Was your Internship year in Medicine a good experience?

Question

I'm currently a 4th year med student and have high chances of starting my internship year around July 2008. I haven't chosen the city I'll do it in, but I'm currently between 1 private hospital in Mexico City very close to where I live and two public hospitals in Toluca.

I'm mainly curious about what other people's experiences have been regarding their internship year. They say that the internship can be the best days of your life or the worst and can mean quitting the career before finishing it to pursue something completely different.

Several pals have started or are halfway through it but they are so busy I rarely see them. I'd rather hear it from people that have finished it.

Note that in Mexico I'll still have to do a 6th year in Social Service but internships here shouldn't be that different from the US.

Answer 1

The happiness and the pride of being a "doctor" coupled with learning a lot with no fixed timings is such a good experience that I enjoyed it in full even though on call round the clock 24/7 - 365 days.

Answer 2

I hated it. There was little supervision. Most attendings were uninspiring and aloof. My first senior resident was a dud, and since I was no genius, the chief resident had no respect for me. Back in those days we had a lot of scut work, drawing all the bloods, starting all the iv's, (even in the middle of the night). doing all the urinalyses and blood counts. It was good experience for a month, but for a whole year? Many of the patients were alcoholic derelicts who never followed discharge instructions. On surgical rotation we just changed dressings and held retractors. When assigned to trauma and burn services we took call two nights out of three. A Sunday off meant you finished your work about two in the afternoon. For this we were paid room, board, laundry and $100 a month.

I took this rotating internship because I thought it would give me a "leg up" on the residency I wanted. I did get the residency, but only by a stroke of luck and a recommendation from the director of the pediatric out-patient department.

Answer 3

Mexico City (Ciudad de México) may be the capital of Mexico and an amazing town surrounded by great mountain ranges. To see this city you are able to choose the best alternative hotelbye . The city's area is certainly breathtaking. Two spectacular snow-covered volcanoes, Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl, tower above it with their more of 5,000 meters. Mexico City also preserves countless pointers of their past and those are items that entice the tourists. The defeating heart of Mexico City is Zócalo - the Plaza de la Constitución (Constitution Square) - where the country's first structure was proclaimed in 1813 and now is one of the very most visited place of Mexico City since it's among the world's greatest squares. In Mexico City you can even visit: the National Palace, the Metropolitan Cathedral and the Templo Mayor.

Answer 4

Mine was a great clinically. I did a rotating internship in a community program. It was not overwhelming in that I had supervision. I was not left alone "to the wolves" to fend for myself. I got lots of experience doing central lines, doing lab work, and seeing lots of "zebras" in addition to bread-and-butter cases. I saw trauma and plenty of sick patients. Mine was more hospital based, as opposed to office based. Because it was more of a clinically based rotation, I had to do more of the academic studies on my own. It was nice to finally earn a pay check, although I could have made more working at the hospital as a painter. The work hours were long, but I did not feel abused. It can be what you make of it, no matter where you go.

I hope you find your internship at least as fulfilling. Buena suerte.

Answer 5

I hated every minute and counted the days until I could do what I REALLY wanted to do (anesthesia). I did a year of internal medicine. I learned a lot, but it was a real chore.

Whatever you do, you'll get through it. I haven't met anyone who didn't make it through. (Can't say the same for residency, though)

Good luck!