Internal Medicine

“In general, people only ask for advice that they may not follow it; or, if they should follow it, that they may have somebody to blame for having given it.” Alexandre Dumas, The Three Musketeers I remember in one of my first doctoring classes in medical school, the preceptor advised that as time goes by, and your close friends and family endure more medical maladies, you read more…

After spending the last two decades in school, there’s nothing quite like that first paycheck in residency. Now that you make money, what are you going to do with it? You can treat yourself, focus on your loans and financial goals, or ideally, find a healthy medium. Being a financially responsible adult doesn’t happen overnight. read more…

I was the chief resident during my PGY-3 year of family medicine residency. Frankly, until the application deadline, I wasn’t sure I’d even run for chief. My program selected the chief based upon votes from your peers, but naturally, applicants had to be in good standing with the administration as well. Weighing the pros and read more…

According to The American Board of Obesity Medicine (ABOM), “obesity is the most prevalent chronic disease in our society. Yet, many physicians are not trained in how to manage it. [ABOM] certifies physicians looking to bridge this gap.” Understanding obesity medicine is important for physicians practicing in all specialties. For those preparing for the ABOM certification exam, a read more…

Life as an internal medicine resident is busy. Most days are filled with patient responsibilities, and you naturally may want to relax and catch up on chores or errands during the occasional day off. You shouldn’t feel pressure to build even more into this busy schedule, but if you have the time and mental bandwidth, read more…

Every year as residency comes to an end, many decide between doing a fellowship or starting practice as an attending. It’s an individualized decision that hinges on professional goals and personal circumstances. The roles fellows and attendings serve are different in structure and purpose. If you’re approaching a similar decision, and are wondering “What is read more…

Fellowship is an exciting next step in your training after residency. Not everyone needs to do a fellowship (and many people don’t), but the advantage of further subspecialty training is the additional expertise that will set you apart from your colleagues. In this article, we’ll explain the different types of fellowships, how to apply to read more…

Starting residency is an exciting time! During this time, some specialties may require you to do a modified intern year before continuing to your “advanced” residency. This specifically applies to applicants going into anesthesiology, dermatology, ophthalmology, neurology, physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R), radiation oncology, radiology including interventional radiology (IR), and in some cases, urology and read more…

According to the Maslach Burnout Inventory, there are three specific components in assessing burnout: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a lack of a sense of personal accomplishment. About 40% of medical students, residents, and attending physicians experience these symptoms of burnout. Considering the prevalence of burnout among medical professionals, how do you avoid burning out in read more…

The board/licensing exam is one of the most stressful hurdles you face in your medical career. The preparation is tedious and exam day is intense. After all the effort and time you’ve invested, receiving a failing score can be devastating. So, what happens if you fail a board exam? Here are a few next steps read more…

Starting residency can be daunting. It’s a transformative experience that will transition you from a medical student to a practicing physician. It will be busy, and at times tiring, but you’ll learn so much and should view this as your opportunity to learn how to be a stellar doctor. Your program leadership—the faculty you work read more…

Residency is a busy time filled with many clinical, professional, and educational responsibilities. Much of the time, it can be a 60-hour or even 80-hour work week without much downtime. With a busy schedule, you may wonder whether you have time to relax and what that might look like. Here’s how vacation during residency works read more…

Call shifts are a hallmark of residency and an important hurdle to conquer prior to becoming an attending. If you’re approaching your first call shift soon, you’ve probably racked your brain wondering: how do I survive a 24-hour shift? Caring for hospitalized patients, making important medical decisions, and answering questions from nurses, patients, and families read more…

Medical school is long and expensive, with little (if any) time to earn money. Residency may not come with much more free time, but still, it’s exciting to receive a paycheck for your work rather than pay tuition. Your resident salary, generally adjusted to your cost of living, should cover housing, food, and limited entertainment. read more…

I recently returned from a medical education conference and spoke to many residents and attendings who were preparing to take their certification or board exam. One question I was repeatedly asked was: “What is your pass rate?” This seems like a reasonable question, right? But it drives me crazy. Not because someone is curious about statistics, but because some companies actually publish “pass rates.” Companies that publish pass rates are misleading you. It is that simple.

I recently returned from a medical education conference and spoke to many residents and attendings who were preparing to take their certification or board exam. One question I was repeatedly asked was: “What is your pass rate?” This seems like a reasonable question, right? But it drives me crazy. Not because someone is curious about statistics, but because some companies actually publish “pass rates.” Companies that publish pass rates are misleading you. It is that simple.

To prepare for your boards as a Med-Peds resident, you may feel like you have to recreate the wheel to craft your study plan. As if one board exam isn’t enough, you face the challenge of finding two great study resources to ace your exams. But the more time you spend searching for multiple board read more…

Rosh Review offers 100 credits of continuing medical education education (CME) and continuing education (CE). If you are a subscriber who signed up for an account linked to CME or CE and you want to know how to obtain your credit and certificate or both…this is how you do it:

Studying for the shelf exams and Step 2 can be an intimidating endeavor! Your goal this year is to get ready for residency and match with your dream program, but what do programs care most about? Rotation grades (for which the shelf plays a major role), your Step 1 performance (which is now pass/fail as read more…

At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the group text chain where I connect with my girlfriends from residency on a near-daily basis erupted with a flurry of unanswerable questions. We shared updates and data from each of our healthcare systems and compared strategies of how various hospitals and private practices planned to combat the read more…