Non-Trad Emergency Medicine Resident - Ask me anything!!!

[DocMcStuffandThings]

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Current EM resident in southeast US. Non-trad, military, etc. Ask me anything here or on IG, under same name. I check IG daily and will answer via comment or video.
Cheers 🍻
- DocMcStuffandThings

 

[wholeheartedly]

Current EM resident in southeast US. Non-trad, military, etc. Ask me anything here or on IG, under same name. I check IG daily and will answer via comment or video.
Cheers 🍻
- DocMcStuffandThings

Thanks for doing this.

What age were you when you decided to try for medical school and what age were you when you got it?


What was the biggest surprise in medical school and residency?

 

[DocMcStuffandThings]

Thanks for doing this.

What age were you when you decided to try for medical school and what age were you when you got it?


What was the biggest surprise in medical school and residency?

I was in the military when I decided around age 23. Went back to undergrad after military, then worked for the gov doing some other stuff for a while. Finally started Med school at 32. I was the second oldest in my class, first being 50yrs old.
Biggest surprise: it’s not what you expect. I guess you go in thinking ‘I can’t wait to get to Med school and take care of patients’. Then you get there and almost never see a patient for two more years. Then when you do, what you do and say has no bearing on their actual treatment. It can be frustrating at times, but you just have to trust the process. In residency, no real surprises, but it def takes time getting used to being called doctor and people expecting you to make real decisions from day 1. The first time a nurse turns to you and says what do you want to do doctor, you about **** yourself. The nurse and patient both stare at you in silence until you gather yourself and provide the least stupid answer you can muster up. You realize very quickly how much you have to learn. At the end of fourth year Med school you feel pretty damn good about yourself, and then week one of residency you question if you actually even attended medical school. Hang in there and trust the process. By the end of month one, you will have your bearings and know how to dodge questions you can’t answer and where the bathrooms are. 😂

 

[music_on_my_mind]

This is a question for earlier stages in the process, but do you have any advice for how non-trads/career changers should approach virtual interviews? Have a few post-bacc interviews coming up. Thank you!

 

[@harleythe2nd]

How did you chose your specialty of emergency medicine ? as someone that was older, how did you adapt to the age difference in medical school?

 

[HopesDreams]

Under what circumstances would you encourage/ discourage a nontrad go to med school?

Did you have to handle disrespect from your attendings/senior residents as a nontrad and how did you deal with it?

What was the final thought that ultimately turned your journey from a thought to an action?

Why emergency medicine over other specialties?

Thanks for doing this!

 

[Dave1980]

Current EM resident in southeast US. Non-trad, military, etc. Ask me anything here or on IG, under same name. I check IG daily and will answer via comment or video.
Cheers 🍻
- DocMcStuffandThings

why did you start this thread and then ghost it lol?!?!

 

[Dave1980]

Current EM resident in southeast US. Non-trad, military, etc. Ask me anything here or on IG, under same name. I check IG daily and will answer via comment or video.
Cheers 🍻
- DocMcStuffandThings

also you took down your IG. maybe this thread should be closed

 

[BritainKittenMittens]

Maybe they were getting doxxed or something or life got busy.