Posts Tagged ‘pearls’

Now that people are in the thick of the internship interview season, the stress of getting prepared for internship is starting. Because of that, I thought it would be a good idea to reference a blog post that I saw a while back. The original post comes from Mother Jones, RN and is entitled Revisiting the Intern’s Survival Guide. It’s basically some sage advice (mixed in with some humor) from a nurse to new 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 .

After a great response from those of you on my “new release priority notification list”, the RookieDoc Membership program is being opened to anyone that is interested. Here’s a short intro video to show you some of the things that are part of membership. If it sounds interesting or useful, click the link below the video to find out more.

The images of CDs, books, and DVDs in this video correspond to downloadable products.

You don’t want to just survive your internship and residency, do you?

Of course not. You want to excel.

But most of the books…

most of the websites…

and nearly everyone you talk to out there…

They all seem to warn you about what a disaster your internship and residency can be. They speak of grueling nights on-call; rarely, if ever, seeing your family and friends; and getting utterly embarrassed by attendings in front of everyone. They worry you with talk of malpractice, needle sticks, medical errors, and boards preparation.

Well, it doesn’t have to be this way. In fact, it isn’t this way. I should know… I’ve been there…

And I’ve posted some videos to help you to have success in your internship and residency. Just go to this tips and pearls for residency video to start.