IM Official Questions 2009-2010 Thread

[gap4annie]

anyone else having this problem? I've heard from people on my interview trail that they have been receiving reply email for their thank you emails after the interview. I personally have not been getting reply emails even though I thought the interviews went well. Am I just not writing a good thank you email? should I be worried??

Sorry I don't have an answer, but a related question came to me -- do most people write e-mail thank you letters or physical thank you letters?

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[ResidentMD]

Sorry I don't have an answer, but a related question came to me -- do most people write e-mail thank you letters or physical thank you letters?

Check the ERAS forum - there are two threads currently active on that - read the one that is longer.

 

[ResidentMD]

Just wanted to clarify something I noticed on my interview trail - interns not (arent supposed to be) attending morning report - is it very common in most IM residencies, including University programs?

 

[temmie]

Just wanted to clarify something I noticed on my interview trail - interns not (arent supposed to be) attending morning report - is it very common in most IM residencies, including University programs?

From my experience as a MS4, interns and sub-is, especially when carrying a heavy load are trying to round on their patients and prepare their presentations before attending rounds (my home institution does this at 9am).

So you can imagine how u might have 1.5 hours to see your 10 (plus or minors) patients and dealing with whatever chaos happened overnight.

But i have noticed some folks who have light loads and just "sneakingly" use it as a chance to sleep for 30 more mins

 

[drfunktacular]

From my experience as a MS4, interns and sub-is, especially when carrying a heavy load are trying to round on their patients and prepare their presentations before attending rounds (my home institution does this at 9am).

So you can imagine how u might have 1.5 hours to see your 10 (plus or minors) patients and dealing with whatever chaos happened overnight.

But i have noticed some folks who have light loads and just "sneakingly" use it as a chance to sleep for 30 more mins

As an intern you are dealing with all the notes you have to write, and pushy family members, and nurse questions about Mr X whose blood sugar is 146... rarely do you have time to go and sit and have a leisurely coffee and learning session at 8AM, even when your program "requires" it as mine does.

It's easier as a student because you are only writing a couple of notes and nurses tend not to bother you with questions/concerns, and also as an upper level because your interns are dealing with the scut while you are free to think about the "big picture" with all of your patients, which is usually more conducive to conference attendance.

 

[lapooh]

As an intern you are dealing with all the notes you have to write, and pushy family members, and nurse questions about Mr X whose blood sugar is 146... rarely do you have time to go and sit and have a leisurely coffee and learning session at 8AM, even when your program "requires" it as mine does.

It's easier as a student because you are only writing a couple of notes and nurses tend not to bother you with questions/concerns, and also as an upper level because your interns are dealing with the scut while you are free to think about the "big picture" with all of your patients, which is usually more conducive to conference attendance.

Agreed, but shouldn't programs be atleast making a perfunctory attempt to get interns to attend morning report and other conferences ? If you have too much work and just can't make it, fine. But if you just take morning report out of the picture for interns as a whole, it seems to me to be a lousy way of tackling the problem.

 

[Cards21aceking]

Agreed, but shouldn't programs be atleast making a perfunctory attempt to get interns to attend morning report and other conferences ? If you have too much work and just can't make it, fine. But if you just take morning report out of the picture for interns as a whole, it seems to me to be a lousy way of tackling the problem.

At my home institution, I think the powers that be understood that the interns weren't capable of attending the morning conferences (due to workload in the am), so they've instituted an "intern report," which I think is fairly popular around the country. It's a report solely for interns who are on the university service and some subspecialties, where one intern presents a case and an attending facilitates the report.

 

[ResidentMD]

At my home institution, I think the powers that be understood that the interns weren't capable of attending the morning conferences (due to workload in the am), so they've instituted an "intern report," which I think is fairly popular around the country. It's a report solely for interns who are on the university service and some subspecialties, where one intern presents a case and an attending facilitates the report.

I have come across programs with the "intern report". From the above discussions, I guess this actually may end up being a better thing then wouldnt it? I guess something IS better than nothing. From the above discussion, I guess one shouldnt weigh a lot on the presence or the absence of interns attending morning report, because even if it exists, the realistic possibility of an intern attending it frequently are less.

