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Wellness & Common Pitfalls

Wellness

Taking care of yourself is important!

A Few Potential Student Pitfalls

  • Waiting too long to begin reading. You really need to read something every night; there is just too much to cover. Train yourself to read for 15-20 minutes each day and work up to 1 hour. Remember: it’s easy to read when things are slow; but the real trick is, can you make yourself read when you are busy/tired? There are no assignments for reading; it’s all self-directed.
  • Withholding questions: Questions prompt discussion and learning. There are times when questions are not appropriate, but these moments should be obvious (i.e. during a code). Use good judgement.
  • Not being around: If you stray too far away your resident may forget to call you or not have time to call you (i.e. code) and you risk missing something interesting or exciting.
  • Being late: Similar to the above. As it stands, you are the lowest on the pecking order (sorry). But that means that tardiness will be noticed and heavily frowned upon. Not only is it unprofessional, but it will also be seen as a sign of sloppiness, disorganization, and not caring.
  • Not taking initiative: You are part of the team now. If you see something that needs doing (and you can do it), offer to do it, or better yet, go do it! A passive student will also stand out and perhaps not in a good way. Some people are naturally reserved, however, medicine in general and Internal Medicine in particular, is a social endeavor. If this is you, you it make take a while for you to work on this.
  • Expecting information and expectations to be delivered to you: Neither will. Be active in seeking these out. Solicit feedback if it isn’t offered to you (it should be).