Insights on Residency Training

September 17th, 2020

What’s in a Number?

Sneha Shah, MD

Does your doctor’s age matter? If I had $100 for every time I walked into a patient’s room, introduced myself as the doctor, and was immediately asked, “Hey, how old are you?” I might be able to retire right now — at the age of 28. Of course, I am exaggerating, and yet this question […]

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August 19th, 2020

Residency Reflections from an Intern Gardener

Stephanie Braunthal, DO

Starting Our Garden Last year, my boyfriend asked if I wanted to join a community garden. As he handed me the paperwork, he said he would be the “primary,” I would be listed as a “helper,” and for only $10, we could grow our own vegetables. Distracted by whichever rotation I was on, I agreed […]

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July 16th, 2020

Well, Did You Learn Anything?

Allison Latimore, MD

When I told my friends that I was going to be the Chief of Education for my residency program, they were stunned. How can you be a chief resident as a second-year resident? Isn’t that going to be a lot of work? How can you juggle it all? These were all valid questions that I […]

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June 3rd, 2020

Will the Real Doctor Please Stand Up?

Allison Latimore, MD

I stood in the hospital elevator yawning and rubbing my eyes, waiting to get off on my floor. A woman looked over at me and said, “Congratulations.” I began to look over my body. Did I look pregnant in these scrubs? Did I have on my real engagement ring instead of my silicone ring? After […]

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February 6th, 2020

I’m Graduating from Residency! What’s Next?

Prarthna Bhardwaj, MD

My whole life, I have always wanted to do something that will be remembered. Becoming a physician was a hard but well-thought-out choice. Toward the end of my residency, I knew I wanted to be a hematologist-oncologist, but I had no idea what type of career pathway I wanted to pursue. During the APDIM Chief Resident Annual Meeting last year, […]

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January 16th, 2020

Reflections of an Aspiring Clinician-Educator

Frances Ue, MD, MPH

Recently, I had the pleasure of hiking up Roys Peak in South Island, New Zealand. A challenging 1586-meter summit that offered magnificent views of Lake Wanaka and snow-capped mountains of the Southern Alps. On this hike, devoid of phone calls and pages, I reflected on my journey as an aspiring clinician-educator. Many of us (like […]

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September 5th, 2019

Building Your Squad — Residency and Beyond

Ellen Poulose-Redger, MD

At nearly every stage in our education and training, we find “our people.”  Maybe it’s your table-mate in kindergarten, or the kid with the really cool light up sneakers in preschool who becomes your best friend.  Maybe it’s your next-door neighbor who you play with after school, or a coworker from your first job in […]

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August 20th, 2019

Bias in the Residency Ranking Process

Scott Hippe, MD

“Can we please try to be objective about this!” I said these words to myself over and over during this year’s interview season as we formulated our residency rank list. At my institution, the residents and faculty have equal sway in forming the rank list. The chief resident facilitates the resident half of the process. […]

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March 8th, 2019

The Oncology Service

Ashley McMullen, MD

I won’t forget Mr. H’s face that morning, my very first morning on the medical oncology service. I skirted into his room behind my attending as she was called in to see him on the fly. With a slight smile, he sat quietly in the corner of the exam room, a tall black male of […]

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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 […]

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