Intern Year

Jarna Shah, MD Jarna Shah, MD (3 Posts)

Editor-in-Chief

University of Illinois at Chicago Hospital

Jarna Shah is a second year anesthesiology resident at University of Illinois at Chicago. She has been an editor with in-Training since 2012. In her free time, she bakes ridiculous desserts, practices martial arts, and writes novels every November.




How Does a Doctor Become Competent? (Part 2 of 3)

Published by Jarna Shah, MD

In medical school, competence was defined by studying the course pack, that stack of crucial lecture notes, and memorizing the details therein. Especially in the first two years, my classmates and I spent virtually all of our waking hours reading text books, attending lectures, highlighting and underlining every word of the course material because we were told that all of it, every word, was important. This understanding of competence reflected the clear but unspoken end game: to have the best score on the exam possible, or at least a better score than the other half of the class.

Breaking the “Successful Intern” Barrier :  8 Small Things for Outpatient Success

Published by Justin Jones, MD

Realizing that we have both inpatient and outpatient months, which require different skill sets, I feel that it would be better to split these lists into both outpatient and inpatient suggestions. After a few month of being on outpatient rotations, here is my list of eight things to master in order to break the successful intern barrier in the outpatient world.

Ups and Downs of My Intern Year in Emergency Medicine

Published by Stephanie Louka, MD

Everyone warns you that intern year is hard. It’s a year of little sleep, a rollercoaster of emotions both good and bad. Frustration and guilt in wanting to know everything now because everything you don’t know might be what matters for this patient, this time. And tremendous successes. Some of the things I did this year, I really can’t believe I was able to do. And survive.

The Power of Ten Half Seconds

Published by Justin Jones, MD

I feel like there are so many things to work on in medicine. I need to be more efficient at taking a history; I need to gather morning data more quickly; I should be better at chart review when I get a new admission; I need to be more thorough at following up on labs; I could write the H&P more quickly, and so on. I also feel, from time to time, I do poorly on one thing — maybe I stay at work way too long writing my H&P — and then I obsess over how I can get faster at it.

The Year I Was “Just An Intern”

Published by Manik Aggarwal, MD

As I reflect on the year that was, I am excited and yet terrified of what lies ahead. Intern year is unlike any other during which the training wheels—otherwise known as the short white coat—are abruptly stripped. The mannequins are traded for breathing patients, the co-signatures are traded for signatures, and the infamous “I am just the medical student” transitions to the equally unassuming “I am just the intern.” Here are my takeaways from the year that was.

Manik Aggarwal, MD Manik Aggarwal, MD (1 Posts)

Resident Physician Contributing Writer

Georgetown University Hospital

Hi! My name is Manik Aggarwal, I am currently an internal medicine resident at Georgetown! I plan to pursue cardiology training with an emphasis on heart failure. I'm originally from Texas and like nothing more than watching my Dallas Cowboys on Sundays. I enjoy writing, reading and teaching and look forward to hearing your opinion on my pieces!