Where you can find more information about Last Wish and Dr. Van Scoy:

• Last Wish: Stories to Inspire a Peaceful Passing – get the book here (& get it now )
• KnowYourWishes.com
• About Dr. Van Scoy
• Follow Dr. Van Scoy on Twitter

Lauren Van Scoy, MD currently serves as the Chief Fellow for Pulmonary and Critical Care in Philadelphia. She wrote Last Wish: Stories to Inspire a Peaceful Passing independent of her work at Drexel University College of Medicine and Hahnemann University Hospital. The opinions expressed in her book are her own and not the opinions of her employer or her training institutions.

You already go on rounds with your attending. You already attend conferences, classes, and morning report. You already go to Grand Rounds. And you might already go to Boards prep courses.

Well, check this out… with one tweak, your learning experience can go from okay to phenomenal.

If you want to get this amazing pen, you can order it from Amazon.

If you are an institution (a medical school, a residency program, etc) and you would like to learn more about how this concept can help your organization go from good to completely awesome, then go to NapkinRounds.com.

By the way, if you haven’t seen the changes yet:

Well, one way to really set a poor tone for the talk is to get there and have the thing not load.

Here’s a look at some ways of backing up your presentations so you don’t find yourself in that situation.

• RookieDoctor.com/dropbox

One of the RookieDoc members shot me an email asking me about the pharmacology references I recommend to carry around in your white coat as an intern or a resident.

Here was a portion of our exchange:

Question:
I noticed you recommended Tarrascon Pocket Pharm – which edition is better, shirt pocket or lab coat pocket? I know the shirt pocket is a lot smaller, but will that be enough? It would be nice not to have to tote around a bigger book…if you could let me know what you think that would be great! Thanks again! I appreciate you getting back to me so quickly.

Answer:
You’re right, it’s better to carry around the smaller book.

Whatever you buy, save the receipt… and submit it for reimbursement if you have an education stipend.

I hope that helps

Dr. Tori
RookieDoctor.com

Wow, what a roller coaster of emotions at this time of year, huh? Finally finishing medical school – a little nostalgia, and lots of relief. For a few weeks being called “Doctor” is going to be pretty awesome. And a few weeks after that, well, it’s going to be pretty scary (and awesome at the same time).

Well, if any of you are looking for gifts medical students (or for yourself), here are some gift ideas for medical students and new interns:

(In the interest of full disclosure: these are affiliate links, meaning that I might get a small commission if you purchase them through my link. It will not affect your cost at all. Alternatively, you can search Amazon, or something and order them directly. I still highly recommend these gifts.)

You go through all of this training to get where you are and then you find yourself in a situation where you are 100%, completely, and utterly dependent on technology to make a diagnosis… Well, Sapira’s Art and Science of Bedside Diagnosis can change all of that. And not only that… it can make you stand out as being light years ahead of your peers.

It’s not essential for “surviving” internship, but who is only interested in “surviving” anyway?

Too many people tell you which books to get… and too often (you know how it goes)… those books just end up on the shelf and you use them more like reference books. Well, this is the only textbook-sized book I actually carried with me while I was on-call. The ICU Book. It’s that good.

Seriously… this book is the real deal. It’s easy to read… not because it is dumbing-down the material, because it isn’t. It’s easy to read because it has just the right amount of information. Not too much and not too little.

This is the line of stethoscope I use (and hey, I work primarily on cardiac floors): Littmann Master Cardiology. There’s a pretty good review of this stethoscope at HolterMonitor.org.

Some people prefer the amplifying stethoscopes. I do not. At this point they’re a little too bulky. Maybe as technology improves, so will the size and weight. But who needs more heavy stuff to carry around with them? Plus, you better learn on the standard stuff and only use the souped up technology to supplement. Too many people are already losing diagnostic skills and relying too much on technology (… but I digress).

You can get funny medical humor gifts like mugs, shirts, hats, bags, etc at the GiggleMed.com Store. There’s even a funny infection control humor book, Bugs on Scrubs, that pits a doctor and a nurse against each other -arguing over who is spreading infection – hilarious, evidence-based advice in rhyming Dr Seuss-style text.

