Turning Problems into Opportunities to Impress

Joel Schofer, MD, Emergency Medicine, 05:10PM May 30, 2010

http://boards.medscape.com/forums?128@452.8lgwaqkJrTV@.29fe8bfe!comment=1

Most 3rd year medical students are wrapping up their clinicals and probably have a pretty good idea of what specialty they are planning on pursuing during residency. In search of strong letters of recommendation for their residency application, these 3rd years need to figure out how to impress the local physicians in their chosen specialty. Here is one guaranteed way to do it.

When you rotate through your chosen specialty during early 4th year, take special note of the things the residents and attendings complain about. What annoys them? What frustrates them? Come to think of it, when you are on their service, what annoys/frustrates you? Make it your goal during 4th year to fix one of these problems. They will be impressed.

Some of the most impressive projects I've seen residents or students complete, leading to amazing letters of recommendation, come from this process. Something really irritates the attendings/residents and someone volunteers to try to fix it. Trust me. If you are this person, you will be revered.

Here's an example...

During my fellowship, one of the residents noticed that the ICU attendings complained a lot about the care the Emerency Department (ED) was providing to patients with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). Naturally, this resident did not like hearing another service complain about his department. It irritated and frustrated him, but instead of complaining about it, he decided to fix it.

He did a literature search on diabetic ketoacidosis and created a clinical pathway complete with a standard order sheet (so you really can't screw up the pathway) that the ED and ICU both agreed to. Needless to say, not only did he improve the care of DKA patients in our hospital, but he had demonstrated to everyone that he wasn't a complainer, but a resident who could take action and fix a problem. In the end, by simply collecting the data his pathway created, I'm sure he'll wind up with a national presentation or two as well as at least one very solid research project and publication.

In the end, if you are trying to impress your selected specialty, keep your ears open for things that the residents and attendings complain about. Pick one problem that you'd like to fix. Do a literature search and gather all the published resources about that topic, and then approach someone you want to get a letter from or impress. Tell them that you'd like to rid them of one of their headaches. It might include a lot of hard work, but in the end you won't regret the effort you put into the project.

Me: Hmm...thinking what can be applied here...

=)

Who Should Be a Doctor?

There are many aspiring doctors in the world, who are very interested in pursuing medical school, but aren't sure if they have what it takes, or if they should really be a doctor at all. I can understand their feelings of confusion and apprehension at taking the plunge into medical school, as I was once in those same shoes. It took me over six years after obtaining my bachelor's degree to decide to finally go to medical school.

Now that I have successfully made my way through four years of med school, and am about to begin my psychiatry residency, I feel like I have a good idea of what it takes to be a doctor. While it's possible that my perspective might change during residency, I think I currently have a good idea what it takes to make it through med school, and I have a good idea who will ultimately end up as a successful and happy physician.

Let me first address who I think would not make a good physician. In my opinion, you should not be a doctor if your motivation is to:

1. Make a lot of money.

2. Be famous.

3. Make your parents happy, and so they'll stop bothering you.

4. Feed your God complex.

Let me now put a positive spin on things. What does it actually take to become a successful doctor?

1. Reasonable intelligence. No, you do not have to be a member of Mensa, but yes, you need to be able to process and understand large quantities of information.

2. Dedication and hard work. These are perhaps the most important characteristics. Medical school and residency are a very long series of hoops. If you aren't dedicated to the path, you will find yourself on the ground, rather than in the air.

3. Compassion. This might seem rather obvious, but it's still very true, and very necessary.

4. That you love what you do. In other words, it's important that you choose medicine for reasons other than the ones listed above. Actually, I believe this rule applies to all fields and career paths.

5. Creativity. Albert Einstein said it best: "I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."

I'm sure there are a lot of people who disagree with my ideas and assumptions. So, I'd like to hear your ideas. Who do YOU think should be a doctor?

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Wah, jadi merasa malu dan sedikit khawatir karena jujur saja, i still havent own the characteristic of the five points above, yang ada malah poin "make your parents happy". Well, to talk about love and compassion, terkadang aku masih bingung bagaimana caranya menumbuhkan suatu kecintaan pada sesuatu yang mungkin saja waktu itu, membuat kita tidak nyaman, sehingga yang ada malah keterpaksaan. Aku udah sering mencoba melihat sisi positif dan mencari hal-hal menarik di setiap kegiatan yang membuatku merasa muak, kadang berhasil, tapi sering juga malah membuatku tambah muak. Tapi entah kenapa, deep down, aku percaya bahwa kejenuhan hanyalah salah satu tanda bahwa ada suatu pencapaian baru yang harus diraih, yang lebih tinggi, dan lebih baik.

=)

Ujian Farmasi...

Tadi pagi ujian farmasi, yahh berangkat dari rumah sudah dengan kesadaran penuh bahwa memang aku kurang persiapan. Jadi waktu diumumkan harus up, hanya bisa pasrah. Tapi ada yang beda di ujian kali ini, di saat hampir semua temenku ngeluh karena begitu gejenya stase ini, aku justru mulai menemukan semangat jadi dokter lagi di sini. Setelah sekian lama merasa depresi harus bergumul dengan orang-orang yang lemah, suasana kerja yang depresif dan individualis, sekarang akhirnya semangat itu muncul kembali. Menemukan diagnosis yang tepat dan mencari terapi yang paling tepat itu menarik. It's like playing inside the puzzle itself. Feel so real and fun!



"Kedokteran adalah bisnis kepercayaan" kata salah satu dosenku. And it almost impossible to be a doctor and not interact with a patient. Dokter ada karena ada pasien kan? ;) Saat ini aku sadar aku masih belum mempunyai jiwa dokter yang sesungguhnya. Sometimes, I see the patient as puzzles pieces needed to be solved. Sometimes, I still forget that they are human being, same like us. Tapi apapun itu, aku bersyukur bahwa Allah masih memberiku pencerahan (and not letting me blind) =)