Adopting The Key Mentality For A Successful Internship

Well done! – You have made it past the Match and hopefully you have taken a moment to celebrate and reflect. Now that you are officially a doctor (which is a point we will get to later), it is time for you to prepare for your first year of residency.  You welcome the challenge of new experiences and situations being thrown your way, and already know that organization is crucial to staying on top of everything. A positive attitude and a notebook will go a long way, but here are additional tips to remember during your internship:

You Are a Doctor

You would think this would be the easiest point to remember, but once you are surrounded by senior residents and attending physicians you might actually forget.  Your day-to-day duties will include a lot of paperwork, data gathering, and clinical plans, but it is also important to make actual patient care a priority. The same thought and consideration that goes into communicating a course of action with the residents should be the same respect and care that goes toward your patients.

“I think the first thing to remember when you have a medical student working with you is that they are there to learn.” Dr. Daniel Egan, MD

You Are a Teacher

Oh how quickly the times change. Not too long ago, you were that bright-eyed medical student eager to learn more but possibly not vocal enough to ask all the right questions. Every aspect of what you perform as an intern will be beneficial for them to know in the future, so taking a brief moment to relay this knowledge to students will help everyone in the long run.

You Are on a Team

Senior residents, nursing staff, physicians- everyone is on the same team when it comes to patient care. Communication between all parties can help with everything from effective plan of care implementation to a safer patient environment. Realistically, even in situations where you prefer one team member over another, getting along with everyone will only make your work day that much easier.

“Everyone makes mistakes; even if we don’t think we’ve made them, we’ve made them.”Dr. Sandeep Jauhar

You Are Not Perfect

Though you are no longer a student in the traditional sense, your internship is still a learning process. That being said, if you do not know something do not be afraid to ask. You have an entire team of residents and attendings that will know the answer, and will in turn allow you to provide the best quality of care.  Mistakes will happen and its critical to correctly remedy them rather than try to cover it up.