First month of family medicine residency.

Hi everyone!

First month of residency is OVER. How did that fly by? In my program the first month is called “Bootcamp”. It is a mix of clinic days, lectures/seminars, certification courses and just easing into residency. I very much appreciated it and enjoyed it to the max!

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are my own and do not reflect the views of the program that I matched at.

What did I do over the first month?

-> I received my schedule starting July 2020 – June 2021 (switches from on service: family medicine and off service: other rotations):

• Bootcamp (1 month)
• Family medicine (2 months )
• Internal medicine (1 month)
• Psychiatry (1 month)
• Family medicine (2 months)
• Emergency medicine (1 month)
• Hospitalist medicine (1 month)
• Family medicine (2 months)
• Pediatrics (1 month)
• Elective (1 month) – I have not chosen my elective yet

-> FM Clinic days

• I am considered as my patients MRR (most responsible resident)
• I see three patients in the AM and three patients in the PM (patients are scheduled for one hour each), this should give us enough time to speak to the patient, present to our attending, come up with a dx, management plan etc. and then finish up our note
• In the next few months the number of patients we see in the AM and PM will increase
• If I am not done my notes I usually go back home and work on finishing them up by the evening
• I see patients in-person and also speak to them over the phone (due to COVID restrictions), if I feel I should see the patients in-person for further examination I ask them to be scheduled in
• I wear a mask and a face shield when I see my patients
• Preceptors are super supportive
• The dreaded “Inbox”, it really tests my time management skills: the Inbox is all the lab/imaging results, refill requests, ER notes of patients etc. I have to go through each one, read it, make a note, acknowledge that I read it, refill the meds etc. I may not know what to do with everyone so I ask my preceptors for help

-> “Nightmares”

• The Nightmares Course: Several times a year, new residents undergo two days of intense sim-based training, faced with emergent situations. Each resident takes turns being team leader to run each scenario. In all of Canada it is my family medicine program that began the Nightmares course.
• It is super amazing because now, when we are out there in real world situations we hopefully won’t be clueless about our approach to the emergent patient
• Was I nervous being team leader? Heck yes.
• Did I make mistakes and was I getting my butt handed to me by the instructor Doc? Yes indeed, but we debrief after a scenario and learn from our mistakes.
• Now I will never forget how to treat a cardiogenic shock patient! (Do NOT give these patients too much fluids to increase their BP!!!) Arghhh

-> Neonatal resuscitation program (NRP)

• Sim course where we practice neonate resuscitation

-> Lectures/seminars

• Helpful because this is important information I use towards talking to my patients and counselling them

-> Procedure skills day

• One day of practicing our skills in the sim lab!
• Learned how to perform ingrown toenail surgery/removal, intubation with and without Glidescope, IUD insertion, endometrial biopsy, nose packing for nose bleeds, breast cyst aspiration and anoscopy

-> Lots & lots & lots of emails to keep up with

-> Meeting our colleagues over Zoom and (sometimes) in person for various online meetings, unfortunately due to COVID we are still very careful about meetings in-person, even if we do meet in person we wear masks or maintain physical distancing

Thoughts on my second month of residency:

I get to wear scrubs everyday, I was initially looking at Figs Scrubs as they seem to be popular with so many health care professionals. Honestly, they are too expensive for me, so I went with these scrubs from Amazon: Wonderwink! Very comfy.

I did my first IUD insertion (woohoo!)

I am realizing more and more that I absolutely love women’s health and obstetrics

Things are moving at a much faster pace with more responsibilities

Seen above -> MSK (musculoskeletal) skills day!
In this picture I am learning how to apply a leg splint!
We also learned how to apply casts and remove them with the cast saw (sadly no photo), practiced joint injections and shoulder/knee exams!

I think I should end it here. I have lots more to share but there will be another post coming up soon. I need to go make some coffee and finish up my notes and read up on my patients for tomorrow!

Hope you had a fun read! Message me below with any questions you have.

Peace, Health & Happiness