Hi guys!
My name is Jamie and I'm a first year emergency medicine resident.
So I've been a resident for about one month now and in today's video I wanna share with
you guys some of the good things about being a resident and some of the challenges so far.
So I've done about 10 shifts total in both adult and pediatric emergency departments
and I think probably one of the best thing about being a resident versus a medical student
is the fact that you get to practice all the medicine that you've learned so far.
And I think as somebody in the field of medicine, you are a life long learner and I think there
are just somethings different about learning as you practice versus learning from a book
and not getting practice it in real life.
So for example, if a kid comes in with a cold or has a strep throat or something and you
wanna give them motrin or some antibiotics.
You know, it's easy to think of it from a medical student's perspective "oh yeah, just
give them some tylenol, motrin and give some amoxicillin or something.
But as a resident, you have to think about what dose of amoxicillin and what dose of
motrin, what dose of tylenol and these are all the things I've never thought about as
a medical student but as a resident when I'm actually putting the orders I feel like I'm
learning everything in much more details and it's actually sticking with me so much better.
Another really great thing about being a resident is being a true part of a team.
Not that you're not part of a team as a medical student but personally, I found myself kind
of struggling to find my place in a team as a medical student.
So, I would wonder: am I supposed to just shadow?
am I supposed to do this?
am I supposed to do that?
When I'm talking to the patients or consultants, am I supposed to always disclose I'm a medical
student, therefore you should talk to the resident or the attending before making a
real decision.
I always kinda had that issue of finding my place in the medical team but I think being
a resident you have a definite role and you have a very clearly defined role in the care
of the patient and I think that makes things a lot easier.
And probably one of my favorite things about being a resident is the opportunity to teach.
Like I mentioned before, if you're in the field of medicine, you're learning---you're
basically a student for life but you also have plenty of opportunities to teach.
I think being a resident is really the first time you have the position to kind of teach
your patients, and teach your medical students that maybe on the same service as you.
And I think teaching really is one of the best way to learn so you get the added bonus
of learning well for yourself but you also get to teach people who are training in the
same field of medicine as you.
Now moving on to some of the challenges of residency.
It hasn't been a long time but there's definitely been things that I've been noticing.
And I would have to say one of the challenges of being an intern specifically is really
getting back into the rhythm of things.
So you guys know that 4th year of medical school is pretty relaxed and you guys know
I took a lot of vacations and I took a lot of time off from doing clinical work.
You get kinda rusty on your medical stuff.
So when you first start as an intern, you're expected to know a lot of stuff but you haven't
seen or talked to a patient in weeks and maybe even months.
So that's definitely a big challenge.
And I think the best remedy to that is just showing up to work everyday which you have
to do anyway.
So just having as many patients as you can or having as many patients as you can handle
and just having a ton of contact with all the medical knowledge, and all the medical
stuff that's going on at work... and I think naturally, it kind of comes back to you.
And all medical knowledge that you learned in medical school just comes back to you naturally.
The next challenge is having a good work/break balance.
I think in emergency medicine specifically, you do shifts instead of a day schedule so
you work 8 hour shifts, or you work 12 hour shifts.
As interns, for the most part, I'm working 12 hour shifts.
So that means, I really have to advocate for myself in order to have a break in middle
of my shift.
There's nobody coming in to be like "I'll cover for you for the next 30 minutes" so
go and eat.
So you really have to be like.. "oh it's not so busy right now so I'm gonna go have a snack
or have a quick bite and then I'm gonna come back to work.
And I think just starting out, I'm nervous and I'm excited so I really haven't felt hungry,
and I haven't really thought about if I wanna take a break so I've been going all 12 hours
without taking not even a bathroom break and I know that can be really unhealthy in the
long run.
I think finding that time to take a moment for yourself and go have a bite to eat and
go to the bathroom, hydrate yourself, and you know pee and whatever, I think that something
I need to work on to have longevity in this career.
You can't go 12 hour without eating or going to the bathroom forever so that's something
that I'm working on and trying to advocate for myself in that area.
The next challenge is something similar---having a work life balance.
You guys probably all have heard how difficult insurance scheduling can be... and even though
in emergency medicine your schedule is a lot more predictable because you're working in
shifts like I mentioned and it's still a lot more hours than what you're used to as a medical
student before.
You know, I'm having trouble finding a time to go to the gym everyday and doing the things
I used to do before..
I think slowly, as I get into the rhythm of things, these things will come back.
And I think the important thing to do is to prioritized the things the things that are
important you whether if that's working out with some friends, or cooking food and having
time for yourself.
That's something all of us (probably all the resident) and even medical students have to
think about and really work towards so that you can have a great work life balance.
Last but not least, probably one of the challenges---this is not specific to residency but probably
just specific to living in NYC.
And the challenge is having a lot of things to carry in your bag.
And if you're in the city and you have a really heavy bag it can be a big strain on your back
basically.
I used to carry like a one shoulder bag with all my stuff but I noticed that I'm walking
like this the whole time and at the end of the day my back is hurting a lot so I've reverted
back to my medical school backpack.
So I'm carrying my Jansport backpack basically filled with my medical equipment, a jacket
because it's always freezing in the hospital, all my snacks, my water bottle, and having
a backpack it's just, it's just so much better than having a one shoulder bag.
So that's not really challenge but I thought it was amusing and I feel like a little kid
in my scrubs and my backpack, my sneakers, and it looks like I'm going to school or the
hospital but yeah thats... something that I wanted to mention and I thought it was funny.
So that's all the positives and all the challenges of residency so far.
I have to say, I'm having a great time and I feel like it's such a privilege to be able
to talk to patients and you know introduced yourself as a doctor and really have the power
to help them feel better.
So I'm really grateful for the experience and the opportunity.
And if you guys are studying and it gets boring but you really want to be a doctor in the
future, I just want to encourage you guys to stick with it and eventually you'll be
able to walk in to a patient's room and say hey my name is so and so and I'll be your
doctor and you'll be able to make the patients so much better.
ONE DAY!
So that's all for the video.
Thank you guys so much for watching and if you aren't already.
You can follow me on twitter, instagram and snapchat at THESTRIVETOFIT and if you wanna
check out any other videos you can do that over here.
See you guys next time!