Staying Human During Residency Training: How to Survive and Thrive after Medical School, Fifth Edition

by Allan D. Peterkin

Overview

The ultimate survival guide for medical students, interns, residents and fellows, Staying Human during Residency Training provides time-tested advice and the latest information on every aspect of a resident's life – from choosing a residency program, to coping with stress, enhancing self-care, and protecting personal and professional relationships.

Allan D. Peterkin, MD, provides hundreds of tips on how to cope with sleep deprivation, time pressures, and ethical and legal issues. This fifth edition features new, leading-edge information on enhancing personal resilience, planning one's career, pursuing leadership roles, and using new technologies to maximize learning. Presenting practical antidotes to cynicism, careerism, and burnout, Peterkin also offers guidance on fostering more empathic connection with patients and deepening relationships with colleagues, friends, and family.

Acknowledged by thousands of doctors across North America as an invaluable resource, Staying Human during Residency Training has helped to shape notions of trainee well-being for medical educators worldwide. Informative, compassionate, and professional, this new edition will again show why it is required reading for medical students and new physicians pursuing postgraduate training.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442613645
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division
Publication date:	04/17/2012
Edition description:	Fifth Edition
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Allan D. Peterkin is Professor of Psychiatry and Family Medicine at the University of Toronto where he heads the Program in Health, Arts and Humanities. He is the author of 14 books for adults and children including Staying Human During Residency Training (University of Toronto Press) now in its sixth edition

Table of Contents

Foreword to the Fifth Edition xiii

Introduction to ihe Fifth Edition xv

Acknowledgments xix

1 Body and Soul: The Risks, Challenges, and Opportunities of Residency Training 3

Anxiety and Depression 6

Substance Abuse 6

Abuse and Harassment 6

Suicide 6

Relationships 7

Job Satisfaction 7

Stressors 7

Other Health Risks 7

Key Trends around Residency Stress 8

Major Manifestations of Burnout 9

Individual Vulnerabilities 10

Developmental Issues 11

What Residents Want 12

Elements of Physician Well-Being 14

What about Happiness? 15

2 Preventive Medicine: Choosing a Humane Residency 19

Program Factors 20

Picking a Specialty 21

Considerations in Choosing a Residency 22

The Human Factor 24

The Interview 25

Before Signing On: What to Look for in Residency Contracts 27

Preparing a Curriculum Vitae 28

Navigating the Match: Tips and Resources 30

Additional Reading and Resources 31

3 Physician Heal Thyself: Taking Care of Your Body 33

Sleep 33

Top 10 Cognitive and Neurobehavioral Effects of Fatigue 35

Tips for Regular Sleep 37

Diet 37

Fuel-Efficient Snacks 38

Eating Strategies 39

Bad Habits 39

Other Stress Busters 40

Exercise 40

Simple Relaxation Exercises 41

Remaining Mindful 42

Protecting Your Physical Health 42

Protecting Yourself from Physical Violence 43

Strategies to Ensure Safety 44

Avoiding Viral and Bacterial Infections 45

Universal Blood and Body-Fluid Precautions 45

Illness during Training 47

4 Staying Whole: Maximizing Supports and Finding Balance 49

Maximizing Support at Work 49

A Good Mentor 52

Support Groups 54

Setting Up Your Own Support Group 58

Maximizing a Personal Sense of Control 59

Personal Strategies for Maintaining Balance 60

Additional Reading 65

Other Resident Wellness Resources 66

5 Protecting and Improving Personal and Professional Relationships 69

Couple Life 69

Avoiding Trouble in Couple Life 71

Parenting 73

The Single Resident 76

Other Residents 77

Signs of Trouble among Residents 79

Dealing with Team Troubles 79

The Impaired Colleague 81

Residents as Teachers: Working with Students 83

Guide to the Ethical Behavior of Clinical Teachers 84

Responsibilities to Students 84

Nursing and Other Staff 85

Attending Physicians 87

Signs of Trouble in Resident-Attending Physician Relationship 87

Dealing with Unprofessional or Disruptive Behavior 88

Patients: How to Be a Mindful, Caring Doctor 89

Signs of Trouble in Relationships with Patients 90

Delivering Bad News to Patients 93

Other Tips to Enhance Communication with Your Patient 94

Practical Strategies for Practicing a More Narrative-Based Medicine 96

Remaining Sensitive and Compassionate about Death 98

Resources for Physician Health and Help with Substance Abuse 102

Additional Readings and Resources 102

6 One Size Does Not Fit All: Unique Concerns 104

Women 104

International Medical Graduates 107

Visible Minority Residents 110

Religious Residents 111

Gay and Lesbian Residents 114

Residents with a Disability, Chronic Illness, or Learning Challenge 116

Additional Resources 118

7 Whiz Kids: Teaching, Learning, and Leading with No Time 119

Learning 119

Basic Learning Styles 119

Continuing Medical Education 120

Exams! 122

Test-Taking Tips 123

Teaching 124

How to Give an Effective Audiovisual Presentation Using Slides, Overheads, and PowerPoint 126

