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5ThingsINeverLearnedinMedSchool

|August22,2016
Afterhoursofstudyingandtakingvariousstandardizedtests,bythetimeyouare
readytograduatemedicalschool,youlikelywillhaveaccumulatedthemedical
knowledgethatyouneedasafoundation.However,thereareafewadditionalthings
thatIwishIhadknownbeforestartingresidency.Herearefivetipsyouprobably
weren'ttaughtinmedicalschoolthatmayhelpyousucceedinresidency.
KrishnaB.Patel,MD

1. How to Multitask

Asaresident,youwillsoonlearnthatthebestwaytobesuccessfulistolearnhowto
multitask.Betweenalloftheresponsibilitiesthatwillbegiventoyouasaresident,you
willrealizethatyouareboundtoforgetsomething!Thebestwaytomultitaskisto
makenotesandlistsofitemslefttocomplete,checkingoffeachtaskfromthelistasit
iscompleted.Thisway,whenmultipletasksarethrownyourwayatthesametime,you
willbeabletocompletethemallinareasonablefashionwithoutforgettinganyofthem.
Also,trytogetintoaroutineregardingtheorderinwhichyoucompletethesetasks,as
thatwillleavelessroomforerror.

Inadditiontoalloftheitemsonyourchecklisttocompleteduringtheday,youwillhave
variousotherresponsibilitiestofinishoutsideoftheworkday,suchasgrandroundsor
journalclubpresentations,researchprojectstocomplete,andreadingtofinish.Itis
importanttoplanfortheseaheadoftimesothatyouareabletomanageyourtime
wiselyandsoyoudon'tfindyourselfrushedtobeatdeadlines.
2. How to Develop Career Goals

It'simportanttodetermineduringresidencyyourlong-termgoalregardingwhereyou
seeyourcareergoing.Whatisthenextstepafteryouaredonewithyourresidency?Is
fellowshiponthehorizon?Takeadvantageofthedifferentopportunitiesgiventoyou
duringresidencytohelpyoudeterminethetrajectoryyouwantyourcareertotake
onceyouaredonewithyourtraining.Useyourtimeinresidencytofigureoutwhether
you'dprefertostayinanacademicsettingorwouldratherbeinaprivateorgroup
practice.Doyouwanttobeinapositionwhereyouworkwithresidentsandmedical
students,ordoyouprefertofocusheavilyonresearch?Talkwithyourmentorsand
attendingstosussouttheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofeachandtofigureout
whichwouldbetherightoptionforyou.
3. How to Take Ownership of Your Own Learning

Oneofthedifferencesbetweenmedicalschoolandresidencyisthatyourlearningis
monitoredwhileyouareinmedicalschool.Youaregivenanexameveryfewweeksto
ensurethatyouhavegainedamasteryofthematerialtaughttoyou.Inresidency,
nobodyismonitoringwhatyoustudyorhowmuchyouhavestudied;nobodytestsyou
inperiodicintervalstoensurethatyouhavenotfallenbehind.Rather,residency
providesyouwiththeopportunitiestolearnandexcel,butitisuptoyoutoseizethese
opportunities.

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Tosucceedinresidency,youmustberesponsibleforyourownlearning.Be
determinedtomakeandsticktoyourownstudyschedule.Takeadvantageofthe
opportunitiesgiventoyou:Applyforscholarshipsandgrants,gotoconferencesand
network,andgivetalksandpresentationswheneverthechancearises.
4. How to Turn Challenges Into Opportunities

Youwillfacemanychallengesduringresidency,whetherit'sadifficultpatient,getting
alongwithcoworkers,ormerelybalancingtheburdenofarigorousscheduleand
workload.Duringthesetimes,itisoftenhardtoseethesilverlining.Butrememberthat
eachoftheseopportunitiesallowsyoutobecomeabetterresident,coworker,and
physician.

Whenyouaredealingwithapatientwhohasachallengingdiagnosisthatrequiresalot
ofattentionandmanagement,takeclosenoticeofthepathologythatyouareseeing.
Understandthatitmaybesomethingrare,soreadupandalsolearnfromthepatient.
Usethisasanopportunitytowriteupacasereport.Duringthosetimeswhenyouare
reallyfeelingtheweightofyourschedule,rememberthatitishelpingyoubecomea
moreefficientandcompetentphysician,andthatbythetimeyouaredonewithyour
training,youwillbereadytohandlewhatevercomesyourwaywhenyouarepracticing
withoutsupervisionasanattending.Everychallengeyoucomeacrossnowwillonly
helpyoubecomestrongerinthefuture!
5. How to Leave Work Behind

Lastbutnotleast,remembertomaintainaseparationbetweenresidencyandtheother
aspectsofyourlife.Thisdoesnotmeanthattherecanbenooverlapbetweenthetwo;
infact,therewillbeoverlapit'sokaytohangoutwithyourfriendsfromresidency
duringtheweekend!WhatImeanbythisisthatitisveryeasytobecomesoenveloped
byworkthatyouallowyourroleasaresidenttopermeateeverypartofyourlife.It's
importantforyourownsanitytomaketimeforyourhobbiesanddothethingsthatyou
enjoy.Justbecauseyouarearesidentdoesn'tmeanthatfamily,friends,andother
thingsthatareimportanttoyouneedtobeforgotten.
Itisalsoimportanttodeveloptheskillsneededtocopewithchallengingandemotional
situations(suchasstress,mistreatmentbystaff,thedeathofapatientyouhadgotten
closeto)sothatyouareabletodealappropriately.Youcannotcontroleverything,and
somethingsneedtobeletgo.
Thetransitionfrommedicalschooltoresidencycanbetough,butitisdefinitely
rewarding.Itistheculminationofeverythingthatyoulearnedinmedicalschoolbeing
putintopractice.Hopefully,thesefivelessonsIwishIhadlearnedwillhelpyou
succeedduringyourresidency.
MedscapeMedStudents2016WebMD,LLC

Anyviewsexpressedabovearetheauthor'sownanddonotnecessarilyreflectthe
viewsofWebMDorMedscape.
Citethisarticle:5ThingsINeverLearnedinMedSchool.Medscape.Aug22,2016.

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