Dear 1st Year Medical Students

The first day of medical school is fast approaching for many you! First off congrats!  Let the heavens say AMEN! Let your cheer squad give you that resounding YAAAASSSSS!!! Ok now, let’s get down to business 😊 You have fought hard for this moment and it’s finally here which is super great but, medical school is a whole new ball game and if you don’t have your game plan in place things can quickly become overwhelming. So here are a few my tips for starting medical school off on the right foot so you can thrive rather than just survive.

1. The fire hose analogy is fact not fiction

We all heard of this analogy before- but it is VERY true.  All the information you learn in medical school feels like you are literally being slammed with the world’s biggest fire hose daily. Don’t let this fact scare you though; many have come before you and experienced this “hosing” (myself included while having 2 babies) and survived; therefore, I KNOW YOU WILL SURVIVE TOO. The biggest key to success is time management. You must develop a habit of mapping out your life i.e. planning study time for each course, meeting with tutors/teachers to review, study group sessions, time for sleep or eating etc. Ok, maybe penciling sleeping and eating on your calendar is extreme but, you catch my drift. You must be methodical in how you allocate your time to make sure you can fully master (not just memorize) all the information medical school will throw your way.

2. First Aid is a MUST

If you haven’t done so already, run to Amazon and buy a copy of First Aid. For those who may not know, First Aid is a review book for the United States Medical License Exam (i.e. the USMLE board review book). First Aid is your medical school BIBLE. It’s not like a GQ or Vogue magazine where you read every now and then…. IT IS YOUR BIBLE…. YOUR DAILY BREAD. Now, some of you may be scratching your head like “I haven’t even stepped in the classroom yet, why are we talking about boards already?” Your first boards take place at the end of your second year and they will cover the coursework over the first 2 years of medical school. So, as you progress along in your courses, you can review topics and annotate First Aid as you learn. I call this strategy “pre-gaming” the boards edition 😊 The advantage of pre-gaming is that when board time rolls around, you have already reviewed First Aid, made notes and you ready to study and review. Moral of this story- work smart not hard kiddos!

3. Find your tribe

Can’t say this enough, find your “squad/ tribe/ village/hittas—whatever you want to call the circle friends you will grow to rely on medical school.  This will be the group of people who be the coffee break buddies between classes, the laughter to break up the boredom of studying, the cheer squad on your good and bad days, study buddies who laugh at your geeky science jokes. So, don’t be a lone wolf. Be social. Mix and mingle with your classmates. FIND YOUR TRIBE. No one survives medical school by themselves.

4. Believe, Believe, Believe

Self-explanatory. Always believe in yourself. Doubt kills dreams and as it only serves to brews hesitancy and fear that can paralyze your ability to go for your goals. So don’t doubt yourself you might wreck yourself—that’s a rhyme right?!?! Lol. Know that you didn’t come this far to only come this far. You earned your acceptance to medical school which means you are more than qualified to become a doctor. So, roll up your sleeves, discover your favorite coffee brew, create a playlist of your favorite trap songs (to hype you on those long study days) and start grinding until you shine.

5. Learn how you learn

This is essential. Everyone studies different. Do you like lectures and note-taking or do you prefer to read books or maybe charts/graphs? Do you like to study mostly by yourself or do you prefer group study? These are important questions to ask before you get knee deep in your medical studies and find yourself sinking in quick sand of medical knowledge. You need to know how to effectively study to achieve academic success and that means knowing which study style best fits you personally.  If you haven’t figured this out yet, take time and find your study style.

6. Don’t memorize, learn and apply knowledge

This is not college where you study a little bit here and there or burn the midnight oil with cram sessions. Pump and dump style learning WILL NOT work in medical school. Treat medical school like it’s your job to learn as much as you can. You are not just learning information to get a passing grade on test but, you are learning this knowledge so you can save your patient’s life one day.

7. It’s okay to ask for help

We all know doctors are type A personality which means we always strive for perfection. Don’t let your desire to viewed as perfect hinder you from seeking help if you aren’t preforming well academically.  If you find yourself struggling, reach out for help. Go to review sessions, meet with tutors, talk with your teachers, do review questions, etc.  Don’t struggle in silence. Use your resources to help you succeed.

