Today marks the end of my first year of clinical anesthesia (CA-1) and wanted to reflect on things I learned. While my intern year was filled with lessons inherent to becoming a new physician, my CA-1 year was very different! Anesthesiology has an incredibly steep learning curve – advanced physiology and pharmacology, new…
Congratulations – you’ve made it to the clinical portion of medical school! Now you’ll work alongside interns, residents, attendings, pharmacists, social workers, and a myriad of other healthcare workers to provide quality care for your patients. As a resident, I’ve seen medical and PA students struggle with feelings of anxiety,…
Anesthesiologists are faced with a unique dilemma. We must quickly establish rapport with patients about to undergo surgery – undoubtedly one of the most anxiety-ridden events in their lives. It’s an art that’s easy to spot but far more difficult to teach. Just how do we persuade patients to literally…
I know many soon-to-be interns are now staring down the barrel of their first rotations with some uneasiness. You’ll be a healer for patients, a teacher for medical students, and what you do really matters as a new physician! I wanted to reflect on the habits which helped me survive intern year.…
For those looking to match into a U.S. residency, there’s some lingo that should be understood about the first year of post-graduate training as a resident (the “intern year”). There are three internship possibilities: transitional year (TY), preliminary year (prelim), or categorical. For the non-categorical applicants, the TY/prelim year is followed by advanced…
“So, do you see yourself as a leader or a follower?” Invariably, applicants are trained to emphatically say “leader” followed by extensively rehearsed anecdotes of their greatness at the helm of an organization or project. One of my favorite questions to ask med school applicants was to describe an experience…
After a great city-wide conference this afternoon, I rushed to catch the elevator to begin my journey back across the Texas Medical Center. As the doors opened, an elderly man sat quietly in his wheelchair with another man beside him. I presumed they were a father-son duo. The former asked…
In preparation for residency, I went to get my varicella titers drawn yesterday afternoon at the occupational health office. After finishing, the phlebotomist bid farewell with: “Have a great weekend, Doctor Kumar!”
It’s in the nature of medicine that all practitioners will make mistakes – some which have no adverse effects and others which cost patient lives. As a soon-to-be intern, I surmise I’ll make a lot of logistical mistakes in the beginning, but in the event of a medical error, the…
This post concludes my time as a third year medical student (MS3) and aims to reflect on a few milestones I’ve encountered over the last twelve months of clinical rotations (links to summaries of my MS1 and MS2 years). USMLE The USMLE Step 1, easily the most important exam I’ve taken…