What Shouldn’t I Do During an Internal Medicine Residency?

Written By: Rachael Kaine

Many people that choose to complete an internal medicine residency do so in a totally new area, meaning that they are essentially starting over. This means moving away from family, friends and the life that they’ve known previously. Starting an extensive program like this in a new city can be overwhelming, which causes some people to make decisions quickly, but there are a few things that you should avoid during a residency program so that you may focus your attention where it belongs - on your future career.

Common Mistakes to Avoid During an Internal Medicine Residency

- Do not avoid or put off work duties. This includes everything from studying to paying attention to what you see and hear in the hospitals and clinics from your superiors. These things are important for you to carry into your future, and time spent pushing things to the side or ignoring them can mean a lot of catch up later.

- Don’t make huge life decisions during a residency, as this can add to the stress and feelings of being overwhelmed you feel. While it is possible to maintain serious relationships during an internal medicine residency, it is usually not a good idea to plan a wedding or have a baby during this time.

- Always remember to take care of yourself. You’ll be working for anywhere from 12 to 16 hours a day some days, so proper nutrition and getting as much rest as possible can help to ensure that you’re as alert and aware as you can be. Getting sick or being overtired all of the time won’t help you any.

Ways to Make an Internal Medicine Residency Simple

An internal medicine residency requires you to be sharp and alert at all times, but this takes practice. During the years spent learning from senior residents, hospital staff members and your colleagues and classmates, you’ll pick up many different techniques and ideas that will help you out as you grow and develop your skills.

Internal medicine is all about learning to treat the different ailments and conditions that impact the daily lives of adults, but this can only be done with a clear head and an open mind. While it may seem like a never ending cycle of classes, patients, information and meetings, a residency is the most important few years of your life, and you need to make the most of it. This will ensure that you’re able to help people in the exact ways that they need, time and time again. Take a deep breath, eat a good breakfast and go into each day with a clear head and an open mind.

Getting Through An Internal Medicine Residency

Written By: Rachael Kaine

Depression During an Internal Medicine Residency

The time spent completing an internal medicine residency Baltimore can seem endless, which often will result in you feeling a lot of different emotions. Some days will be good days, others will be great... and some will be downright awful. The awful days might make you feel as if you made the wrong decision or chose the incorrect field, but these feelings will pass as long as you’re able to adequately deal with them. Depression during the residency years is a common occurrence; it just takes some time to learn how to handle it.

Talking about things can help a great deal. Chances are that you’re not the only person that is having these feelings, and a lot of times, letting other people know that you’re suffering can be enough to get you out of a rut and turn your feelings around. Take some time for yourself. This can be anything from getting out to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air to simply stopping to ensure that you’re eating right and sleeping as much as possible. These simple changes can give you a new perspective on your situation, and allow you to refocus and evaluate your priorities. Never, ever be afraid to ask for help. The medical field is about helping others, but you cannot do that without first helping yourself.

Internal Medicine Residency Stress

Like depression, stress can often sneak up on medical residents during the worst times. Maybe you’re overloaded with work, missing having a life, and off of a normal sleep or eating schedule. These are typical stress factors, especially for those completing an internal medicine residency, where people will be watching your every move and evaluating you to make sure that you’re doing what you need to be doing.

Getting through this stress is essential for success, but it might seem hard to think about what comes next when you’re up to your ears in patients, work, and everyday life. A few things that can be done in order to combat stress during your residency include not taking things personally, ensuring that you have some downtime for yourself each day, and learning to appreciate the small things.

It is normal for residents to be reprimanded and pulled aside by their seniors, but this isn’t meant to dishearten you - instead, this is an opportunity for you to learn; they are simply trying to help. Even 30 to 45 minutes each day spent doing something you enjoy like reading, listening to music or sitting outdoors can help to reduce stress, and it can give you a chance to take everything in. The stress you may feel, much like depression and the residency itself are only temporary.

General Surgery Residency: What to Expect

Written By: Sharon Cretsinger

All medical residencies tend to be rigorous and possibly exhausting.  This is usually not a surprise, or a much a deterrent, for individuals who have already completed college and medical school.   General surgery residency DC may vary a bit between facilities, but there are some aspects of general surgery residency that are fairly consistent across programs.

A Typical Day in General Surgery Residency DC

General surgeons invariably put in very long days at the hospitals where they practice.  The same is true of individuals completing a Georgetown surgery residency.  A typical day may start as early as 5:30 am.  Residents will accompany mentoring physicians on morning rounds each day, which means seeing patients who are scheduled for surgery, or who are post surgery.  It is important for general surgical residents to learn how to appropriately prepare patients for surgery, and how to notice possible issues in follow-up visits.

Residents will spend some time observing actual surgeries when they are scheduled.  Mentoring physicians will explain the surgical procedures to the residents as they are performed.  This is, of course, a very important part of any surgery residency Georgetown.

Other activities that may take up the resident's day include various conferences that explore the procedures and related issues for specific kinds of surgery.  There may be surgery clinics, other conferences on topics like emergency room or trauma surgery, and meetings with mentoring physicians or hospital administrators.  General surgeons have to be well-informed on new and developing procedures and standards of care.

In the late afternoon, around 4:30 pm, residents can expect to begin evening rounds.  This means that all of the surgical patients assigned to a mentor physician's caseload will need to be seen again for pre- or post- surgery evaluation.  These rounds will carry on until each patient has been seen and any issues with their care have been addressed.  Taking this into consideration, it is easy to see how an individual participating in a surgery residency DC could put in a twelve to fourteen hour day.