worried about overly easy residency

[Lovestudying]

im currently a third year IM resident and its a bit too easy for my taste. My first year was pretty rough- I was on call a lot (no night float) and had a lot of responsiblity as a result. My second year was definitely easier. But my third year has been consistently soft. Most of my rotations are basically shadowing attendings and on outpatient IM rotaitons the attendings are not seeing patients all the time.

My question is- does anyone else experience this? I will be working in clinic after I am done and wondering if simply studying a lot can overcome any deficiencies? IE getting better reading EKGs, imaging, recognizing medical conditions, pharmacology etc. Obv it will help -but is it essential I am working as many hours?

On average I work 30-40 hrs a week on the outpatient days. On the specialist rotaitons I usually work 40-50 hours.
On weeks where Im on call then it quickly becomes 60-70 hrs.

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[ajs321]

Moonlight


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[Lovestudying]

Is there anything else you can recommend.

 

[DoubleBogey]

im currently a third year IM resident and its a bit too easy for my taste. My first year was pretty rough- I was on call a lot (no night float) and had a lot of responsiblity as a result. My second year was definitely easier. But my third year has been consistently soft. Most of my rotations are basically shadowing attendings and on outpatient IM rotaitons the attendings are not seeing patients all the time.

My question is- does anyone else experience this? I will be working in clinic after I am done and wondering if simply studying a lot can overcome any deficiencies? IE getting better reading EKGs, imaging, recognizing medical conditions, pharmacology etc. Obv it will help -but is it essential I am working as many hours?

On average I work 30-40 hrs a week on the outpatient days. On the specialist rotaitons I usually work 40-50 hours.
On weeks where Im on call then it quickly becomes 60-70 hrs.

You’re not going to feel fully comfortable practicing outpatient medicine until you have at least 1yr (if not 2-3yrs) under your belt after residency. Recognizing/diagnosing new medical conditions takes time and that’s why there’s a steep learning curve after residency. You will develop more of your style/approach to workup through the coming years. And like residency, you will have colleagues you can bounce ideas/concerns off of.

Your comfort level will vary depending on the setting your practicing after residency - is it a clinic/practice tied to your residency, different EMR, different referral culture (academic vs rural/community)?

I agree with the above, moonlighting helps get you more pt “touches” and increase your comfort level with managing pts without supervision. Outpt moonlighting didn’t exist in my residency, but inpt and cross covering did.

Check urgent cares in your area if you’re able to moonlight there. Most residencies make you rotate through the ED, which can be helpful for acute/triage management (although IM training may differ in workups, you will get more exposure).

The world is full of a lot of pain, despite your training in residency, you will be writing/titrating a lot of pain meds.

The chronic disease management/acute URI/back pain/depression/anxiety/chronic pain/routine physicals are about 90% of what you will see.

 

[sluggs]

I think you should express your concerns to your program director and arrange your last 6 months accordingly. Things that will help you in outpatient IM would be: derm, rheum, endocrine, ENT. These can be somewhat sparse in an academic clinic and you could fill months of doing them outpatient in a way that would really help you when you are on your own!

 

[PlutoBoy]

I think you should express your concerns to your program director and arrange your last 6 months accordingly. Things that will help you in outpatient IM would be: derm, rheum, endocrine, ENT. These can be somewhat sparse in an academic clinic and you could fill months of doing them outpatient in a way that would really help you when you are on your own!

And GYN!