starting clinicals

[tigerrrr]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hi all, i'm a frequent reader but first-time poster here. Hope you all are doing well. I was hoping for some advice here:

I just started my clinical rotations and honestly, feel like an idiot everytime they ask me a question. I did well in class, or at least not bad i think... but here, I feel so out of place even when faced with a really easy question. And it's not that I need to refresh my memory on stuff, because I try to do it anyway... Did anyone feel the same way? How did you deal with it? Did it get better? How soon?

 

[Jaydoc311]

First of all, feeling stupid when attendings/residents ask you questions is going to happen, so you sort of just have to learn to go with the flow and not take it personally. I think it helps to remind yourself that they're only doing it to help you learn. When you start taking shelves, you'll realize that some of them are pretty long and some (not all) people have trouble finishing. I'm usually one of the first people done on shelf type tests and on my first one of third year, internal med, I finished with about 6 min to spare. When attendings/residents "pimp" you, they're just trying to get you to be quick with answers and think on your feet. A lot of times on shelves and boards you don't have time to think for a really long time on each question.

That said, it still sucks to feel stupid and be in the hot seat. I found that with most attendings/residents the most effective way to deal is to ask a lot of questions yourself and show that you are really interested in the answers. It shows that you want to learn and takes the heat off you.

Hope this helps!

 

[SexySurgeon]

Don't worry. You're not a doctor yet, right? And Jaydoc is right, ask a lot of questions...it's the clever way to go about it...just don't be obnoxious 🙂

 

[futuredoc007]

As a fourth year, there are still plenty of questions I get asked that I know I should know the answers to, and I forgot. It happens! Once, in third year, an attending said to me, "You went through 2 years of med school and that's all you know?" It's hard at first, but everyone does go through it, everyone has bad days, and yes, you will have good days when you're on fire and everyone looks at you and is like "How do they know that?". I am far from the smartest kid in my class but I rocked my clinicals. Why? Enthusiasm (like they said, ask questions). Especially ask questions that showed that you read something about it. Bring in journal articles when relevant. Fake confidence... you might even start believing it. Be eager to help out your team (if you help your resident with some scut work, they'll appreciate it and may return the favor). Never make a fellow med student look bad. Truly care about your patients... don't forget why you became a doctor. And don't be too hard on yourself... some attendings will love you, some may not. It's okay.

 

[AmoryBlaine]

It's the medical school's fault for teaching you so little about actual patient care during M1/2 -- not yours.

You spend all this time learning about the histopathology of various colonic polyps but no one ever tells you how to interpret lab values. Once again -- not your fault.