What's the Most Useful Thing You've Learned?

[gcuddles]

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What's the most real-life useful thing you've learned in medical school/residency so far? Like, things that would be helpful to a lay person too.

 

[Gurby]

Mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell.

 

[bashwell]

What's the most real-life useful thing you've learned in medical school/residency so far? Like, things that would be helpful to a lay person too.

Where the restroom is on each floor. That s*** (no pun intended) is useful to know! And not just for us, but also for lay people, which fulfills your criteria!

 

[sloop]

Useful to a layperson? I don't know. Probably that getting trached and PEGed and laying around in a hospital bed for months developing pressure ulcers before finally getting hospice involved is a terrible existence that one's loved ones shouldn't have to go through no matter how uncomfortable the idea of "pulling the plug" might make them.

 

[Saxappeal1]

Helpful scrub techs are God-sends.
Don't ever count on women in labor waiting for you to get up to L and D to finish delivering their baby.
As one of my attendings said one of the first days of 3rd year: "You can learn a lot in the first 2 years of medical school. What you don't learn is a damn thing about how to take care of sick people."

 

[Osteoth]

All the drugs.

Every time a friend/family member is having weird reactions, its surprising how well I can do a reconciliation with just a MS3 knowledge.

 

[SunsFun]

While I would have never admitted this to myself, I went to medical school in large part because of money and prestige. Those are the wrong reasons to do anything in life. I am very fortunate to realize that looking out for your own interest only will make your life miserable no matter what you end up doing,; you will find a reason to complain while constantly looking over your shoulder and feeling screwed.

I know this sounds cheesy, but learning to truly enjoy helping others will bring you more happiness than doing well on any test, rotation, research project, etc.


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[Mad Jack]

What's the most real-life useful thing you've learned in medical school/residency so far? Like, things that would be helpful to a lay person too.

The most useful thing I've learned is





























Patience.

 

[GrignardsReagent]

Stay humble and just keep your head down and grind

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[SilverCat]

Never ask a patient who mentions they have a cat about their cats during pre-rounds. You will be late for rounding.

 

[Crayola227]

Stay humble and just keep your head down and grind

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this sounded more like what you learned in the bedroom

 

[failedatlife]

What's the most real-life useful thing you've learned in medical school/residency so far? Like, things that would be helpful to a lay person too.

 

[Panthersfan25]

this sounded more like what you learned in the bedroom

 

[Cura_te_ipsum]

#1: the system is broken beyond repair

other items I have learned:
the admins are powerless - they are beholden to accrediting bodies and govt regulations
facuity are distracted from teaching due to business / government interference
Dept Heads are burnt out, cynical, see school and hospital admins as their enemy while ignoring students
the future of the medical landscape in USA is bleak and no one knows it
patients largely dont care about being active participatants in their treatment

good people exist on both sides of the table but they are leaving, giving up or quitting

maybe law school would have been a better idea

 

[SilverCat]

If patient talks too much send rescue page to yourself and bail

Lol-but I never used a pager during rotations.

 

[gcuddles]

Oh wow, thanks for all the responses! Certainly not what I expected haha. The most useful thing I've learned is that you can use Afrin, which I think most people have, to stop a nosebleed. But these are all great (especially the rescue self-page)