GME

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

Editor-in-Chief Emeritus (2016-2019)

University of Illinois at Chicago Hospital


Jarna Shah is a third 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)

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.

Is Graduate Medical Training Making Doctors Afraid of Procedures?

It’s 2 a.m., and the patient’s blood pressure is beginning to rapidly decrease. Every IV line is occupied by an antibiotic or IV fluids, and we are in need of a vasoactive medication. The nurse comes to my computer and sternly states, “We can no longer avoid it. I think the patient needs a central line.” I quickly say “okay,” but I don’t move. I am momentarily frozen by my unease with the bedside procedure ahead.

Briana Buckner, MD Briana Buckner, MD (1 Posts)

Resident Physician Contributing Writer

University of Pennsylvania


Briana is a proud southern girl! She was raised in the suburbs of Atlanta before heading to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, for both college and medical school. She is a hardcore Falcons football and Tar Heel basketball fan! After medical school, she decided to take a chance on the northeast and head to Philadelphia. Briana joined the University of Pennsylvania internal medicine program where she is now serving as chief resident. When not at work, Briana enjoys baking, reading a good book, and catching a yoga class. Her immediate family includes her loving parents in Atlanta and her younger brother in Amsterdam. Briana plans to pursue a career in primary care with a special interest in medical education and community health outreach programming.