Helpful Hints for Third Year from Previous Classes
General Comments
1.) Always have the following in your White Coat pockets: Pharmacopia, Maxwell's, Penlight, Pens, 3x5 or notepad, weekly schedule, alcohol swabs to clean your stethoscopes (esp in Peds and IM), phone/pager #s of classmate/residents/nurse educators. Consider the following for special circumstances: Sanford Guide (IM), reflex hammer (Neuro), specialty specific pocket book for downtime reading, snack foods. 2.) Know your patients!!! Often the little things (knowing lab values, vitals, Is/Os, path/rads reports and trends in these values) can make you look like a star with a minimal amount of work! 3.) First impressions are important. Introduce yourself to doctors, residents, nurses, etc ... and be nice to all of them ... this is not the time to burn bridges. 4.) Show that you are interested or learn to fake it no matter what you are doing at the time. Remember that you may only have one chance to see/do something while a student and take advantage of opportunities. Treatment by the docs and nurses often reflects your attitude. 5.) Be a team player with your classmates. a. Don't avoid work. It is painfully obvious to all parties (esp classmates) when people slack off. b. Try not to offend, put down, pimp, or upstage classmates. Although this will happen during your clerkships, it is obvious to all involved when it happens and results in your gaining enemies. c. Being on call the night before is not an excuse for being late or not having prepared assignments/presentations. d. You're only a MSIII for 1 year. Everyone has done it. Deal with it and have fun working hard. 6.) Never be afraid to ask questions provided the time and place are appropriate. Don't be afraid to say "I don't know" but don't expect this to be a get out of pimp free card either. Especially don't hesitate to ask questions if you're asked to do something you're not sure about (e.g., your first foley cath, etc). You'll look much more conscientious if you preface your actions with questions/seek advice than if you go ahead blindly -- not to mention the patients will appreciate it!! 7.) Make time for yourself. You will have free time but not necessarily when you want it and may be during the day while at the hospital. Try to utilize this time for studying so you can relax/sleep/exercise at night. 8.) Have a person you can vent to outside of the hospital. Venting in a public area is inappropriate. 9.) Buy comfortable dress shoes -- its worth the extra money when you're standing on rounds for 8 hours.
Time Management
1.) SLEEP! This can be more important than reading for the next day especially if on call or post-call. 2.) DON'T BE LATE FOR ANYTHING! 3.) Normal hours/life is at an end. Expect to be at the hospital from 5a to 5p every day including Saturday and Sunday. Then if you get a weekend off be thankful and enjoy. Do not plan on specific days off. 4.) The Policies and Procedures for Year Three states, "Students are expected to participate in all activities of the clerkship. Special scheduling needs or absence requests of a non-emergency nature should be directed to the appropriate clerkship director for approval no later than three weeks prior to the start of the rotation." Email the clerkship director as soon as your know about an engagement you would like to attend. You will not be guaranteed to have it off, but it is easier to block out a weekend before the director has made your schedule. Offer to make up any time you'll miss. 5.) Make sure you keep a good calendar. You should have a weekly one with you at all times. 6.) Remember patient notes take longer at the beginning. 30 minutes per note is a ballpark figure with up to an hour for an ICU patient. This becomes 15-20 minutes for easy patients. 7.) Don't expect to sleep or study on call -- if it happens consider it a bonus. 8.) Log your patients daily. This will save you valuable time and heartache at the end of the clerkship. Study Tips1.) Start early (about halfway through a clerkship is a good rule of thumb). 2.) Get required assignments and H&P's done early in the clerkship. 3.) Read a lot about your patients ... it will help for the exam and make rounds more tolerable. 4.) If you learn from questions then do questions, do some more questions, and don't forget to do questions. Book Recommendations By ClerkshipAs a rule, you'll find a series which you prefer: e.g. First Aid, NMS, Blueprints, Case Files, PreTest & Appleton and Lange (Q books), Current Clinical Strategies (pocket books). Start using online resources; they are often more up-to-date and easier to access than texts: mdconsult, pubmed, up-to-date, e-medicine.
Internal Medicine
Surgery
OB/GYN
Psychiatry (they provide all you need)
Pediatrics
Family Medicine
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