Insights on Residency Training

January 5th, 2019

I Call BS on Work–Life Balance

Ellen Poulose-Redger, MD

Physician wellbeing, burnout, and “work-life balance” are pretty common topics in training.  We start at intern orientation, discussing how to work 80 hours a week, eat, sleep, exercise, and still have some semblance of a social life.  It’s like we’ve forgotten the origins of our job title: “resident” or “house staff” — implying that, until recently […]

---

March 20th, 2017

Resident Wellness in Graduate Medical Education

Kashif Shaikh, MD

Happy Endings: Living in Orlando, one cannot escape Disney. Disney movies are a delight, because one subconsciously anticipates that the happy ending is going to make up for the rest of the characters’ struggles. It works for me! Be it Simba, Cinderella, Snow White, Belle, or  Elsa, every Disney fairy tale gives us the desired ending of a happy and […]

---

November 4th, 2016

From the Prescription Pad to Reality

April Edwards, MD

A harsh reality I am coming to terms with, as a newly minted “pre-tending,” is that we don’t know the cost of the care we provide. There are recommendations for things like High Value Care, from organizations like the ACP. But how much do things actually cost? Certain apps and websites, like the Healthcare Bluebook, give […]

---

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, […]

---

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 […]

---

March 14th, 2016

The Era of the Ill-Prepared Medical Student

Ahmad Yousaf, MD

What is wrong with medical students nowadays? This question has been circulating in the academic medical world for years. As an intern and resident, I would hear complaints about how ‘unready’ they seemed. The grievances often include adjectives like ill-prepared, lazy,  or uninterested.  The complaints have burgeoned over time, and the examples are numerous in my institution: Students show […]

---