Intern Bill of Rights & Responsibilities

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Each Intern Deserves:

High-quality, face-to-face handoffs without distractions. Oral (IPASS) and up-to-date written handoffs focused on clinical status and clear anticipatory guidance (“if/then”) and To Do items.
Walk rounds every morning with your resident, during which you will present your patients, review your findings, and develop the plan for the day. Bedside teaching on the art and science of medicine.
Resident supervision of night residents. Your supervising resident will work with you closely during the night to help you in your work (not just “call me if you need me”.) You have the right (and the responsibility!) to close supervision as you assess acute medical problems.
Your resident will be working side by side with you during the day, present for questions and available for teaching.
Opportunities to present to your attendings and fellow residents, ask questions, and learn.
Feedback from your residents and attendings. Ask for it if you don’t think you’re getting it.
Respect and support. You will treat colleagues and staff with respect and courtesy, and you will be treated this way in return. Your resident, your attending, the residency program and the department will have your back.

Intern Responsibilities:

See your patients repeatedly during the day. Pre-round in the morning on all of your patients after receiving handoff from the night team. Work rounds should be at the bedside. Afternoon rounds should focus on checking in on your patients and update them on any new developments.
Take notes, make boxes and check them off (get things done!). Never report as fact something which is a guess (“I don’t know” is much the preferred usage.). Sweat the details. Remember that little things can matter a lot, and each of them is connected to a patient.
Prioritize. See sick patients first. Write orders and call consults before writing notes.
***Don’t copy-paste notes, and don’t insert massive data dumps (eg verbatim radiology reports) into your notes. Notes are crucial for communication and for thinking. If you are copy-pasting your notes, or your notes are dumping grounds for large clumps of undigested “data”, then you are not communicating anything (other than that you cut corners) and you are not thinking!
Ask questions, listen closely, then look it up. Know why you are doing things. Think critically, probe for evidence, don’t (simply) trust anybody. To survive intern year you have to become efficient and organized and good at getting things done. Important skills, but not your ultimate goal.
- Keep a notebook, pick a few things each day that you learned and write it down!
- Reinforce what you learned (#5goodminutes et al; Podcasts (Curbsiders, CoreIM CPS); teach!)
Aim for excellence. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act but a habit. It is doing ordinary things very well, day in and day out.
Empathize. With patients especially, but with staff and colleagues too. And sympathize with yourself.
Don’t forget these are some of the best years of your life. It’s a crazy ride, but you’re going to a really great place. When your day is a total dumpster fire, think “this is what getting better feels like”.

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Intern Bill of Rights & Responsibilities

Each Intern Deserves:

High-quality, face-to-face handoffs without distractions. Oral (IPASS) and up-to-date written handoffs focused on clinical status and clear anticipatory guidance (“if/then”) and To Do items.

Walk rounds every morning with your resident, during which you will present your patients, review your findings, and develop the plan for the day. Bedside teaching on the art and science of medicine.

Resident supervision of night residents. Your supervising resident will work with you closely during the night to help you in your work (not just “call me if you need me”.) You have the right (and the responsibility!) to close supervision as you assess acute medical problems.

Your resident will be working side by side with you during the day, present for questions and available for teaching.

Opportunities to present to your attendings and fellow residents, ask questions, and learn.

Feedback from your residents and attendings. Ask for it if you don’t think you’re getting it.

Respect and support. You will treat colleagues and staff with respect and courtesy, and you will be treated this way in return. Your resident, your attending, the residency program and the department will have your back.

Intern Responsibilities:

See your patients repeatedly during the day. Pre-round in the morning on all of your patients after receiving handoff from the night team. Work rounds should be at the bedside. Afternoon rounds should focus on checking in on your patients and update them on any new developments.

Take notes, make boxes and check them off (get things done!). Never report as fact something which is a guess (“I don’t know” is much the preferred usage.). Sweat the details. Remember that little things can matter a lot, and each of them is connected to a patient.

Prioritize. See sick patients first. Write orders and call consults before writing notes.

Ask questions, listen closely, then look it up. Know why you are doing things. Think critically, probe for evidence, don’t (simply) trust anybody. To survive intern year you have to become efficient and organized and good at getting things done. Important skills, but not your ultimate goal.

Keep a notebook, pick a few things each day that you learned and write it down!

Reinforce what you learned (#5goodminutes et al; Podcasts (Curbsiders, CoreIM CPS); teach!)

Aim for excellence. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act but a habit. It is doing ordinary things very well, day in and day out.

Empathize. With patients especially, but with staff and colleagues too. And sympathize with yourself.

Don’t forget these are some of the best years of your life. It’s a crazy ride, but you’re going to a really great place. When your day is a total dumpster fire, think “this is what getting better feels like”.

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Resident Handbook

Intern Bill of Rights & Responsibilities

​Each Intern Deserves:

High-quality, face-to-face handoffs without distractions. Oral (IPASS) and up-to-date written handoffs focused on clinical status and clear anticipatory guidance (“if/then”) and To Do items.

Walk rounds every morning with your resident, during which you will present your patients, review your findings, and develop the plan for the day. Bedside teaching on the art and science of medicine.

Resident supervision of night residents. Your supervising resident will work with you closely during the night to help you in your work (not just “call me if you need me”.) You have the right (and the responsibility!) to close supervision as you assess acute medical problems.

Your resident will be working side by side with you during the day, present for questions and available for teaching.

Opportunities to present to your attendings and fellow residents, ask questions, and learn.

Feedback from your residents and attendings. Ask for it if you don’t think you’re getting it.

Respect and support. You will treat colleagues and staff with respect and courtesy, and you will be treated this way in return. Your resident, your attending, the residency program and the department will have your back.

Intern Responsibilities:

See your patients repeatedly during the day. Pre-round in the morning on all of your patients after receiving handoff from the night team. Work rounds should be at the bedside. Afternoon rounds should focus on checking in on your patients and update them on any new developments.

Take notes, make boxes and check them off (get things done!). Never report as fact something which is a guess (“I don’t know” is much the preferred usage.). Sweat the details. Remember that little things can matter a lot, and each of them is connected to a patient.

Prioritize. See sick patients first. Write orders and call consults before writing notes.

Ask questions, listen closely, then look it up. Know why you are doing things. Think critically, probe for evidence, don’t (simply) trust anybody. To survive intern year you have to become efficient and organized and good at getting things done. Important skills, but not your ultimate goal.

Keep a notebook, pick a few things each day that you learned and write it down!

Reinforce what you learned (#5goodminutes et al; Podcasts (Curbsiders, CoreIM CPS); teach!)

Aim for excellence. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act but a habit. It is doing ordinary things very well, day in and day out.

Empathize. With patients especially, but with staff and colleagues too. And sympathize with yourself.

Don’t forget these are some of the best years of your life. It’s a crazy ride, but you’re going to a really great place. When your day is a total dumpster fire, think “this is what getting better feels like”.

Each Intern Deserves: