Residency

Effective communication and interpersonal skills are necessary for a well-functioning medical team. As a practicing or aspiring physician, it is your duty to set an example in proper communication for your team members.  Whether you’re a resident learning clinical duties or an attending physician, these strategies are sure to improve communication among your medical team. read more…

A few months ago, I wrote a blog post sharing that I didn’t match into residency the first time. After a year of difficult soul searching, research, and self-improvement, I finally reached my goal of starting a general surgery residency program. Today, I’m in my fourth month of surgical residency and I want to share read more…

Every year as residency comes to an end, many decide between doing a fellowship or starting practice as an attending. It’s an individualized decision that hinges on professional goals and personal circumstances. The roles fellows and attendings serve are different in structure and purpose. If you’re approaching a similar decision, and are wondering “What is read more…

According to the Maslach Burnout Inventory, there are three specific components in assessing burnout: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a lack of a sense of personal accomplishment. About 40% of medical students, residents, and attending physicians experience these symptoms of burnout. Considering the prevalence of burnout among medical professionals, how do you avoid burning out in read more…

If you’re a medical student or resident, you’ve probably heard about the In-Training Exam (ITE). Some residents anxiously await their scores, wondering whether their performance could impact their future career. Others dismiss it as just another standardized test.  In this post, we’ll answer a common question that residents have: does your ITE score matter? We’ll read more…

The internet medical education space is full of great guides on how to excel at different points along the medical journey. You’ll find plenty of material on excelling as a medical student, being a fantastic intern, and smoothing the transition to fellowship and/or attending-hood. But like a middle child, the junior resident can be forgotten. read more…

The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Certification Exam is offered once per year over a two-week period of time. The assessment evaluates the ability of test takers to diagnose and manage both common and rare conditions under the broad umbrella of internal medicine. As you begin to prepare for the exam, it’s important to read more…

Medical school is long and expensive, with little (if any) time to earn money. Residency may not offer much more free time, but it’s still exciting to earn a paycheck instead of paying tuition. Your resident salary, typically adjusted for local cost of living, should cover housing, food, and limited entertainment. If you happen to read more…

Halloween, for many, is a time of spooky fun, wild costumes, and candy overload. But for resident physicians on call, the night is far from a playful scare. Instead, it’s a dizzying gauntlet of bizarre injuries, illnesses, and the occasional patient still dressed as a spaghetti monster with bloody marinara sauce dripping off a fork read more…

This post relates the true story of how one resident came to realize it was time for her to switch residency programs, and how she managed to successfully transfer to another program in her specialty. For those thinking about transferring, her story offers a great example of how to switch programs in a professional manner—and read more…

Residency is a busy time filled with many clinical, professional, and educational responsibilities. Much of the time, it can be a 60-hour or even 80-hour work week without much downtime. With a busy schedule, you may wonder whether you have time to relax and what that might look like. Here’s how vacation during residency works read more…

Congratulations! Intern year is finally behind you. At this point, you’ve likely learned more medicine and worked more hours than you previously would’ve thought possible, and it’s only been one year! The road ahead will be exciting, but challenging. PGY-2 year of family medicine residency will be a time to refine your clinical skills, develop read more…

Starting day one of your residency, patients and attendings will have certain expectations of you. As a resident, it is crucial that you are proficient in communication to retrieve clinical questions in caring for patients, relay this to your attendings, and use evidence that will be used to address said medical concerns. Of course, skillfully read more…

Are you thinking about switching residency programs within your specialty? If so, you’re not the only one. Upon matching into residency, many imagine spending the next 3-7 years training at that same institution, building skills, growing professional relationships, and eventually graduating into attendinghood.  For most trainees, that’s exactly what happens. But sometimes, life presents us read more…

Are you thinking about switching specialties during residency? If so, you’re not alone. Choosing a specialty in medical school isn’t easy. You’re required to make a career-long decision from a series of brief rotations, each spanning a couple of weeks to months and then hope you made the right choice. Most of the time, this read more…

Feedback isn’t always easy to get, especially when it’s not glowing. While we often hope for praise and encouragement, the reality is that feedback can be mixed, and sometimes it’s critical or unexpected. Regardless, it’s important to be open to it. Though it’s not always what you want to hear, it’s often what’ll help you read more…

I remember my first day of residency, ten years ago. Naturally, excitement and nervousness had me waking up earlier than I intended, so I decided to drive to the hospital early, and hang out in my car until it was an appropriate time to arrive. I journaled to pass the time, and can still remember read more…

Your intern year, regardless of specialty, is a whirlwind of new responsibilities, steep learning curves, and constant growth. Every day brings fresh challenges, like admitting complex patients, coordinating care on complex cases, writing notes and orders under time pressure, and presenting on rounds. It’s difficult for sure, and it’s normal to feel a bit overwhelmed read more…

Fellowship is an exciting next step in your training after residency. Not everyone needs to do a fellowship (and many people don’t), but the advantage of further subspecialty training is the additional expertise that will set you apart from your colleagues. In this article, we’ll explain the different types of fellowships, how to apply to read more…

If you’re headed into your OB/GYN intern year, it’s common to feel nervous or overwhelmed with the transition to residency. Here are some words of advice that I wish I knew before starting my own OB/GYN intern year, and some tips to help set you up for success! I vividly recall the night before my read more…