Specialties

Embarking on residency is a daunting prospect. We’ve heard the horror stories of residents who exceed the 80-hour work-week limit, endure grueling calls, and take ownership of acutely sick patients on inpatient rotations. Admittedly, residents work long hours and go through difficult training in the pursuit of medical proficiency. I would never go so far read more…

Time flies, it seems, and you’ve made it to the last year of your family medicine residency! With less than a year before your graduation, this is your chance to learn as much as you can under supervision before entering the world as an attending physician. Take advantage of these tips to ensure a successful 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…

Although each student is different, the PA education and certification process poses similar challenges for all individuals. As a recent graduate, I can attest that the transition to the graduate program and subsequent preparation for the board examination can be a whirlwind. If you’re struggling to feel confident going into your PA school exams, you’re 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…

It’s the second week of December and you check your email to find the long-awaited email from the American Board of Pediatrics with your board results. You open up the email to find out that you failed the pediatric boards. While this is both disheartening and devastating, remind yourself of this: failing the boards does 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…

Burnout is an enormous topic that has never been more relevant to the general public, let alone the health care field. Prepandemic, there was more stigma attached to mental health in health care settings. But now, over two years into the pandemic, burnout seems ubiquitous and an assumed aspect of many workplaces. You may catch 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…

Maybe you settled for a specialty you’re less excited about or entered a nonspecialized field with a plan to specialize in the future. Or, you thought your specialty would be the perfect fit at first, only to learn it wasn’t at all what you expected. No matter how you got here, one thing is for read more…

Deciding to become a nurse practitioner may be one of the more significant decisions in your life. Your career options are diverse and there is no limit to the future need for your services. Still, you’ll have more milestone decisions to make on the path to your dream career. One of these decisions will be 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…

Imagine you’re a new MS3 just starting out on clinical rotations. You’d like to eventually pursue a career in surgery, but your first clerkship happens to be in psychiatry. You go through the motions of the rotation, taking detailed histories and obtaining collateral from your patients. Generally, you perform well and receive solid evaluations from read more…

Taking the PANCE is a big day in every PA’s life. It’s the day you’ve been working toward for years, and you want to make sure it’s a successful one. Most of the buzz about the PANCE focuses on exam content and coverage, with little mention of scheduling logistics. As the final checkpoint to becoming read more…

Once you learn you’re going to be a parent, nurseries and car seats are not the only preparations to consider. As I type this and quickly scan my baby monitor to make sure my own bundle of joy is still asleep, I can’t help but remember the worry I experienced when preparing for maternity leave 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.