Forgetting things, feeling overwhelmed, struggling to keep up in Internship...

[IonClaws]

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I know "everyone feels this way" during internship, yadda yadda yadda...I just have to get it off my chest.

I just switched from my first rotation to a new one, and it's hit me like a freight train. I am always scrambling to keep up with everything that's going on and how to do things. It feels like wading through molasses trying to get things done. I mixed up a day to shadow for a clinic and thus forgot to go to my scheduled one today (planning to go tomorrow instead). No one seems to be complaining about me (yet), and I am getting ok, maybe slightly below average feedback, but it's like being thrown into a cyclone...

I guess welcome to internship?

 

[TraumaLlamaMD]

Welcome to internship! It does get better. 🙂

 

[BigPikachu]

Haha. I felt exactly the same way when I started -- brings back memories.

It's called an Internship for a reason. No one expects you to know everything yet. Just keep your chin-up and doing what you're doing, and eventually you'll see the year through before you know it. Few tips: don't be afraid to ask for help from people on the floor with you; ask your Resident or Registrar, ask the Nurses -- hopefully they're approachable. And, there's nothing wrong with healthy venting; just make sure you do it in a safe place and amongst colleagues who can empathise with your situation -- that is, don't do it in the public lunch room or social media; probably do it at an intern gathering outside of work where you can exchange funny stories and where other intern or residents may have some suggestions they found that worked; or, if you have a trusted mentor-supervisor, you can debrief and talk over things with them as well.

Most people will be able to put up with a new guy on the job if you're two of three things: a) genius/smart, b) nice/polite/courteous, c) efficient/fast/work-hard. Obviously strive to be all three, but I find I have no issues with juniors if you're respectful and a hard-worker; the clinical aptitude is something that can be taught and comes with time/experience; what I can't stand are people who are arrogant and oblivious to a sense of good work ethic and who don't have manners, these are things that we shouldn't be needing to teach in a professional workplace.

Good luck and enjoy your Internship!