Update: family med sub-internship

Hey everyone, happy belated 4th of July! I hope you enjoyed your holiday. I actually got the day off which was a pleasant surprise. I took advantage of the time and spent a good bit of it working on my ERAS application and personal statement for residency. It’s just like applying to med school all over again–putting in all your experiences and stuff. It doesn’t take much brain power though especially if your CV is up to date, just time and attention. I finished the bulk of it so I felt pretty accomplished. I spent the rest of the day with a friend we went to watch Incredibles 2 which was so good! Then we got Japanese food and binge watched tv shows. It was a great day off.

I’m officially halfway through my family medicine internship. I’ve been enjoying it so far! It’s totally different as a fourth year than my rotations as a third year because I don’t have to study for a test. It such a relief to just come home after work and “relax.” I still get other work done and check in on my patients in the evening through our EMR, but that towering pressure to get through X amount of questions is gone. When I’m studying at home, it’s for the benefit of the patient that I’m taking care of, so that when we discuss their case the next day I have something more to offer. I actually have a desire to read up on things which makes the learning I do at home even more lasting. I feel like I’m learning more from my patients now than I did before. I guess that’s because I’m playing a more active role in their care and help make some of the clinical decisions for them.

I get to the hospital between 5:30-5:45 depending on me getting out of bed in the morning. I’m a morning person, but consistently waking up this early is taking a toll! It never gets easier and I never get used to it. I just have to go to bed super early but even then it’s still a struggle. I round on my patients then discuss the plan with the resident who’s really taking care of the patients. After that I discuss the patients with the upper level resident who has also seen the patient and verifies/gives input to the plan. Finally, we round with the attending and I formally present the patients I’m carrying to him. So basically by the time we talk to the big boss, everything should be sorted out and there should be a solid plan in place for the patient. It’s generally a smooth process, but requires an early morning with all the check points that need to be crossed in time.

I don’t really have much other news or updates, because all I do is just work and come home, do a little reading or watch tv then go to bed. I live a simple life lol. I guess the most important thing is that I’m enjoying what I’m doing. I used to think I hated inpatient medicine, but I actually really enjoy it once I eliminated an exam from the equation (funny how that works). I feel even more confident in my choice of specialty too, especially after spending so much time picking the brains of the current residents. It’s that feeling like Ahhh, I found my people.

Some advice I’ve gotten this week:

Wake up everyday with the intention to be a better [doctor] than you were yesterday. If you do that then there’s no way you won’t be great.

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Put your best foot forward this week!

PS: Our loan refunds dropped! For those of you who receive federal financial aid, this is a momentous occasion that happens twice a year. Time to pay my bills and make my spending/saving budgets for the semester. And of course I’ll treat myself a little too 😉