How to prepare for PGY-1?

[bones]

Hello folks,

 

I'm starting PGY-1 in family medicine in July, and definitely feeling nervous about suddenly having so much responsibility.

 

For those that decided to do a bit of reading and preparing pre-July 1st, what books or other resources did you use to prepare, either for medical material or for more practical day-to-day practice things?

 

For example, any good resources out there for common 'on call' problems for different rotations?

 

Thanks...

[what]

Nothing in particular.

 

Just read around stuff you're likely to get called about including management of chest pain/dyspnea, sugar control, radiologic confirmation of stuff (ng, etc), electrolyte management, and all the other stuff that you encountered as a med student. Just read as you normally would have for a particular rotation. This time you don't have to remember weird and wacky like friedrichs ataxia or felty's syndrome though!

 

There's nothing really too different about residency... You'll be surprised by how comfortable you'll feel just a few days-weeks in.

[lostintime]

Nothing in particular.

 

Just read around stuff you're likely to get called about including management of chest pain/dyspnea, sugar control, radiologic confirmation of stuff (ng, etc), electrolyte management, and all the other stuff that you encountered as a med student. Just read as you normally would have for a particular rotation. This time you don't have to remember weird and wacky like friedrichs ataxia or felty's syndrome though!

 

There's nothing really too different about residency... You'll be surprised by how comfortable you'll feel just a few days-weeks in.

 

Haha sometimes you would be surprised at how often Felty's syndrome shows up in family medicine. I saw two in 2 weeks lol (but yes probably coincidence I know).

[moo]

My advice: subscribe to uptodate. It's cheap for a resident. It's well worth it and it'll save you a lot of time. Don't bother buying textbooks.

 

Also I used Internal Medicine on-call and Surgery on-call for common problems. But in the end, I never used it that much as you'll feel comfortable pretty quickly. You'll be surprised how much back-up you have and how resilient patients are.

[BlackJack]

My advice: subscribe to uptodate. It's cheap for a resident. It's well worth it and it'll save you a lot of time. Don't bother buying textbooks.

 

Also I used Internal Medicine on-call and Surgery on-call for common problems. But in the end, I never used it that much as you'll feel comfortable pretty quickly. You'll be surprised how much back-up you have and how resilient patients are.

 

Some residency programs include an uptodate subscription, or it is subscribed for their hospital and is easily accessed on the premises, both of which preclude the need to buy your own subscription.

[Scholastica]

I was quite nervous too before July 1st. But, there was so much else to do in that summer (travelling, moving to a new city, going to weddings, etc etc) that there wasn't really time to "prepare" for residency for me. Except for totally botching my first floor issue (chest pain!!) and embarrassing myself, July wasn't that bad actually... There are lots of people to help you out (staff, seniors, etc).

 

I've found reading/brushing up core topics and basic physiology ahead of a scheduled rotation VERY helpful. Before you prescribe meds, check UpToDate (or Tarascon or whatever app you usually use) for renal, hepatic, geriatric dosing, etc. I've found that tremendously helpful as well.

 

Good luck! :0)