Brian J. Secemsky is an internal medicine physician and can be reached on Twitter @BrianSecemskyMD and his self-titled site, Brian Secemsky MD.
Prior to entering the medical field, my preconceived notion of what makes a good doctor essentially compromised of compassion, intelligence, and the ability to think fast on ones feet. Although I continue to believe that these professional qualities are paramount to excellent patient care, I am finding that other, less obvious proficiencies are also required. Ironically, these skills that I have in …
The gall, you might think to yourself as you click on this link in disgust.
Before you write that brutal retort which I may/may not deserve, some simple disclaimers before we tackle this subject:
Spring season is still many months away, but residency programs are in early heat as selection committees across the country buckle down to nominate the next batch of interns for the upcoming academic year.
Spread across these institutions’ tables one may find headshots, board scores, recommendations and interviewer comments of top candidates interested in training at their respective programs. Often, faculty members of esteemed medical centers will have only a few …
Prior to heading out West for my postgraduate medical training, I spent four amazing years in Chicago absorbing everything I could about becoming a doctor. Throughout this time in medical school, I was taught everything from the smallest components of atoms to the largest organs of the human body. Academic physicians spent countless hours teaching me the art of bedside patient care and the scientific evidence behind clinical decision-making.
Despite this …
You try to hide it.
You leave the scrubs in the locker-room, the shop-talk at the staff dining hall and the on-call phone consults outside in the cold, away from the highly-anticipated dinner date or holiday party.
But regardless how much effort you put into leaving your career where it belongs, it is so obvious that you work in a hospital.
And here are …
Accepting a promotion in the workplace is never easy task. One must take on a higher level of responsibility, carry out new job objectives, and must quickly form new working relationships with colleagues at the office.
Taking on the role as a newly-branded doctor after years of being a medical student is no different in this aspect from becoming a junior partner …
Earlier this May, nurses around the country were acknowledged on a countrywide scale for their hard work and dedication to patient care during National Nurses Week. Unfortunately, as with most national appreciation days that I cannot personally be recognized for, I failed to take much notice.
Now that new doctors around the country, including myself, are in the process of growing into our roles as team-based healthcare providers, we are in …
Chickenpox was all the rage back in the day. Oatmeal baths with your siblings, unexplained weekday sleep-overs with pox-laden, peripheral childhood friends. Even the sweet but short-lived relief of itching and scratching made the week-long infectious endeavor, if anything, a pleasant respite from the doldrums of early childhood.
Unfortunately for a handful of us unsuspecting chickenpox veterans, the infection that we so fondly include in our potpourri of childhood nostalgia will …
Since the earliest days of medical school, I learned fast to bring my computer wherever I went. Not only did my laptop function as my personal entertainment center through the dullest parts of lectures, but it also proved to be a source of instantaneous and infinite medical knowledge via the click of a mouse. Four years later and here I am, one hand on the shoulder of patients whilst listening …
I am three months into my medical residency, and I am getting fat. Not the noticeable change-in-pant-size fat, not yet. But I am most certain that what was once muscle is now just “padding,” and I can no longer solely attribute the words “muffin top” to the anatomy of the snacks that I scrounge to stay alive during the long hours in the hospital.
I am three months into my medical …
Listen.
I know that you are in your junior year in college.
I know that you’ve picked an unsustainable, or unrealistic. major. For instance, I know that at this very moment in time you have (finally) made the revelation involving your slim-to-none chances of owning the Jets by means of your pending Sports Management degree.
I know that you are now in the throes of career-choice turmoil.
I understand that the only council you …
As this is the season for spanking-new physician trainees to flood hospitals around the U.S., I decided to chronicle my own very first 24 hours as a doctor so the reader can get a better insight into this annual event.
2000 hours, evening before: With my newly starched white coat, stethoscope and light pen packed neatly into my Tumi man-purse, I make believe that I am sufficiently prepared for the first …
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