Good luck future docs!

7 Tips to Survive Intern Year

 

Dear Interns:

First off, congrats on the most epic accomplishment ever and joining the Doctor Club! You finally get to rock that long white coat with the deep pockets! But, to whom much is given much is required as the old saying goes. So, with the upgrade in titles and fancy coats, privileges of this exclusive club include: long hours, developing a dependency on caffeine or chocolate, never ending trail of paperwork, envying your friends weekend excursions as you grind at the hospital BUT the feeling of helping others in their most vulnerable states is the most rewarding feeling.  Let me not scare you, I admit this job can be stressful but, I wouldn’t trade it for anything! As you embark on this journey, trust the process and even though the learning curve is S-T-E-E-P you will SURVIVE!  You are probably a mixed bag of feelings right now as July 1^st  approaches, so I think it only appropriate to pass along a few pearls of wisdom to help you survive the trenches of intern year.

1. You are officially the Doctor—no longer the student

First off, do a happy dance—You are officially Dr. (Insert Your Name). Secondly, embrace what it means to be officially a doctor. You are no longer Student Doctor (insert your name). The training wheels are coming off. You are responsible for patient care. You are responsible for reviewing/ordering EVERY lab/imaging/notes/medication etc. on your patients. You can no longer hide behind the “my attending/resident will follow up on x-y-z patient” You are now the physician responsible for managing patient care. While pointing this out may seem trivial now, as a senior resident (in T- minus 2 days) I have seen interns including myself not understand or fully embrace this important point at one time or another. As an intern it’s easy to become overwhelmed but, you must remember you are responsible for executing patient care and ensuring you keep abreast with everything with your patients and never assume someone (i.e. attending/upper level resident) will “catch things” you miss or keep up with all the changes with your patients.  But, don’t worry too much now, their will be someone there to catch you if fall or miss things especially early on. Just get in a habit of taking responsibility for actions and managing your patients.

 

2. It’s okay to be scared

It’s TOTALLY okay to be freaking out now.  I mean you are a few days out from embarking on your first day on the job as a doctor! Its okay to panic a little 😊Plus, we have all been in your shoes and remember the anxiety of our first code or fluid resuscitating our first septic patient- so these feelings are totally normal. As you progress through your intern year, you will learn so much and you will see your initial fear subside as you become more confident and gain more experience.

3. Ask questions

Please ASK questions!!!! Never be too scared to ask questions. You are an intern and no one thinks you know everything if anything at all. Not to be offensive but, this is intern year and you are essentially a ball of unmolded clay and it’s the residency program job to mold you over the next 3-7 years to be ready to become an attending. So, ask as many questions as needed. This is how you L-E-A-R-N.

 

4. Humble thyself

Yes, you are now a doctor BUT you are still an intern which means you have a long way to go in your journey of learning. Do not come off as if you are better than people on your team. Do not act like you know everything because you don’t. Don’t be brash towards your attendings and question their logic /thought process because you read one article in the New England Journal of Medicine and now feel you are an expert on a topic they have been covering for 30 years. Just humble thyself and be accepting of suggestions, criticisms, etc. to better yourself as a physician. Remember, you will be at this program for 3-7 years so don’t start off on a bad foot, as it will be hard to erase the stain of a bad impression.

 

5. Be Kind to All

Can’t stress this enough! Your support staff are critical to you especially in the early stages of your residency.  We all have stories of how nurses or technicians have given us valuable insight/suggestions which saved our behinds and ultimately improved patient care. So, if your nurses or support team are telling you something, LISTEN don’t IGNORE them. Bottom line, build a good rapport with you nurses, administrators, technicians, respiratory therapist, cafeteria workers, etc.

 

6. Don’t forget to eat and take care of yourself

Stop and smell the roses! As a physician, you must learn the art of balancing work life with your personal life. You can’t be a good physician if you tired and run down because ultimately this will have a negative impact on your ability to provide good care to your patients.  So make time for you family, significant other and friends. Find time to exercise, meditate/pray, shop, browse Netflix—you catch my drift still find time to live life.

 

7. Grind

No explanation needed. Grind until you shine!