Insights on Residency Training

October 7th, 2016

Work Mimics Life: A Failed Attempt at Separation

Amanda Breviu, MD

As physicians, we generally attempt to separate our personal lives from our work. Some of this comes from modeling behavior of others during training, some comes with further experiences in coping with the patients we encounter. I recently had the pleasure of caring for an elderly gentleman who was brought into the hospital by his loving wife […]

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September 27th, 2016

Interview Season

Joseph Cooper, MD

It’s that time again — time to dust off your nicest suit and prepare for either residency or fellowship interviews. Being knee-deep in interview season for Infectious Diseases fellowships, my interview days bear some resemblance to my residency interviews, yet also are quite different. I have a unique opportunity this year to be a part of the recruitment and decision […]

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September 20th, 2016

Academic Near Miss

Jamie Riches, DO

I began one of my PGY2 medical oncology rotations alongside my co-resident: an MD/PhD, fast-track (pre-matched into fellowship) future oncologist. Among my three interns that rotation, two were “Harvard kids.” Needless to say, I was intimidated. My colleague and counterpart not only had the entire catalogue of genomic alterations at the tip of his tongue, […]

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September 5th, 2016

Men, Women, or Both?

April Edwards, MD

Last month, as I was adjusting to my new role as a newly minted attending (affectionately referred to by many as a “pre-tending”), I had the opportunity to precept some of our strong upper levels in our ambulatory clinic. Luckily for me, they were doing a great job, which helped the whole thing feel less scary […]

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August 29th, 2016

Multiple Choice Medicine

Amanda Breviu, MD

You are currently on inpatient wards and notice your chief medical resident has been demonstrating erratic behavior, frequently muttering about MEN syndromes and antibodies associated with rheumatologic diseases and has been reciting gene translocations. What is the most likely cause of her symptoms? A. Hospital-associated delirium B. Conversion disorder. C. Symptoms related to completing an excess number of multiple […]

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August 22nd, 2016

First Week On Service

Joseph Cooper, MD

“Medicine Purple is now rounding at Room 202.” The announcement rang throughout the hallways on the lower pavilion. It was an announcement I had heard many times before, but this time it was quite different. As I glanced in the upper right hand corner of the electronic medical record of my first patient, the following glared […]

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August 8th, 2016

Smart Phones, Laptops, and Their Effect on Your Smartness

Kashif Shaikh, MD

“Please don’t spoil the movie with your own soundtrack.” Remember hearing this message before the beginning of a movie in a theater and how most people turn their devices on silent to watch the movie? The cost of the movie ticket is considerably less than the cost of medical education, but I wonder if learners […]

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August 1st, 2016

Four-Oh-Wunk

April Edwards, MD

I’m April, and I’m the incoming PGY-5 Chief for the Internal Medicine and Pediatrics Residency in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Just last month, I had my 4th graduation from something since I finished high school. Residency, it turns out, is long and hard. I’ve spent tons of hours practicing the art of sphincter control each time that […]

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July 15th, 2016

What Is Resilience?

Jamie Riches, DO

NEJM Journal Watch is happy to welcome a new panel of Chief Resident bloggers for the 2016-2017 academic year. Here’s a sample of what our new bloggers will be discussing, starting on August 1! “Resilience” is defined as the capability of a strained body to recover its size and shape after deformation caused especially by compressive stress. […]

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June 24th, 2016

The Scam of Medicine

Ahmad Yousaf, MD

“Oh no, she’s calling again.” I look at the caller ID in the Chiefs’ office where I sit with one of my co-Chiefs.  It is the Documentation Lady. Her call is as regular as BMs with C. diff: Profuse, excessive, associated with a lot of hot air and a bunch of crap, but inevitable. We play […]

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