FIT Update: Top Tips for New GI Fellows Sunny Patel, MD You take on a more prominent role as an educator as you now have a team of residents and students looking for guidance. Your attendings expect you to keep the pace of morning rounds and keep the team focused. As the saying goes, “everything comes in time”, and this is no different---be patient and prepare to work hard. Learn to triage. Under your new title of gastroenterology fellow, you will be overwhelmed at times with consults to see, procedures to complete, and/ or research to finish. @SunnyPatelGI
Welcome to our incoming gastroenterology fellows!
You have recently embarked on a ride of a lifetime training in this field is exciting, rewarding, challenging, and most definitely, characterbuilding. It was only a few months ago that you had gained a sense of accomplishment as you proudly read the correspondence proclaiming your match to the field of gastroenterology. As July inched closer, you may remember that feeling of accomplishment diminishing into a mixture of excitement, cluelessness, and fear. Your first year of fellowship is, without a doubt, the most challenging of your three-years of training. You are faced with learning a new language and procedural skill set from day one. Overnight, you transform from an internal medicine resident to an “expert” in gastroenterology (at least that’s how the rest of the hospital sees it). You are spread thin between learning the basics of endoscopy, managing consults, and learning to prioritize and coordinate procedures.
1. Learning to triage and prioritize your tasks will be a key survival tool. Chart review and evaluate your sickest patients first, anticipating the need for a procedure sooner rather than later. If they require a procedure, you need to decide who will be performing it and where it should be done (i.e. operating room, endoscopy suite, or bedside). Do not forget to communicate your plan with all those involved including the endoscopy team, primary care team, and of course, your attending. This can be a very stressful period but if you learn to prioritize and work efficiently, each month will be better than the prior. 2. L earn basics of endoscopy. Early in your first year, spend time with the endoscopy technicians and nurses. They will show you how to set up equipment correctly and troubleshoot common problems. Take every opportunity to perform bedside endoscopies outside of the comforts of the endoscopy suite—this will make you more efficient and test your knowledge. While on consults you will likely be taking overnight call where you will be confronted with emergent
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overnight procedures. I urge you to anticipate your equipment needs during these encounters. For example, if called to perform an endoscopy on a foreign body or GI bleed, try to prepare equipment needed to complete the task and have it ready to be used. It may seem unnecessary, but when seconds count, you will be grateful. This not only helps maintain a smooth case, but also makes you look like a rock star. 3. Learn to accept criticism. Frequently, we receive positive criticism from our mentors and peers, boosting our morale and confidence. Try your best to focus on evaluations which provide more constructive criticism. In my opinion, one constructive comment is significantly more valuable than ten “you’re doing great!” reviews. 4. If you do not know, ask for help. You have spent countless hours studying and trying to be the best, but do not forget, you are not expected to know everything. However, you are expected to identify what you do not know. Many of us try to “figure it out,” but there will always be a time when you need to seek help. This not only applies to your first year, but to the rest of your career. Remember,
