Choosing a Specialty

My favorite part of my job is teaching. There, I’ve said it. Yeah, it’s cool picking apart diseases and mix-n-matching treatment regimens for the optimal balance of cure and side effect. I love hand-holding people through concepts that are far beyond their educational level and helping patients and families make impossible decisions with uncertain data.

But give me a new third-year medical student who’s been dropped in the middle of the hospital for her First Real Rotation Ever, and I am just in heaven. I love teaching med students.

One of the things I love the most is helping them figure out what flavor of doctor they want to be. Third year is all about sampling it all, and experiencing what actually happens in the various medical specialties. You rotate through Surgery. You rotate through Internal Medicine. You rotate through Family Practice. You rotate through Anaesthesia. You rotate through Psychiatry. In fourth year, you’re supposed to be narrowing it down to your most likely options for residency.

Tips on Excelling on Rotations

I know that my performance on clinical rotations is important for how I will be assessed. How can I distinguish myself?

Response from Sheila M. Bigelow, DO Resident Physician -- Pediatrics, UH Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio

Clinical rotations can be very challenging. For the first time, you're expected to follow patients, present on rounds, show your medical knowledge, and work well in a team environment with people who are new to you, knowing that you'll be moving on before long. Not only are you expected to meet the basic requirements, you are expected to do well enough to earn an honors grade or a strong letter of recommendation from the attending.

Fortunately, there are some "must know" tricks that can help you distinguish yourself and help get the grade or letter that you want.

Thinking of Quitting

Question:

Medical school and residency can be tough physically, mentally, and socially. What's the best way to get through those tough times when all I want to do is quit?

Response from Sheila M. Bigelow, DO
Resident Physician - Pediatrics, UH Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio




Depression in Medical Students

Medical school and residency are some of the biggest challenges of our careers. Along with the good, exciting times come the hard, rough times. Long hours, little sleep, and a high-stress environment all create the perfect storm. These feelings can fall anywhere in the spectrum from burnout and depression to suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts.

Ins and Outs of Being an Intern

Question

How will things change as I transition from medical student to intern?

Response from Graham Walker, MD
Chief Resident, St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York, New York

As an intern, you are the primary patient data collector. It's probably the most important part of the team. Welcome to the role.

Your first days as an intern may seem like just another medical school rotation; you're still writing notes, but what you write matters much more now. Your team will rely on you to know your patients and their numbers inside out, so if you say the creatinine is trending down, it better be.

Transitioning to INTERNSHIP

In less than 60 days, I will be going into internship and most of my posts will also be transitioning about internship and hospital duty. Thanks for your continued support.

MedicalStudent soon to be MedicalIntern... Hopefully...