Advice to Med Students

Yes, I'm still a med student, but it took me most of third year to learn this, so I figure I'll put it out there now. I don't even think any med students read my blog, but that's ok.

For my non-med student readers...medical training is a hierarchy. The med students report to the intern, who reports to a senior resident, who reports to a fellow, who reports to an attending. Yes, there are a ton of middle men, but it's part of medical training. This hierarchy sometimes leaves us students waiting for a "dismissal" to go home by our residents. This is very frustrating when you've been sitting around for 3 hours waiting for patients to show to do consults or admissions. You've already checked up on the patients you're seeing, read about your cases, and now you're twiddling your thumbs until it's time to go home. If you're doing this with a fellow medical student, IT'S OK FOR ONE OF YOU TO ASK TO GO HOME! There is no need for both of you to sit and do nothing. Also, if a resident tells you to go home and it's earlier than normal, go home. It will not look bad on your part.