Insights on Residency Training

January 22nd, 2021

Gratitude – Reflections on 2020

Vivek Sant, MD

2020 was a tough year. With natural disasters around the world, a global pandemic, and significant social and economic upheaval both in the U.S. and abroad, no one has emerged unaffected. Especially in medicine, we have acutely experienced our share of grief and loss and have witnessed humanity in its most broken state. In the […]

---

December 20th, 2018

Medicine Robbed Me of My 20s

Scott Hippe, MD

“Medicine robbed me of my 20s.” I’ve heard the line many times in my medical training. It often comes accompanied by a long sigh, a slow sip of coffee, and a glazed stare off into the distance. “Imagine what could’ve been,” the seasoned physician muses, “if I had my 20s to do over, without medicine.” But now, […]

---

November 6th, 2018

Making the Most of the Holidays as a Resident

Ellen Poulose-Redger, MD

It’s that time of the year again — Halloween has passed (and with it, the best excuse for an adult to dress up in costume), and the winter holidays are just around the corner. I was in a store on November 1st, and Christmas decorations were being put up.  Already.  Whether or not you happen […]

---

August 17th, 2018

Things I’ve Learned from My Patients

Ellen Poulose-Redger, MD

I recently completed my internal medicine residency training.  Three years, thousands of hours, thousands of patients, thousands of decisions.  I certainly learned a lot from the past 3 years: everything from what “HFrEF” means and how to manage it, to treating recurrent C. difficile colitis, to how to share decision-making with patients about whether or not […]

---

October 17th, 2017

Be Human. Be Memorable.

Karmen Wielunski, DO

My dad died on May 11, 2003. It was Mothers’ Day. I was 18 years old. Those are the easy facts. The more difficult ones are those detailing the events that led to his death. My dad was so many things — a brilliant geologist, a loving father, an inventor, a pilot, and a Vietnam […]

---

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 […]

---

February 26th, 2016

Caring For Today’s Veterans

Briana Buckner, MD

For most of residency, I missed the opportunity to care for veterans — mainly for selfish reasons, including my unwillingness to learn a new EMR and hospital. Once I became a chief resident, I realized that I would be spending 4 months at our local VA hospital. When I first came to the VA as a chief, my […]

---

February 12th, 2016

What Have I Learned as a Chief Resident?

Raktim Ghosh, MD

At my institution, next academic year’s chief residency application email was sent out last week. The APDIM spring meeting for chief residents and program administrator is going to be held in Las Vegas in April 2016. The 2016 chief residents need to be selected before that meeting. That e-mail brought a flashback memory for me. I met Charleen […]

---

February 5th, 2016

Don’t Give Up!

Gregory Shumer, MD

There comes a time in most people’s training when adversity threatens to become overwhelming and swallow them whole. It could be as a medical student, while spending countless hours in the library or when on demanding rotations. Or, it could be during residency, from the 80-hour work weeks or the stressful patient care situations. It […]

---

January 15th, 2016

Zaatari: Day 0–1

Ahmad Yousaf, MD

“I am going to a Syrian refugee camp.” The words came out of my mouth without hesitation, and my wife’s reaction is exactly what I expected… She already knew. After 5 years of marriage and 8 years of being stuck with me, she knew how I was going to react when I saw the medical mission […]

---