September 16th, 2013
Medical Interns – Not at the Bedside, but Not to Be Blamed
Paul Bergl, M.D.
This past week in NEJM Journal Watch General Medicine, Abigail Zuger reviewed an article from the Journal of General Internal Medicine by Lauren Block et al. in which researchers examined how medical interns spend their time. The results from this time motion study might be concerning but are not unexpected. The investigators found that interns […]
September 11th, 2013
Oral Anticoagulation, Part I: Direct Thrombin Inhibitors
Akhil Narang, M.D.
When I started residency 4 years ago, warfarin was really the only choice of anticoagulation widely used for prevention of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and in patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE). Despite knowing about the coagulation cascade for decades, only recently have viable alternatives to warfarin become available. In this post, I hope […]
September 3rd, 2013
Benefits and Perils of Following the Literature Too Closely
Paul Bergl, M.D.
As a resident, probably the most common piece of feedback one receives is, “Read more and expand your clinical knowledge base.” This critique is a standard and generic piece of feedback to encourage the younger generation to never quit in the endless pursuit of knowledge. As our erudite attendings know, medical knowledge always evolves and […]
August 28th, 2013
Vaccination Against Pertussis – Is It Worth the Trouble?
Paul Bergl, M.D.
“Four out of four!” exclaimed a proud PGY1 as she handed me the billing sheet for her last patient in continuity clinic. “Four out of four?” asked I. “Yes, I gave all of my patients their updated Tdap today,” she boasted. As her preceptor, I commended her for her commitment to routine health maintenance — you know, the supposedly […]
August 23rd, 2013
Teaching Ultrasound to Internal Medicine Residents
Akhil Narang, M.D.
Welcome, everyone! I am thrilled at the prospect of sharing with you my thoughts on issues that pertain to residency training during the current academic year. I recently attended the Fundamentals of Critical Care Ultrasound course hosted by the Society for Critical Care Medicine (SCCM). It was well attended by a mix of intensivits, anesthesiologists, and […]
August 19th, 2013
Managing Hypertension – Not as Easy as It Once Seemed
Paul Bergl, M.D.
Hypertension… As a medical student, I never really understood the fuss over it. Practicioners had an excellent and concise guide in the JNC-7 to handle all of the major aspects of this disease. The JNC-7 guidelines were algorithmic, and a helpful table of compelling indications for antihypertensive agents couldn’t make life any easier. I soon realized […]
August 13th, 2013
Broad Is Best? The Culture and Etiquette of Antibiotic Selection in the Training Environment
Paul Bergl, M.D.
Friends and colleagues, welcome to the new academic year! I am delighted to be a chief resident blogger for NEJM Journal Watch for the coming year. Without further ado, let’s discuss residents’ use of antibiotics. Antibiotic selection can either be one of the most anguishing or most mindless decisions that an internal medicine resident makes. For […]
August 2nd, 2013
A Time of Transition
Jonathan Schwartz
August is here, and we are deep in the throes of a new academic year. With this annual cycle, we deal with transitions in the academic medical world – many of which seem somewhat painful at first glance but, on closer inspection, actually can be quite fun. Many of you in medical training undoubtedly have moved into new roles: […]
May 24th, 2013
The MICU Rotation — Oh, no!
Jonathan Schwartz
After a well-received post last week that focused on a commonly asked question I have fielded this year, I thought another common question would make for an excellent topic this week. We’ll focus on the MICU rotation from the resident (and, potentially, the medical student) perspective. The MICU can be one of, if not the most, daunting […]
May 15th, 2013
The Next Step: Fellowship Applications
Jonathan Schwartz
The end of the academic year is fast-approaching, which means many changes and exciting transitions lie ahead – for all levels of trainees: medical students and new interns, brand-new attending physicians, and seasoned diagnosticians alike. One of the more stressful tasks facing many of the senior residents in the coming months is the fellowship application […]
2021-2022 Chief Resident Panel
Abdullah Al-abcha, MD
Mikita Arora, MD
Madiha Khan, DO
Khalid A. Shalaby, MBBCh
Brandon Temte, DO
Resident chiefs in hospital, internal, and family medicine
Learn more about Insights on Residency Training.
