asthma

NICU: Polin and Yoder's Workbook in Practical Neonatology. This is basically case files NICU. Its not an easy read but its extremely helpful. A chapter a day will make you an expert by the end of the block.

PICU: ICU rounds by Dr. Jeffery Guy. Ok, its a burn ICU podcast and not a PICU podcast, but there is no great easy to read PICU resource and this is a fantastic review of ICU physiology. There a ton of them lasting 30-60 minutes each

For all and sundry: The Prep curriculum. Having a prep question day once a week is a great habit to get into. Also your program director can see how many prep questions you've done.

What is not on the list: Textbooks and random Peds in review articles. Like you said, I could never get those kind of information dense texts to stick in my head unless it was directly connected to a patient. Stuff written at a lower level (for patients) though, seems to stick. At least for me

 

[Step Up]

1. Practice and get good at teaching medical students.
2. Listen and learn from cases around you that you're not directly involved with but can use as a learning point
3. Jot down notes daily of noteworthy new things you learned, for later reference
4. Try to formulate your own plan before discussing with the senior resident or attending. Use resources to figure it out on your own.

All of these things will help improve your knowledge, imo, and don't require extra studying outside the hospital. I realize this doesn't answer your question about which resources to use. Perrotfish had good advice though.