 

[jdh71]

IMHO "morning report" no longer has any place in medicine. Back in the days of more traditional medicine and more traditional call, morning report was the Chairman's way of making sure his residents were not a bunch of idiots and he'd pimp the **** out of you about every overnight admit - ddx to tests to pdx to management. However, today's morning reports are nothing more than mini-noon type conferences - yeah, someone starts with a case, but they always end up boring you to tears about a topic related to the case. They are largely a waste of time, especially since most interns spend all of the morning report writing notes and answering pages.

It's time for medicine to get a grip.

 

[ResidentMD]

IMHO "morning report" no longer has any place in medicine. Back in the days of more traditional medicine and more traditional call, morning report was the Chairman's way of making sure his residents were not a bunch of idiots and he'd pimp the **** out of you about every overnight admit - ddx to tests to pdx to management. However, today's morning reports are nothing more than mini-noon type conferences - yeah, someone starts with a case, but they always end up boring you to tears about a topic related to the case. They are largely a waste of time, especially since most interns spend all of the morning report writing notes and answering pages.

It's time for medicine to get a grip.

ROTFL - sad but true - I attended a morning report at a program that actually did what you described...though pimping in a good, non-malignant way. I was pleasantly surprised as compared to the other morning reports that I had attended, which were basically, as you described, mini noon-conferences.

 

[gutonc]

ROTFL - sad but true - I attended a morning report at a program that actually did what you described...though pimping in a good, non-malignant way. I was pleasantly surprised as compared to the other morning reports that I had attended, which were basically, as you described, mini noon-conferences.

So how was your interview at Mt. Sinai? I actually liked that morning report format. Very well run, very benign "pimping" and very good learning, one of the best I saw on the interview trail. And a few people leave with assignments to look something up and report on it the next day in 5 min or less. The only thing I didn't like was that interns weren't allowed. Sure, it would be nice to not be expected to be in conference when you were trying to dispo half your service before clinic in 3 hours, but it was such a good learning experience that I felt interns were losing out by being excluded.

Man I loved that program. If it wasn't in NYC it would have been #1 on my list.

 

[barmay]

Did everyone get a letter from the program director at Michigan thanking them for visiting the program? It seems like a lot of effort on his part!

 

[ResidentMD]

So how was your interview at Mt. Sinai? I actually liked that morning report format. Very well run, very benign "pimping" and very good learning, one of the best I saw on the interview trail. And a few people leave with assignments to look something up and report on it the next day in 5 min or less. The only thing I didn't like was that interns weren't allowed. Sure, it would be nice to not be expected to be in conference when you were trying to dispo half your service before clinic in 3 hours, but it was such a good learning experience that I felt interns were losing out by being excluded.

Man I loved that program. If it wasn't in NYC it would have been #1 on my list.

Hey - that one was actually at Pitt, but it was a similar format. Actually it was exactly the same way you describe above. Its interesting to see the love-hate attitude towards NYC among people. I have never been there, and I probably won't this year - for the good or the bad

 

[gutonc]

Its interesting to see the love-hate attitude towards NYC among people. I have never been there, and I probably won't this year - for the good or the bad

It's not like I didn't give NYC a chance. After 11 years, I was ready for something different. The idea of another 3-6 years there did not excite me.

 

[ResidentMD]

It's not like I didn't give NYC a chance. After 11 years, I was ready for something different. The idea of another 3-6 years there did not excite me.

True - mustve been interesting living there for 11 years! Well, we never know how things work out - may get to see NYC eventually.

 

[ResidentMD]

Just wanted to know - anyone who has interviewed at Mayo Rochester this year- did you have a separate meeting with the PD? I believe till last year, a few candidates from every day were pulled aside and told that they had a good chance of matching there (read on SDN and by word-of-mouth). It didnt happen this year on my interview day, or at least I didnt see it happening because I was done with my interviews early and left. Any one had an experience like the previous years?