Checklists for Starting Residency

Checklists for Starting Residency

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RookieDoctor.com’s Checklists for

Starting Residency




Getting to Know Your New Program 4 Before Getting There 5 Moving Checklist 7 Change of Address Checklist 11 Physical Exam Equipment 13 White Coat Pocket 13 Features You Must Have in a PDA 14


Checklists for Starting Residency

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Of all of the checklists in RookieDoctor.com’s Checklists for Starting Residency, this is the hardest checklist to complete. In fact, it is more an exercise than a checklist, since each of the items below are steps that should be completed in order. You may feel that your response to one or more of the items below is incomplete or inadequate, possibly even inaccurate. It’s okay. Just exert yourself in answering the questions. Ask others if you have to. This checklist/exercise will help put things in perspective for you, even if you don’t have all of the information. Give it a try.

Getting to Know Your Residency Program

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Write down your career goals (as they are now) Write down your residency program’s strengths Write down your residency program’s weaknesses Make a list of steps to accomplishing your goals Make a list of aspects of your residency program that may help you to accomplish those goals Make a list of aspects of your residency program that may impede your ability to accomplish your goals Make a list of possible alternatives or steps to over-come those weaknesses that may impede your pro-gress (ex. Outside rotation, tag on to a research pro-ject, volunteer, etc)





Before Getting to Your Residency Program

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Find out the best areas to live in Ask your program Look up crime rates or call local police dept Look for local school ratings/ranks and ask around if you have children Find out if there are toll roads that you would have to take to work - avoid them (Live some-where else or make sure that there are fast alter-nate routes)

List services and service providers for the following (once you have chosen a place to live)

Auto mechanic Alternative means of transportation Primary care physician Relevant subspecialists (if applicable) Dentist Bank Grocery store Cable Internet Electric company Plumber Poison Control Police Fire

Consider outside electives you may want to pursue If you can get a verbal okay from your program or from the outside elective itself, do it




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Find out if your program offers an educational stipend How much is it? When does it start? Ask if the stipend covers PDAs (Palm Pilot, Pocket PC, etc) Write down a list of things that you can delay pur-chasing until the stipend kicks in Find out if your program already has an institution license for web-based subscription programs (Up-To-Date, etc) - don’t sign up for them if it does

Find out if you need to have ACLS, PALS, or ATLS before starting and if your program offers the classes (and covers the cost) Make arrangements with your mobile phone carrier - if pos-sible choose the same plan as the person/people you will speak to the most Write down any planned vacations you may have (so that you can submit your request as early as possible)

Find out the earliest and latest you can submit them Who do you submit them to?

Write down your debts

Use RookieDoctor.com’s financial spreadsheets Write down who, how much, amount of interest, and when grace period/deferment periods end Prioritize them based on due dates and interest rates

Read RookieDoctor.com’s Getting Out of Debt Make a budget, or at least, estimate expenses




2 Months Before Moving Start a separate moving file to keep receipts and other im-portant information related to the move. Start a folder of important information about the house for the new owner of your home. Contact the local Chamber of Commerce in the area you are moving to and request a new resident packet. Decide how you’re going to move and get estimates for moving expenses Compile medical and dental records - including prescrip-tions and shot records. Ask for school records to be sent to your children's new school and/or daycare. Get copies of any legal and financial records you need. Ask for veterinarian records to be transferred. If you are a member of a health clubs or other organiza-tion, ask how to end, sell or transfer your membership. 1.5 Months Before Moving

List valuable things that you plan to ship by certified mail or carry with you.

Moving Checklist

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Set aside a day just to get rid of stuff - plan a yard sale, give it to friends, give it to charities, or throw it away. Start using up your perishables. Gather boxes and packing supplies. If you need storage, arrange it now. 1 Month Before Moving

File a change of address with the post office as soon as you know your new address. Schedule disconnection of all utility services at your old home. Schedule connection of all utility services at your new place. Request refunds for any last month deposits you have - utilities, landlord, etc. Set up travel arrangements for your pets. Call your newspaper courier and set a date to cancel your subscription. Return library books. Pick up any remaining items on lay-away, out for repair, or out for cleaning.

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Did you loan anything to anyone? Get it back. Get your car a check up. Prepare auto registration to be transferred. Arrange to use the elevator on your move day if you are moving in or out o an apartment. 2 Weeks Before Moving

Clear out your safety deposit box if you have one. If you need to transfer accounts to a new bank, do so. Complete RookieDoctor.com’s Change of Address Checklist Plan meals so that you empty your refrigerator. Pack your suitcases and valuables separately. Drain all gas and oil from the mower, gas grills, kerosene heaters, etc. Empty, defrost and clean your refrigerator at least 24 hours before moving day. Create backup files for your computer documents Fill any prescriptions or medications you will need for the next couple of weeks. Make childcare arrangements for moving day.

