Six Clinical Pearls from Intern Year

Image Credit: Flickr

Author: Casey Grover, MD
Stanford/Kaiser Emergency Medicine
Originally Published: Modern Resident October/November 2011

Looking back after finishing a year as an emergency medicine intern, the lessons that I remember the most come from the mistakes that I have made. I had one particularly rough month late in my internship that was filled with bounce backs and mismanaged cases. I learned six important lessons that will hopefully help to avoid another such month in the future.

1. Review every study that you order. While you may have ordered a chemistry panel just to check the creatinine, it's embarrassing to miss a sodium of 121.
   
2. Document your discharge decision process. If a patient has a problem or bounces back, it is extremely helpful to have documented everything (i.e., normal vitals, well appearance, consultant recommendations) that you considered when sending that patient home.
   
3. Review discharge vital signs. Vital signs are actually important – they reflect the patient's underlying physiology. Document normal vital signs when sending patients home; and when discharging someone with abnormal vitals, document your rationale and plan.
   
4. Document your discussions with consultants. Record at what time and to whom you spoke, as well as what they recommended. This allows others to see the basis of your decisions, which is essential if an adverse outcome occurs.
   
5. Be suspicious of patients signed out to you. Review the labs and vital signs of the patient you will be taking care of, and address all of their medical issues. Approach the case with fresh eyes and be willing to consider other diagnoses than those billed to you in sign out.
   
6. Approach procedures carefully. While it's fun to do procedures, be aware that complications may arise – particularly in a patient who is high risk for bleeding. Review labs and history, particularly for things like coagulopathy, that may make procedures difficult.