Scared $h!*less about residency!

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

igotmyswag

New Member
10+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Jun 3, 2008
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
Hello All!

I know that similar questions have been posted recently but I couldnt resist asking. I am scared out of my sneakers about residency. I feel as though I dont know anything! Is there anything that I should be reading to sort of prepare for what is to come. I wasnt sure if there were some key topics of medicine I should be covering. I finished med school months ago so I have a net 6 months off before starting residency. The lag time has given me some serious brain atrophy. I want to perform well as an intern. What things should I be doing to make myself better prepared as an intern? Can someone please give me some insight?

Members don't see this ad.
 
Hello All!

I know that similar questions have been posted recently but I couldnt resist asking. I am scared out of my sneakers about residency. I feel as though I dont know anything! Is there anything that I should be reading to sort of prepare for what is to come. I wasnt sure if there were some key topics of medicine I should be covering. I finished med school months ago so I have a net 6 months off before starting residency. The lag time has given me some serious brain atrophy. I want to perform well as an intern. What things should I be doing to make myself better prepared as an intern? Can someone please give me some insight?

When did you graduate from med school? Are you off-cycle? I assume you'll be starting residency in July?
 
You will be fine! We all go through this. And in the end, we all survive.

My residency is in IM (which I finish this June). To prep for my intern year, I read through the books that I used during my clinical years, but with focus on the specialty.

To really shine during your intern year:

Read! On each one of your patients read about their disease processes and such. I know it's hard when you are on call, but at least briefly look up (even on Up-To-Date) their diagnoses. Also, I was expected to know every detail about my patients.

Look organized. When you are presenting, don't shuffle through a stack of copied H&Ps and labs just to read straight off of them to present your patient. I used index cards, some people used that sheet from medfools.com

Be ready to work hard!

When you are on overnight call, don't be the intern who complains to the senior when they are given a patient (yes, we remember that).

Don't take your work home with you. Leave the hospital at the hospital, and don't bring it home to your family. This is probably the hardest part. Put aside dedicated family time each week.

When you are all panicky inside, don't show it. Don't show it to your seniors, med students, and especially your patients.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. No one ever looks stupid for asking a question, but certainly looks like an a** for making a mistake because they didn't ask.

Be polite to the nurses, housekeepers, cooks, janitors, etc. You will spend more time in the hospital than with your own family. A personality clash creates a sticky situation that can make your life hell.

Don't argue with your senior or attending. I've seen this happen a couple of times, and the end result is never good. If you have a concern about patient management, just pull your senior aside and discuss it in private.

And above all, become addicted to coffee. It will save you!
 
Hello All!

I know that similar questions have been posted recently but I couldnt resist asking. I am scared out of my sneakers about residency. I feel as though I dont know anything!

Good. You're exactly where you need to be. Incoming interns who think they know exactly what's going on (and I would count myself among those who thought too highly of my own knowledge and skills on day 1 of internship) have the potential to be dangerous. I was fortunate enough to have good seniors, fellows and attendings during my first 2 weeks of internship (in the MICU) who quickly put me on the right path.

A little knowledge + A little arrogance = Danger
A little knowledge + A little humility + A healthy dose of fear = Potentially good intern
 
Thanks for the feedback! Yes, I finished back in January and start residency in July. Yes, I was planning to just skim through some of the info that I used during clinicals. I just feel like i dont even remember how to present a patient anymore. My brain feels like it has turned into mush. Any other good feedback would definitely be appreciated. I am really trying to get all the advice I can get!
 
I hear you. i just thought about starting this july and i think i just crapped my pants. it's like 4th year is this utopia of short days and easy rotations and i feel it slipping away as i slowly but surely move toward my impending doom.
 
I hear you. i just thought about starting this july and i think i just crapped my pants. it's like 4th year is this utopia of short days and easy rotations and i feel it slipping away as i slowly but surely move toward my impending doom.

Tell me about it. It's like I'm just sitting here on some nice beach waiting around for a level 5 hurricane to hit in about 2 months. And I still just sit here...waiting.
 
