Resident Lounge Expert Consult

Welcome new doctors! Yesterday you were medical students and today you are physicians! What a scary feeling. Remember that everyone shares similar concerns and fears as they start their residency and wants to succeed. Getting into residency is the beginning of an incredible journey. Savor it, relax, enjoy the ride, and be open to...

After many long nights huddled over textbooks, agonizing over the brachial plexus, committing childhood exanthems to memory, and making surgical knots of any loose fiber within arm’s reach, you have finally received the news of a lifetime: You’re accepted to a residency program! Now you know what kind of doctor you will be...

The medical profession in the U.S. has a remarkable international flair. One in four U.S. physicians is an international medical graduate (IMG), and every year around 12,000 IMGs apply for U.S. residency positions. But the path to practicing in the U.S. is not an easy one when you must navigate the requirements without the structural support...

Physician burnout and well-being are hot topics among medical professionals throughout the health care delivery and educational continuum — for good reason. Current estimates of the impact of physician burnout approach or exceed 50%, and most experts suggest that the percentage is growing.

The fields of precision medicine and digital health have the potential to transform medicine by increasing access to health-related data at the touch of a finger, seamlessly sharing electronic medical records among institutions, improving the efficiency of healthcare delivery, and providing access to unprecedented granularity of patient data...

Communication is key in all relationships. Effective and compassionate communication by physicians and other health care providers has been demonstrated to improve clinical outcomes, treatment adherence, patient satisfaction, and to reduce malpractice claims. For health care providers...

The last time you stepped inside an operating room may have been the third year of medical school, but during residency you will care for many patients who require surgery, either electively or emergently. Calling a surgical consult can be daunting or intimidating, especially if the problem or situation is outside your comfort zone...

When you dedicate years to studying and practicing medicine, you learn that certain steps are required to maintain good health and prevent illness and disease. However, the concept of systematically and proactively cultivating good habits applies to many aspects of life, including your finances...

Although every resident develops his or her own style for each of these roles, the following practical strategies were discussed in a NEJM Resident 360 discussion (How to Lead a Team on the Wards: The Art to Being an Effective Resident).

Conflict is a natural part of everyday life; disagreements are bound to happen when we interact with others. As physicians, we often work in time-pressured, high-stakes circumstances and engage with teams comprised of people with different backgrounds and perspectives.

Internship and residency are incredibly demanding intellectually, emotionally, physically, and socially. This post addresses ways to establish habits that will lead to a successful and healthy transition to the practice of medicine during residency.   

Notes are often the last thing standing between you and (finally) going home.  In one large-scale survey of internal medicine residents, two-thirds reported spending more than 4 hours per day on medical record documentation and clerical duties; only one-third spent comparable time on direct patient care (see also Chen et al. and Wenger et al.).

As an internal medicine resident, your days are filled with morning rounds, daily progress notes, admission order sets, and procedures. So, when do you have time to continue to learn and keep up with medical research?

Congratulations on finishing up your clinical rotations as a medical student! You might already know what residency you plan to pursue after medical school, but many students make their decision late in their third year. Experts who serve as student advisors and residency program directors will be on hand from March 6-15 to answer your questions about your choice of specialty.

When most people think of librarians, they picture the stereotypical older woman with glasses and a bun who shushes them for talking too loudly. In the past, librarians were the keepers of information but have now evolved to become navigators of information.

If you are interested in a career in medical education, your timing couldn’t be better! Opportunities await as medical education reinvents itself. You can be part of the change and fuel innovation as the need for skilled medical educators grows. Some institutions now offer formal career paths in medical education. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Dr. Carol McLaughlin, director of the Global Health Equities Track in the internal medicine residency program at the University of Pennsylvania, writes about what it takes to pursue a career in global health and how can you plan for it during residency.

All residents have at least one scholarly requirement and it is in your best interest to find out exactly what that requirement is before you are up to your elbows in ICU cases. Nairmeen Haller, PhD, Director of Research at Cleveland Clinic Akron General helps you get started on your scholarly activity journey.

Despite the hours spent gaining medical knowledge and skills training, chances are that little time was spent preparing you to teach. Yet, on day one you will be expected to do just that. So, how do you prepare for this role? In this blog post, we review high-yield skills and behaviors of effective clinical teachers.

Residents are not always sure why they should care about practicing high-value care, how they can contribute, or even how to learn the fundamentals.

Christopher Moriates, MD, Assistant Dean for Healthcare Value and Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, Dell Medical School, The University of Texas, Austin explains why a focus on high-value care is important.

Should residents have end-of-life conversations with patients or should they be left to the attending physician? Columbia University’s Dr. Craig Blinderman provides guidance and resources. 

Dr. Richard Brian Gunderman offers guidance for preventing burnout in residency.

Dr. Julie Freischlag from UC Davis offers advice on how to prepare to negotiate that first job contract.

Indiana University Medical School's Jose Rivera Espada provides guidance on how to manage your medical school debt during residency.