April 28th, 2014
Cynicism in Medicine
Akhil Narang, M.D.
“Are you more or less cynical than when you started residency?” This was the question my Program Director asked our senior internal medicine residents at a recent dinner with Dr. Bob Wachter. If you aren’t familiar with Dr. Wachter, he is widely acclaimed as the “Father of Hospital Medicine” and a renowned champion of patient […]
April 5th, 2014
Learning to Unlearn and Other Advanced Skills
Paul Bergl, M.D.
In my transition from pure learner (i.e., the med student role) to teacher-learner (i.e., the attending), I’ve actually found myself focusing more on the learner than the teacher part of my dual existence. Strong learning seems to be requisite to strong teaching, and I am realizing that succeeding on the next level requires some extra […]
February 11th, 2014
Do Quality Initiatives and the Patient Safety Movement Threaten Resident Autonomy?
Paul Bergl, M.D.
Recently, our residency program had the excellent fortune of hosting Dr. Bob Wachter as a visiting speaker. Dr. Wachter is considered a pioneer in the hospitalist movement and has built his career around inpatient quality and safety. During lunch with Dr. Wachter, some of our residents, and hospitalist faculty, we discussed the topic of resident […]
January 13th, 2014
Reflections of a New Attending
Akhil Narang, M.D.
During my year as a Chief Resident, I have the privilege to attend on the general medicine service for 8 weeks. I recently completed 4 weeks and, as expected, found myself in an entirely new realm of patient care and accountability. I would be remiss without recalling a few of the pivotal lessons and poignant moments […]
December 11th, 2013
Making Value-Based Decisions About Ordering Tests
Paul Bergl, M.D.
As Dr. David Green reported this week in NEJM Journal Watch, the American Society of Hematology is the latest society to comment on appropriate and cost-conscious care in the ABIM Choosing Wisely campaign. I’ve followed the Choosing Wisely campaign closely and have been using it on the wards and in clinic as academic ammunition. A specialist society’s […]
November 25th, 2013
I Think I’ve Seen This One Before: Learning to Identify Disease
Paul Bergl, M.D.
Nothing puts more fear into the heart of an internist than a dermatologic chief complaint. And for good reason: we have very little exposure to the breadth of the field. To us, all rashes seem to be maculopapular, all bumps are pustules… or was that nodules? It’s not that we internists don’t care about the skin […]
November 14th, 2013
The Google Generation Goes to Med School: Medical Education in 2033
Paul Bergl, M.D.
This past week, I attended the annual AAMC meeting where the question, “What will medical education look like in 2033?” was asked in a session called “Lightyears Beyond Flexner.” This session included a contest that Eastern Virginia Medical School won by producing a breath-taking and accurate portrayal of 2033. I encourage you to view the […]
November 7th, 2013
Is the Overwhelming “Primary Care To-Do List” Driving Talented Residents Away?
Paul Bergl, M.D.
In my 3 years of residency, the nearly universal resident response to outpatient continuity clinic was a disturbing, guttural groan. I recognize that many aspects of primary care drag down even the most enduring physicians. But I have also found primary care — particularly with a panel of high-risk and complex patients — to be a welcome […]
October 3rd, 2013
Choosing Words Wisely
Paul Bergl, M.D.
“What do you think, Doctor?” For a novice physician, these worlds can quickly jolt a relatively straightforward conversation into a jumble of partially formed thoughts, suppositions, jargon, and (sometimes) incoherent ramblings. Even for simpler questions, the fumbling trainee does not have a convenient script that has been refined through years of recitation. Thus, many conversations that […]
September 27th, 2013
Duty Hour Reform Revisited
Akhil Narang, M.D.
Discussions of resident duty hour reforms reached the point of ad nauseam a few years ago. Everyone had their say – Program Directors (“In 2003 we instituted an 80-hour work week, in 2011 we switched to 16 hour shifts, what’s next – online residencies!?”), senior residents (“What? I have to write H&Ps again? I don’t […]
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.
