Intern Bootcamp: Dominate Intern Year

Behind The Knife: The Surgery Podcast

Science, Health & Fitness, Medicine, Education

4.8 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 5 July 2025

⏱️ 13 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

RE-RELEASE
This was first published in 2023 but it's so good we are running it back!

Buckle up, PGY-1’s! Intern year is starting whether you’re ready or not. Don’t fret, BTK has your back to make sure you dominate the first year of residency.

In this last episode of the intern bootcamp mini-series, we’ll talk about tips & tricks as well as good habits to establish in order to dominate intern year.

Hosts: Shanaz Hossain, Nina Clark

Tips for New Interns:

GENERAL TIPS FOR SUCCESS ON THE WARDS

Spend time with the patient!
Trust, but verify.
Be kind to everyone.
Stay humble.
Be flexible.
Seek and apply feedback.

HOW TO LEARN IN THE OR

Double scrub as many cases as you can.
Write down/record everything after a case.

MAINTAIN YOUR PERSONAL SANITY

Figure out your stress outlets and what brings you joy.
Decompress after work.
Maintain work/life boundaries.
Keep in touch with loved ones.
Vacations are meant for relaxation.
- Repeat after me: NO WORK ON VACATION!

Please visit https://behindtheknife.org to access other high-yield surgical education podcasts, videos and more.

If you liked this episode, check out our new how-to video series on suture and knot-tying skills – https://behindtheknife.org/video-playlists/btk-suture-practice-kit-knot-tying-simulator-how-to-videos/

Transcript

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0:00.0	Behind the Night, the Surgery Podcast, relevant and engaging content designed to help you
0:11.6	dominate the day.
0:23.5	Hey, BTK listeners.
0:28.1	The weather's getting warmer, the days are getting longer, and that can only need one thing.
0:30.3	It's time for new interns to hit the hospital.
0:31.3	Don't worry, though.
0:32.4	We've got your back.
0:33.7	I have Shadaz Hussein.
0:38.2	And I'm Nina Clark, and this series will give you some practical tips and tricks for dominating your intern year. This is our last episode in this mini series, and we'll be focusing on some
0:42.7	general tips for success during your intern year and beyond. Setting good habits and making a good
0:47.7	name for yourself now in the hospital is going to pay off in the long run, and we hope that
0:51.7	our tips will help you get there. Let's start off with
0:54.4	some just general tips for success on the ward. Shana's, what's your first big tip for our new interns?
1:00.5	I'll say, go see your patient, spend time with a patient. This is what you work the last
1:06.0	or plus years towards as an intern. You may not be always assigned to a case. Your primary role often
1:12.4	will be to manage a floor. So you really have the most time to spend with the patients and they'll
1:16.9	be relying on you the most to keep them updated and making sure that they're aware what's going on
1:22.8	with their plan. Chances are they'll probably remember you better than anyone else on the team to be honest that
1:28.8	extra time really goes a long way for these patients in the hospital they'll really appreciate
1:33.2	the company you're often sitting in the hospital for hours at a time without seeing anyone after
1:37.8	the flurry of attendings rounding in the morning and even the five 10 minutes that you check on
1:43.3	and can make a big difference.
	...

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