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After Moving

Get a new driver's license and new tags. Register to vote. Contact the local newspaper for a new subscription if you want to, but your hospital will probably have one. Double check that you’ve completed everything on Rookie-Doctor.com’s Change of Address Checklist. Introduce yourself to your nearest neighbors.

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Family members Close friends Post office Bank or credit union Credit card companies Medical school Loan institutions Magazine subscriptions Undergraduate alumni association Mobile phone service provider Health insurance plan Life insurance company Car insurance company Web-based memberships

Change of Address Checklist

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Stethoscope Pen light Reflex hammer Tuning fork Consider the Hummer (hammer/tuning fork combo)

Physical Exam Equipment Checklist

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You shouldn’t need a long white coat (they’ll provide it) Pocket drug reference book General reference book (surgery, peds, medicine - de-pending on which discipline you’re in) On-Call reference Physical exam equipment from the list above

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White Coat Pocket Checklist





Color - You must have a color screen… just trust me Backlight - Although almost all have this feature now, it is an absolute must Memory - The more the merrier, but this does not neces-sarily compare between device types. Palm-based de-vices require less memory than comparable applications on Pocket PC devices. Flash Cards & Memory Stick slots - almost all have them. If you already have a specific type for your camera, you may want to get one with the same type of card. Operating system - Your choices, for the most part, are Palm OS, Pocket PC, and Blackberry. Software - This is probably the most important thing to con-sider. You should choose your PDA based on the software available for it. Palm OS has the largest availability of ap-plications, but their company seems to be slipping lately and may not be long for this world. Your most important software application will be ePocrates, and this is available for Palm OS and Pocket PC. Battery life - Read the reviews online about this one. You’ll need a battery that lasts a long time. You don’t want to leave it plugged in somewhere while you go answer a page. Check out the reviews on Amazon & NewEgg. Speed - The faster the processor speed the better. Pocket PC devices tend to be slower than Palm OS. When

PDA Features Checklist

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http://www.epocrates.com/

comparing processor speed compare Palm OS to Palm OS and compare Pocket PC to Pocket PC. Handwriting recognition - This is pretty important. How do you enter data? I became so fast at writing on my Palm OS devices that I can write faster there than on paper. But because Palm seems on its way out, I switched to Pocket PC, and it’s painful - not as fast recognition of my key-strokes. More on this in RookieDoctor.com’s Members Area in the PDA section. MP3 player - This feature is more often found on Pocket PC devices. Very helpful at times. Voice Recorder - Same comment as above. And the re-corder can be quite helpful for leaving yourself messages while in the car or walking down the hallway. Video - Also more often on Pocket PC. Not as helpful in your training, though - usually more of a distraction. Screen size - This is based on your preference. If you will use the keyboard, then you will sacrifice screen real estate. If you write on the screen with the stylus, you want to avoid PDAs with keyboards. Very important to read the Tips for Using Your PDA in Residency in the RookieDoctor.com Members Area. What are people using in your new residency program and why? - ask. Ask your program if they consider your purchase of a PDA as part of the educational stipend. They should, but some do not.

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Something is missing from our training… and every new intern and resident feels it. That feeling when the nurse is on the other end of the line asking you what seems to be an important, must-answer-now-or-death-will-ensue question, and all of your books are in the call room. Or that feeling when a large group of docs are waiting for you to get that one all-important piece of data, and

you don’t even know where the charts are kept. How about that realization that you know the book stuff, but feel like a fraud and a klutz, and you know you’ll soon be “discovered”? That’s what RookieDoctor.com is all about. It’s about collecting all of the tips, all of the pearls, and most of the secrets and putting them all in one place. Too much is at stake to rely on an occasional tip from a friendly 3rd year or a some-what new attending. Get ‘em all now RookieDoctor.com.

About RookieDoctor.com






Articles • 21 Ways to Improve Your Docu-

mentation • Frustrations Every Intern & Resi-

dent Will Face On-Call - and what to do about them

• Time Management Myths & Tips for Interns & Residents

• 10 Alternatives to Placing a Cen-tral Line

• Book reviews • ….and much more Core Training Videos • Intern Survival Skills • On-Call Tips • Getting Fewer Calls • Dictation Tips • Board Preparation • Documentation Skills • Prescription Writing • Public Speaking & Presentations Handheld Resources MindMaps Image Libraries Clinical Case Studies

Other RookieDoctor Resources Templates, Checklists, Lists, and Spreadsheets • Getting Out of Debt for Interns &

Residents • Income & Balance Sheets • Alternative Careers for Docs • CV templates • Personal statement templates Non-Clinical Case Studies • Resident evaluations • Job search • Moonlighting • Jokes Gone Bad • Risk management & lawsuits • Documentation Ways for You to Stand Out • Physical Exam Findings Your

Attendings Are Clueless About • Progress note templates The fact is, you don’t need this stuff. Medical & surgical training has done just fine for centuries without RookieDoctor.com. But for under a dollar a day, why not skip learning the hard way?





It’s a long road. Stop and ask. Wisdom Booth Publishing.

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Checklists for Starting Residency