I'm starting in July, too. Up until a month ago, I hadn't been on a "tough" rotation since November. I was afraid I had been losing my touch on how to gather a history and present a patient. That is, until I just took another ICU rotation. It all came back. While I fully acknowledge that I am still just a newbie knowledge-wise, and I had to arrive earlier than the interns and other residents to have enough time to fully evaluate my patients, I gathered the confidence that I would be capable of performing at a competent level. Speed will come with experience (I typically start out slowly to get it just right, then burst ahead).

If you really want a refresher, try getting a history and physical from some of your friends. Type it up and present it to someone.
 
Learn to give good oral presentations...even if you are organized and know your patients' labs, and have a plan, and write good notes, a lot of people don't notice that. What most attendings notice is just the quick oral presentations you give on your patients.

Figure out some sort of organizational system to use on the wards...note cards for each patient, perhaps?

Read up on your patients' disorders.

If you are doing IM, it wouldn't hurt to read up on common disorders (your med school IM review books, and/or something like Washington Manual wouldn't hurt). Harrison's is great but it's too big and fat to read it all.

Learn to leave the hospital at the hospital (don't obsess about work when you're @home). I still don't do a good job with this one :laugh:
 
Tell me about it. It's like I'm just sitting here on some nice beach waiting around for a level 5 hurricane to hit in about 2 months. And I still just sit here...waiting.

Amen, I feel there is a storm on the horizon. My old trick knee is acting up.
 
Amen, I feel there is a storm on the horizon. My old trick knee is acting up.

Yeah, and I can see the clouds WAAAAY out there, but they are still far. So I am going to just chill here for a while more, looking at the scenery and such.
 
I think its natural to feel scared about residency. I know I was before I started. And now that intern year has almost come to an end, the best advice I can give you is enjoy your time off. You'll be fine as long as you care about your patients and work. No matter how much you read right now, I think the most important aspect to being a successful intern is efficiency. You could be extremely knowledgable but at the end of the day, if you do not have all your work done, I think you can be more of a liability for your team. So don't burn yourself out. Read as you go along. If you can, get step 3 done and out of the way (one less thing to worry about and it keeps you a bit upto date). And basically just find a method that will get you through your work well. Its amazing how much you pick up just from doing what you are supposed to.

The only time I've seen people really struggle as medicine interns is when they are not efficient. Stay focused, and you'll do great :)
 
I hear you. i just thought about starting this july and i think i just crapped my pants. it's like 4th year is this utopia of short days and easy rotations and i feel it slipping away as i slowly but surely move toward my impending doom.

I felt the same way when I was a 4th year. However, internship was even worse than I imagined as a 4th year (though that was before work hour restrictions, and I was inefficient compared to the other interns). Enjoy your last few months of relative freedom.
 
I felt the same way when I was a 4th year. However, internship was even worse than I imagined as a 4th year (though that was before work hour restrictions, and I was inefficient compared to the other interns). Enjoy your last few months of relative freedom.

Worse, huh? Great. Now I feel better.
 
some good advice i got from others-

every day, make a sheet with all your patients and make a 4 square box with L(abs) N(ote) O(rders) A(ttending) next to each patient. It's all about organization, use this sheet to cross off those 4 things and add important stuff you need to do specific to each patient.

for the first few weeks:

get in early, if you can get sign out at 7, get in at 6 and see your patients. night float will love you (friends= very good, lifesaving, yours and your patients!) and you can feel ahead of the game if you've seen all your patients before the resident and can update them with important stuff when they page you- this helps your resident trust you and appreciate you as well (very very good!)

work (consults, checking labs, getting tests ordered) before writing notes unless your attending wants your note in early.

stay late if you need to-- i didn't get out of the hospital until 11 pm most days the first few weeks of internship. this helps you make sure you haven't forgotten anything (learning the system takes time) and very importantly, all of your patients will really be tucked in (night float really loves you!). you will gain respect from your residents,interns, nurses for this and it will help you keep everyone straight when presenting because most likely you were there, not just reporting something that night float told you. and on top of this, you really learn a lot when you see everything that goes on (those old docs who worked 120 hrs/week do have something there...)

