European IMG matched to cat, please give some advice

[lietuviste]

Hello!
Throughout all my medical school years I was fascinated with surgery, always stayed after hours with the surgeons, even if I didn't have to, participated in numerous surgical student societies and conferences... in 2 words: always thought, yes, I am a future surgeon.

So I matched to surgery this year, to a Cat position, and now I can say that I am happy, but also terrified. I don't know where this feeling came from..damn it...
I'm afraid that because I dont have any experience in surgical facilities in the US they will hang me on my first day!

Please tell me that others that just matched to surgery had this feeling before starting residency. And that this feeling will go away and I will gain back my confidence that I had all these years.

Also... and I hope you wont consider me stupid.. I'm just cautious: what if they will be disappointed in me, and god knows fire me... can I still match to a diff specialty after a year of Cat Gen Surg?

I'm sorry, I'm being a bit delirious... any help would be appreciated.

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[Anka]

Hi, congratulations on matching. Just remember, they wouldn't have picked you if they didn't think you could do it. The first few months are rough for everyone, after that you'll get into a groove and do fine. No one is going to hang you on the first day. They really won't expect that much of you.

Best,
Anka

 

[lietuviste]

Thank you Anka, you are giving me some relieve.

GS residents! What can I read, do [I dunno, maybe start tying knots on everything I find in the house] to get myself ready?

This mixed feeling of happiness and anxiety wont leave me alone for the past 2 days...

 

[filter07]

If you were at my program you would not need to know how to tie knots. Just how to write H&Ps, tylenol orders, and discharge summaries for the first 2 years... And as reading goes, if you read just one page a day of surgery, you would probably be ahead of half of my class.

 

[Anka]

Sure, tying knots is good; that way if you get into the OR, you will look like you know what you are doing. See if you can't get Surgery On Call or a similar book, which deals with common on call problems (Fever, low urine output) with a straightforward, algorithmic approach (e.g., Surgery On Call, Surgical Intern Pocket Survival Guide, The Washington Manual Surgery Survival Guide). And relax, you'll have lots of help your first few months.

Anka

 

[hef]

Congrats on matching! Would you mind sharing some of your stats with us? As a European student (soon to be) attending a non-US medical school, it would be really encouraging to hear more about your particular story. If I take an interest in GS during my clinical years, a US residency is definitely something I'd want to try for! I'm assuming you're from Lithuania, judging from your screenname?

Sorry for the off topicness, but I really don't have anything to offer except my most sincere congratulations on succeeding in a very, very daunting task. And good luck, come July! I'm sure you'll do well, the biggest obstacle is now behind you.

EDIT: You could PM me if you don't want to derail this thread more and would like to retain some privacy.