What I wish I had done prior to residency

Residency is hard. It's a lot of work. Many people made it through, some, of course, didn't. However, many people made it. Yes, this bears repeating. When I first heard I matched I was elated. This excitement was then replaced by fear. I was scared because everything I would do had a direct impact on another persons life. That is a huge responsibility for one to have over ones shoulder or ones head. Before I started residency I scoured the net to find a way to prepare for residency. Most articles or blog posts I came across were useless.During residency I have come across a few things that I wish i had seen, read, or known. It will be helpful for you if you are starting out in family medicine residency.

As an intern looking back there are things that you consistently get called for. If you know these things you will have a leg up on others, and feel more comfortable handling the floors. I happened to have a book in my possession that I did not read prior, but after starting residency my voraciousness for reading medical books has increased. The book I found was the "internship survival guide by washington manual." There is a second book that I got even later and thought was even more appropriate for preparing for primary care medicine intern year and that is the "onlinemeded Intern survival guide." Read either of these books if you have it in you and you will be more comfortable.

Another tool, other than the aforementioned books, that can help during residency are apps. The main apps that I currently use are epocrates for drugs, and ePSS for preventative care during clinic. I have also used FPnotebook in the past.

Intern year is almost over. I can barely believe it. It flew by so fast. Soon we will be welcoming the next interns. For all who matched congratulations.