Appearance

Remember, you are not sequestered in a dark reading room; you are interacting with patients and referring physicians. Attire should be appropriate: scrubs with lab coat, or dressy street clothes. 

Be Available

Carry your pager at all times, and answer pages promptly. If you become aware of a pager malfunction, have it corrected as quickly as possible.

Hours of Operation

We expect residents and fellows who wish to participate in cases to arrive prior to when procedures are scheduled. Later arrival may be acceptable for valid excuses when arranged in advance. In case of emergency, notify your attending at once.

There is no set cut-off time. Normally, a resident or fellow participating in a case is expected to stay until that case is completed. Full filming and dictation may be postponed until the following morning.

How to Learn

Your attitude toward learning is equally important – perhaps more so — than the skills you learn through practice.

Be Prepared – keep up with readings. Particularly, read before your case.

Ask Questions – Answers make far more sense when given in response to a meaningful question than when told to you in a book or lecture hall. Granted, many faculty members find excessive questions annoying. A thoughtful and sincere question, however, is appreciated and most teachers will respond in kind.

Take the Initiative – What you get out of your residency experience depends largely on what you put into it. Seek out things to do while you are in a section. Find time to ask faculty to explain and describe. Do your work and then look for more. People are active learners – they construct knowledge by connecting experience with prior learning. The more you ask questions, find answers, and rephrase what you find into your own words, the better you will learn.

Finally – Enjoy Yourself! – Immerse yourself in what you are doing. Show interest but be careful not to appear insincere.