when you do get home, you can sleep well because everyone is tucked again... and it won't be like this forever.

don't be the stereotypical whiny intern that everyone (especially RNs) loves to hate, admit when you don't know something, have a sense of humor, work very hard and don't take things too personally. if you are a woman, work even harder with the RNs to develop good relationships, (the male interns will be flirting with the RNs), you might actually make some friends...

interns take a lot of ****, this is where it helps to have good relationships with other interns and residents. laugh and if you need to cry (in the bathroom though!)

also, get a life outside- enjoy your friends, both medical and not, s.o., fam, etc.

enjoy the privilege
 
I started residency recently.

I have blogged about my experience from day 1. You might find some tips there.

Work hard. Dont be lazy and be motivated and eager to learn. Pray a lot also..lol... and you will be fine....

God BLess

Dr.Mike (pgy1)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I started residency recently.

I have blogged about my experience from day 1. You might find some tips there.

Work hard. Dont be lazy and be motivated and eager to learn. Pray a lot also..lol... and you will be fine....

God BLess

Dr.Mike (pgy1)

Gotta say though. hard to stay motivated when your attending micromanages and berrates you constantly :( just no where to turn with grievances

beginning to think a union is the way to go!
 
Yeah, and I can see the clouds WAAAAY out there, but they are still far. So I am going to just chill here for a while more, looking at the scenery and such.

Uhoh, that storm is about to hit! Help!
 
I know it's scary, believe me... I know. But you will be fine.

You'll figure out what to read, what to do, and most of all what works for you. The best thing you can do right now is chill, lower the cortisol levels, tell yourself you'll be fine, and believe it. Because it's true, and you will.

Good luck.
 
Last edited:
Fear is good.
It keeps you from making stupid mistakes due to being overconfident.
Take a deep breath.
Buy Pocket Medicine.
Fire up your palm pilot with whatever favorite drug program (? Epocrates) that you like.
Sleep a lot.
You will be fine.
 
Thanks to those who posted. I am scared too. But reading Wash Manual with no patients to think about doesn't really seem that efficient. It is hard to relax half-knowing what is about to hit us. I remember my interns first day 3rd year. Not pretty.
 
meh, i say the fear is overrated. like before i started med school and everybody was all scared how bad the first two years were going to be and it didn't turn out nearly as bad. then it was more scare tactics about how horrible third year was and it turned out mostly ok. now it's the same fear mongering about internship. somebody is probably going to come along saying it's nothing like med school, it's all so different and horrible...yeah yeah heard the same stuff before med school too. after internship you're probably going to hear about how much worse second year of residency is because you have more responsibility and more is expected, because "you're not an intern anymore" etc etc.
 
This is a gread post. Thanks everyone for the advice. I start in one week. I'm in the same boat and keep telling myself that I'm going to make it. Then come the panic attacks............
 
meh, i say the fear is overrated. like before i started med school and everybody was all scared how bad the first two years were going to be and it didn't turn out nearly as bad. then it was more scare tactics about how horrible third year was and it turned out mostly ok. now it's the same fear mongering about internship. somebody is probably going to come along saying it's nothing like med school, it's all so different and horrible...yeah yeah heard the same stuff before med school too. after internship you're probably going to hear about how much worse second year of residency is because you have more responsibility and more is expected, because "you're not an intern anymore" etc etc.

I agree. Most of that have made it this far have at least a component of OCPD, which is part of the reason why we're where we are, but it also causes an unhealthy and mostly irrational fear of the next step.

We freak out about the SAT, then getting into college, then organic chemistry, then our GPA, then the MCAT, then medical school admissions, then basic sciences, then Step I, then clerkships, then the match, then internship, then the in-service, then being an upper-level resident, then fellowship applications, then board certification examinations, then being an unsupervised attending...it goes on and on. If you've made it through even half of those things, chances are you aren't going to suddenly lose your **** and start messing things up.

Whenever I get worried about the next step, I can usually think of at least one of my predecessors who was a bigger screw-up than I am. I figure, if that guy can make it through then there's no reason they I can't.
 
Top