Surgical internship work schedule
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supershorty
Don't look so vexed, toots.
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Surgical internships are very intense (as is residency), and especially in this first month where you're new and figuring everything out or may be required to be there more as you learn the norms of how they want things done, how call works, etc., you may be there many days in a row for some portion of the day. I can't quite tell from your post, but are you working those ER shifts voluntarily or does your program make you do that?
Without knowing what you knew going into it, it's hard to say "is this too intense." Did you speak with current/prior interns at this program before you applied to it? If it was through VIRMP, what did their description say to expect? Surgery internships are not easy. A surgery residency is not going to be easier. It's going to be rare to have >24 hours where you don't have to go into the hospital at all most of the time. That doesn't mean that you can't take care of yourself, but it takes a lot more active effort on your part to force it into your schedule. You're not going to have a plethora of days where you can be a potato the whole day.
Without knowing what you knew going into it, it's hard to say "is this too intense." Did you speak with current/prior interns at this program before you applied to it? If it was through VIRMP, what did their description say to expect? Surgery internships are not easy. A surgery residency is not going to be easier. It's going to be rare to have >24 hours where you don't have to go into the hospital at all most of the time. That doesn't mean that you can't take care of yourself, but it takes a lot more active effort on your part to force it into your schedule. You're not going to have a plethora of days where you can be a potato the whole day.
I’m also curious what these working days entail. Are they all full appointment and surgery days or are you counting weekends when you have to come in and do some patient care but then are free after morning care/rounds/owner updates/discharges? My internship program officially gave us two days off a week, but sometimes when you swapped from one service to another you did go nearly 10 days straight before having a day off because of how the schedule fell. We didn’t have to go in on our official “days off” for patient care, but that was a bit unusual at the time and my friends in training programs usually did have to go in for a few hours a day on their days off. I don’t think that’s a great thing to make trainees do, but it’s very common.
Also being “on call” for surgeries seems like a very basic and core part of being a surgical intern. Of course the practice’s overall call volume will greatly influence how easy or rough those on call shifts could be, but I’d expect to be on call a lot as a surgical intern.
Feeling overwhelmed and overworked is absolutely normal for an intern, especially in the first month. I don’t say that to say that’s the way it should be, but to show your feelings are normal. it’s common and really to be expected with the current internship culture. I’m sure you’re not the only intern feeling this way.
Also being “on call” for surgeries seems like a very basic and core part of being a surgical intern. Of course the practice’s overall call volume will greatly influence how easy or rough those on call shifts could be, but I’d expect to be on call a lot as a surgical intern.
Feeling overwhelmed and overworked is absolutely normal for an intern, especially in the first month. I don’t say that to say that’s the way it should be, but to show your feelings are normal. it’s common and really to be expected with the current internship culture. I’m sure you’re not the only intern feeling this way.
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Significant on call and long, long days sounds like a typical intern schedule (rotating or specialty) imo. Genuine question, but did you attend a school without a teaching hospital? Observing house officers during 4th year is a great way to get a taste of the demands those specialities experience.
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