Look for mentors and stay true to yourself, advises Tyler Basen, MD Tyler Basen, MD, is a second-year allergy/immunology fellow at the West Los Angeles VA and Children's Hospital Los Angeles. He underwent his internal medicine training at George Washington University Hospital. He writes occasional columns for MedPage Today on topics relevant to physicians-in-training. There are many milestones throughout medical training, and the first day of clinical rotations as a third-year medical student is one of them: there's excitement, but there's also tremendous anxiety. Unfortunately, the first 2 years of medical school only offer textbook knowledge, so there's limited formal preparation for different rotations. Lesson number one: on your first few days you will feel like you know nothing -- especially when trying to interpret acronyms on surgery rotations. This is perfectly acceptable, as your hospital colleagues have been in your shoes. However, it's essential that you put in the extra effort to learn acronyms or other medical terminology. Residents and attending physicians fully expect that if you do not understand a concept, you will take the time to learn it. Clinical rotations can become exhausting, since there are new medical lessons at every turn. Yet it can also be one of the most rewarding experiences of medical training. Residents usually care for more patients than do medical students, enabling students to develop a deeper bond. At the same time, this can be a lesson in striking a balance in emotional investment to prevent burnout. Each case also offers an incredible learning opportunity to delve into new medical topics. Always take the time to read about the various disease states of each patient, as there is no better way to solidify comprehension. Often, the medical student may be the only one to elucidate certain details essential to a medical diagnosis. Be sure to always utilize the tremendous resources for learning at each clinical rotation. Many residents, attending physicians, and nurses are always eager to help medical students, not only with medical knowledge but with advice. One often chooses to pursue a certain medical specialty because of a great mentor. On the other hand, as in most professional fields, there will always be unpleasant experiences. In fact, one study that invited 151 students to provide feedback on "teaching by humiliation" garnered 146 responses -- and the majority had experienced this directly (74%) or had witnessed it (83%). This teaching style has been described as aggressive, involving abusive questioning techniques. Unfortunately, this old-fashioned technique does still exist and it's best to not take it personally. Of course, if the abuse is persistent, each medical school has an anonymous way to deal with it. Enjoy yourself, as many of the rotations will be your last clinical exposure to certain fields. Later in your training, you may even refer to that patient you had in the surgical ICU or the psychiatry ward. Lastly, stay true to your own personality and do not try to be someone else. At the end of the day, residents and the medical team want to work with students who are easy-going, confident, or positive. Source