New (ish) Interns - Thoughts?

[Jwax]

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Hey fellow surgeons-to-be.

We're 2.5 months into internship. In just two short weeks, we'll be a quarter through our first year of five long years.

As such, I'm curious how the other new(ish) interns are feeling about their new roles. ERAS has opened and I'm sure we're all answering advice from panicked MS4's, which should remind us of where we were just one year ago. I'm still thrilled to have a categorical surgery position, but I feel a little disappointed some how. I can't really define how because I knew being an intern was the least glamorous role. I knew I'd be working hard and getting little (okay, no) credit for anything. The inspiration is just lacking. Maybe that's because I've only seen the OR once in the last few weeks. Maybe it's the way they've got our intern year set up (I'm not really a fan of many of our intern rotations... only one month on the general surgery service at the main hospital; lots of months being the b*tch on specialty services like HPB and transplant... as in 5 months of intern year yuck!). Actually, that's probably the winner.

Maybe I'm just being a whiner. Probably.

But 2.5 months in and I'm already ready to be a second year (except that whole higher expectations and knowledge that I don't yet have part).

🙂

 

[agranulocytosis]

To tell you the truth, I can kind of see why no one respects interns. I mean we did graduate medical school and match into a surgical residency program and are thus worthy of some sort of recognition, but when it comes to actually making medical and surgical decisions, we are next to useless.

I mean how much experience do we really have in anything?

I think the big part of intern year is figuring out patterns in patients and their care. Like figuring out which patients will only need to be minimally managed and which will have issues that need foresight (primarily from experience) to get them through. I can't tell you how many times I've had to say "I don't know but I'll get back to you with an answer" or "Let me check with the senior/chief/fellow first, then I'll get back to you" because every single patient is different.

I like to think that I'm learning something with every single patient I take care of. Each patient I learn from gets me one step closer to the level of attending.

To be honest, as an intern my role in the operating room mostly consists of retracting and sucking, perhaps the occasional subcuticular skin closure, but that's about it. I would rather hang out on the floors and study up on my patients and the ABSITE than bear through tedious exposures and accessory vessel ligations only to look forward to the occasional skin closure. But such is the suck of intern year, I guess.

You ain't alone.

 

[ACSurgeon]

Hey fellow surgeons-to-be.

We're 2.5 months into internship. In just two short weeks, we'll be a quarter through our first year of five long years.

As such, I'm curious how the other new(ish) interns are feeling about their new roles. ERAS has opened and I'm sure we're all answering advice from panicked MS4's, which should remind us of where we were just one year ago. I'm still thrilled to have a categorical surgery position, but I feel a little disappointed some how. I can't really define how because I knew being an intern was the least glamorous role. I knew I'd be working hard and getting little (okay, no) credit for anything. The inspiration is just lacking. Maybe that's because I've only seen the OR once in the last few weeks. Maybe it's the way they've got our intern year set up (I'm not really a fan of many of our intern rotations... only one month on the general surgery service at the main hospital; lots of months being the b*tch on specialty services like HPB and transplant... as in 5 months of intern year yuck!). Actually, that's probably the winner.

Maybe I'm just being a whiner. Probably.

But 2.5 months in and I'm already ready to be a second year (except that whole higher expectations and knowledge that I don't yet have part).

🙂

Try to stay positive. I'm just glad to be in a physician role, not a student! At least I get called about my patients, get included in every discussion about patient care (sure, more to inform me, not consult me), but still, beats the hell out of always pretending to be happy to pay a ton of money to be a student. At least when I'm tired, I don't have to hide it. If someone does/says something stupid, I don't have to pretend it was cool, etc. So, look forward to the senior years of actually operating, but for now, enjoy learning how to be a doctor, and enjoy the low responsibility that comes with being the most junior person on the team.

 

[45408]

The inspiration is just lacking. Maybe that's because I've only seen the OR once in the last few weeks. Maybe it's the way they've got our intern year set up (I'm not really a fan of many of our intern rotations... only one month on the general surgery service at the main hospital; lots of months being the b*tch on specialty services like HPB and transplant... as in 5 months of intern year yuck!).

That does suck. I was doing things like lumpectomies, inguinal hernias and anorectal cases fairly often as an intern. I'd occasionally get thrown into something big (open femoral embolectomy last October comes to mind, since I was the only resident available - it was a weekend).

I did quite a bit of general surgery, but since I'm at a community program that emphasizes operating, that's par for the course. Don't feel bad that you're feeling uninspired when you're the intern on a service that even the chiefs probably don't get to do as much as they'd like.

I can't tell you how many times I've had to say "I don't know but I'll get back to you with an answer" or "Let me check with the senior/chief/fellow first, then I'll get back to you" because every single patient is different.

You learn fast though. I'm a PGY-2 now, and I call my seniors much, much less often. I still keep them in the loop, but it's usually more like "Hey, I just changed this med/that tube, is that okay? Alright, good." It comes with time.

It's unfortunate that you can't take overnight call, but I'd imagine night float has similar aspects. That was when I was making the biggest decisions on my own (with support available if needed).

 

[Jwax]

Just thought I ought to update, now that we're 4.5 months into intern year.

I'm happier this month. Last month, I was on the surgical oncology service and loved it. I actually got to do a few cases (lumpectomies, port removals, a WLE of melanoma, and one PAC), and I got to participate in the OR at least twice a week (three days a week in clinic). And I actually enjoyed the clinic. I'm starting to feel more comfortable in my role and have gotten positive feedback from people who's opinion I value (much needed). I've kind of accepted that I won't be operating much this year except on certain services, and I'm enjoying improving each day on my management of the floor patients, improving at admits and discharges, and working on efficiency in clinic. Small rewards and small steps towards growth ultimately lead up to being a competent second year resident.

I remember hearing that Jan/Feb of intern year is the worst, so I'm curious what my update will be in several months.