Hi folks, I guess it's been a while since my last post. My rotation at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio went really well. Some highlights:
- Getting the residency application process going. Turned in the first part of my military application and had my first set of interviews.
- Lots of good food options. Of course, there was the dining hall on base and the cafeteria at the medical center, but off base my favorites were The Pub, Thai 9, Dublin Pub, and the Fox & Hound. (Fox & Hound, especially, for their weekly Thursday military appreciation nights.)
- Claudia coming to visit! Specifically watching Harry Potter 7.2 and Captain America together.
[Taking the first step to my psych residency!]
Now I'm at Lackland AFB in Texas for my second Air Force psychiatry away rotation. There was a recent didactic session for the interns on how to be good teachers and role models for med students, which reminded me of an article that my friend Gordon Chien forwarded to me a while ago about burnout in medical school: http://abnormalfacies.wordpress.com/2011/06/22/problems-with-clinical-mentorship/
Being at the bottom of the med school totem pole can definitely wear out lots of people. While we can't change the immense amount of material to learn, the seemingly endless studying for seemingly endless tests, and the unforgiving work hours, what we can change is how members of the medical team interact with each other. After reading that article, I began thinking of ways I plan to (hope to?) prevent burnout, not only for myself, but also for future med students.
- Don't forget where I came from as a medical student. Don't forget what it feels like to be a medical student.
- Take time to teach while doing hospital work, even if teaching doesn't come in the form of sit-down talks. Some of the most helpful teaching I've encountered came from residents explaining their trains of thought as they reviewed a chart or put in orders, i.e. explaining why they were doing what they were doing.
- Peace and love. Peace and love.
The intern lecture that I mentioned above had some more helpful suggestions:
[Traits of Effective Clinical Teachers]
[What's Expected of Residents]
[Create a Supportive Learning Environment]
[Create a Positive and Supportive Learning Environment]
[Supervise/Mentor Effectively]
[Teach Dynamically]
Even before these slides were shown, the interns came up with examples of good teaching on their own that were similar to the ones presented. It was encouraging to see that these future colleagues of mine seemed to have an innate sense of mentorship.
And I think that's what this all boils down to: an enthusiasm for mentoring others. Looking back, I can think of ways I set myself up for a role as a resident teacher:
- Tutoring math for underclassmen when I was a senior in high school.
- Being trombone section leader in the LSJUMB, helping "my frosh" navigate the Stanford Band culture.
- Being president of my fraternity, trying to set a good example for how to lead others who looked up to me.
- As a fourth-year medical student, passing down insight gathered over the course of medical school, specifically helping pre-meds in college with the application process and providing advice for med students interested in going into psych.
Of course, as a resident my priority will be patient care and also educating myself to become a top-notch physician, but these goals don't have to be mutually exclusive with teaching med students. In fact, I would like to think that keeping their education and livelihood in mind will help keep me grounded and augment my own experience. Makes me excited to think about my upcoming Medicine Sub-I at the VA and the M3s I will get to work with. Looking forward to it!
P.S. 20 points for anyone who recognizes where the inspiration for the title of this post comes from.