12 Essential Tips for New Emergency Medicine Interns

OVERVIEW

In this episode of EMRA*Cast, host Blythe Fiscella and three residents from ChristianaCare - EM chief resident Andrew Toron, EM/IM resident Brielle Grote, and EM/FM resident Emerson Trimble - share 12 crucial pieces of advice for new interns starting their first shifts in the emergency department. 

The discussion covers a range of topics, including the importance of being careful, connecting with patients, building good habits, communicating with nurses, and handling death with compassion. The episode aims to provide practical guidance to help new interns navigate the challenges of emergency medicine effectively.

TAKE-HOME POINTS

•  Being careful might be more important than being intelligent. 
•  Focus on connecting with patients. Try to practice the skill of perspective-taking.
•  Be deliberate about building good habits. As Aristotle or whoever said, "We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, therefore, is not an act. It is a habit."
•  When you're doing a procedure, take the time to set yourself up for success.
•  Communicate with your nurses.  
• Don’t waste any mistakes. 
• Be careful with quick-texts, templates, and dictation. 
• Realize you can learn by watching. 
• Your study strategy will be unique to you. 
• Have something other than medicine to focus on. 
• Figure out your own way of accompanying patients and families with presence and compassion when death inevitably happens on shift.
• If something isn’t adding up, don’t ignore it: revisit your assumptions and course-correct!