Other Tips on Organizing your Presentation 127

Becoming a Leader 127

Expanding your Worldview 130

Humanities and Arts-Based Learning 131

Additional Resources 136

8 Not Just a Job: Professionalism, Ethics Issues, and Legal Considerations 137

Ethics vs Legal Considerations 139

Ethics Issues 140

Legal Considerations 149

Other Resources and References 155

9 Taking Care of Business: Managing Your Finances 157

Budgeting 157

Education Debts 160

Medical Moonlighting and Its Tax Implications 161

Other Tax Deductions 163

Insurance 163

Obtaining a Loan or Line of Credit 166

Help from Other Professionals 167

Post-Residency Help 169

10 I'm Finally Done: Now What? Thoughts on the End of Residency 171

Options after Residency 173

Summary 179

Other Well-Being Resources 180

11 Knowledge Is Power: Helpful Web Resources 181

Applying for Residency and Tips on the Match 181

Residents' Organizations 183

Wellness Resources 184

Physician Health 185

Useful Networking Sites for Residents 186

CME Websites 187

Search Tools for Medical Research 188

Useful Medical Websites 188

Databases 189

Medical Journal Internet Addresses 190

Medical Literature Websites 190

Online Journal Clubs 190

Clinical Practice Guidelines 191

Specialty Board Exams 191

Resident Researchers / PhD Students 191

Legal Resources 192

Financial and Business Resources 192

Specialty Associations 193

National Medical Associations 193

International Medical Associations 193

Special Interest Groups 194

Index 195

What People are Saying About This

Michael Myers

"Chock full of all kinds of information that is pertinent, if not essential, to residents, including innumerable survival tips and suggestions. Dr. Peterkin has written a penetrating and far-ranging, yet humane, perspective and has not lost sight of the "person within," so common in academic medical centres of today. This book will go a long way toward alleviating much of the worry and demoralization in contemporary residents, their partner or spouse. A copy should be stuffed into the pocket of every resident physician."

"This book will go a long way toward alleviating much of the worry and demoralization in contemporary residents, their partner or spouse. A copy should be stuffed into the pocket of every resident physician."

Elaine McNinch (Family Practice)

"There is no area in a resident's life that Dr. Peterkin doesn't tackle: finances, substance abuse, fellowship options, foreign, gay, and disabled students, ethical and legal considerations, study tips and support groups. It's the ultimate how-to book for all apprentice doctors and its common-sense approach makes it a mandatory trouble-shooter."

Editorial Reviews

"This lucidly written book offers practical advice on making the most of the residency experience."

Canadian Book Review Annual - Ian W. Toal

‘Staying Human During Residency: How to survive and thrive After medical School, by Allan Peterkin, is the roadmap that attempts to ease transformation. It’s filled with useful tips for first year medical students through chief residents.’

The New Physician vol 61:05:2012 - Benjamin Lemelman

"Through most of this century physicians have looked back on their internship and residency years as a painful but necessary maturation ritual. Once out of residency, they quickly forget, or at least deny, how much damage - depression, burn-out, marriage breakdown, alcoholism, and suicide - was wrought during the process. Allan Peterkin, a recent graduate of residency programs in family medicine and psychiatry, provides a useful guide for self-preservation and well-being. It should be required reading for all graduating medical students."

Canadian Medical Association Journal - Bruce P. Squires

"Though Staying Human has a very large scope, with a target audience that ranges from medical students to senior residents, its practical advice is probably most helpful for medical students and interns, who spend the most hours in the hospital but may not have had the chance to develop their own tools for staying sane. It is also a useful reference, bringing together, in a concise form, a plethora of data that would be helpful on the medical floors, and offering guidance that is not so easily available elsewhere ... But even for those past their early days of training, for whom such information would just be review, the book is an important reminder: that humane treatment - of oneself and of fellow residents, as well as our patients - is what makes a good doctor, and that one cannot have empathy without good self-caretaking. That is a lesson we can all afford to review."

C.I.R. (Committee of Interns and Residents) News - Sonya Rasminsky