Funny stuff. A great stress reliever… even if you don’t buy something… there are things to forward along, especially at high-stress times. You can really make someone’s day with appropriate humor.

OK… shameless plug time… Of course, there are some awesome gifts from this very site. If you want to “Wow” your graduating medical student friend or family member, give them a RookieDoctor.com Membership or an Internship Survival Skills Audio CD. The timing couldn’t be better in light of that emotional roller coaster I mentioned above. These RookieDoc products are designed for the medical student from 3rd-to-4th year transitioning into internship.

If you have other ideas for gifts for medical students, post them in the comments below.

Central Lines for Medical Students, Interns, & Residents

Placing central lines can be a pretty stressful part of medical school, internship, and residency… especially early on. Well, I’ve collected a bunch of videos and PDF files that you might find useful as you prepare for putting lines in yourself.

Let me know what you think of it.

You see, I have 5 kids – 4 girls and a boy. A few minutes ago my wife forwarded me a link to this YouTube video. I’ve heard this song a thousand times… but it’s like I was hearing it for the first time.

Why am I posting this here? Why now?

Well, many of you are on rotations right now where you might be reluctant to ask for time to spend with your family at this time of year. I’m putting this here as a reminder… 20 years from now your chief resident won’t matter… 20 years from now the attending on the rotation you’re on right now will be an afterthought.

Now, of course, you do have responsibilities to your patients, so fulfill them. But it doesn’t hurt to ask or to suggest a different schedule to afford your family some important time with you.

It’s going to happen from time to time, that you miss important family events, sure. That goes with the territory. But there’s a difference between missing something and neglecting someone.

The key is balance.

And too many of us in the health professions are missing it. Don’t be one of them.

I could earn a piddly commission if you buy something through this link. If you don’t want me to earn a commission, just go to GiggleMed.com and browse the GiggleMed Store (there’s a link in their sidebar). This stuff is worth it… especially as gag gifts for colleagues and friends. Med students can be pretty hard to shop for.

You can get other medical humor gifts like mugs, shirts, hats, bags, etc at GiggleMed’s Store.

In the next post, I’ll try to cover some practical gifts for med students, residents, and interns.

Here’s the link:

Revisiting the Intern’s Survival Guide

And here’s what I posted in the comments section back in June:

Great post.

For many, the appearance of arrogance actually comes from an intense fear of failure and fear of being exposed as someone who somehow slipped through the medical education cracks.

Unfortunately, some people try to cover or hide the fear, rather than saying, “You know what? I’m nervous. This is new to me. What has been your experience?”

“Smart interns forge alliances with the nursing staff” – great quote. If interns and nurses don’t see their missions as the same, they’re missing the boat. There’s a difference between a mission and a role. Both play different roles in the same mission.

And yes, there are too many new docs who start internship with an air of arrogance and, at times, downright rudeness. But, there is also a large pool of nurses that start off assuming there’s a turf battle. And both of these continue the cycle.

This probably sounds a little fluffy, but it would all be a lot smoother if we assumed the best in others.

For interns:
– Don’t assume you have to know everything.
– Don’t be afraid to ask for help
– Nurses know their job better than your attendings
– Social workers know their job better than your attendings
– The more you understand others’ jobs, the better off you’ll be
– Ask
– And when you ask, be polite about it.
– Communication is everything… more than words said, communication is an exchange.

For nurses:
– Interns are nervous, & everyone expresses it differently
– Be patient with the new folks
– Be especially patient with new interns from other cultures
– Don’t start off assuming a turf battle… sure defend that last piece of pizza
– The more you understand about others’ jobs, the better off you’ll be
– Ask
– And when you ask, be polite about it.
– Communication is everything… more than words said, communication is an exchange.

Also, be on the look out for an awesome freebie coming from RookieDoctor.com… very soon. The quantities will be limited because I can only ship out so many (before I go broke .

They’re easy… they’re fast… and they’re free…

I just posted several ecards and this video tutorial showing you how to send them. Check it out.