Welcome to Intern year, Buckle up. In my opinion the steepest learning curve in your career. As a medical student you were not expected to know dosing of medications, and were asked to follow a handful of patients. Now as a resident, you will be asked to know the entire list and write notes on many of these patients (depending on if you have students/ACGME caps etc.)
My number one advice is that you can never be too prepared, know why your patient is in the hospital or coming to see you in the clinic. If they have a medical condition, be prepared to answer questions about why/how the patient was diagnosed and what has been done to treat it.
Number two: prioritize sleep and social life. When you are not in the hospital, detach from work and spend time with friends and family. Go out to a nice dinner or an evening with your coresidents, go play basketball with friends or a refreshing run. Do whatever you need to do to clear your mind to get ready for the next day. As a PGY-1, early on the expectation is that you will learn by doing, as the year goes on and you become more familiar with the EMR, you will get more opportunities to read more to keep yo with your medical knowledge.
As your PGY-1 year progresses, if you are starting to develop an interest in a specific subspecialty, it is time to start working on research. If you have not done so already, take your USMLE step 3.
What to expect in residency PGY 2 and beyond
Many residents tell me PGY 2 is harder than PGY 1, I believe it is easier in some aspects and harder in others. As a PGY 2 you know how the hospital works–the EMR, how to call a consult, where the nearest bathroom is and the quickest way to get to the ED. The challenge now is learning how to lead a team, and teach your PGY-1. By the end of your PGY-1 year, you knew how to manage your team, knew your patient’s inside and out, and had all the consultants reaching out to you about the plan. Now, you have the challenge in which you have to be able allow the intern to learn all the things you did last year, and manage the whole list.
At this stage of your residency, if you are interested in a fellowship, now is when you should start expressing your interest if you have in house fellowships. If you do not, going to conferences and networking will be your best friend.