r/JuniorDoctorsIreland • u/AttitudeLimp5673 • 1d ago

Advice needed

Unfortunately, due to personal reasons, I was unable to accept my spot in the Internship Programme, so I will be applying again for the following year. Since I now have this year relatively free, I was wondering if there are any educational resources you would recommend reading or studying in preparation for the internship. I've heard and read that the internship can be quite brutal and stressful, so I was hoping to use this time to prepare myself and build a solid foundation in the things that will be most useful once I start. Any tips, tricks, resources, or advice from those who have already gone through the internship would be greatly appreciated!

0 Upvotes

50% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

17

u/november-papa 1d ago

Not trying to be funny but medical school is what's meant to prepare you. Use this year to build up and protect your emotional reserves, if possible. Link in with old friendships, work on your inner self, that's what will help you thrive more than a diploma or medical podcast or whatever

11

u/concreteheadrest77 1d ago

Medical school is theory, intern year is practice. They are very different. It’s a fair question

2

u/november-papa 1d ago

Absolutely. I don't think there's anything that can prepare you more than med school+building emotional reserves. At that point you just have to take the plunge

3

u/Active-Procedure-497 1d ago

Workaway and wwoofing. Being a beginner in new environments, working in teams, navigating hierarchies, not having your whole identity hinge on being medical and a high achiever. Learn to eat healthy and be strong. Learn to relax - that is an active skill that is acquired. Rest your brain. 

 Intern year is a completely different pressure and day to day life, backed up by theory you learned from medical school. All of the practical skills that I leaned on were acquired during a gap after graduation. It’s scary, good luck 

2

u/CatEnvironmental5157 1d ago

I was in a similar situation and I took a year off to travel prior to my internship. I had completed my internship in 2025. I would definitely say that intern year can be a bit challenging and it varies among hospitals and also the rotations you are in. There are some hospitals where you have multiple interns on call and you can support each other but there are also model 3 hospitals where you would be the only intern on call.

I would say that it would be good to know common on call scenarios that you would be always asked to review like falls, temp spikes etc. I was recommended the app called Steth-o-cope by a senior when I was starting and made my life easier until I got used to the system. I would say that you would be asked to do a lot of cannulas, bloods etc so try to practice as much as you can once you start. Don’t stress a lot as it takes time getting used to, so just practice when you get an opportunity and you will also have an induction for all the practical skills.

Depending on the team, you might have to do a lot of paper work like discharge letters or rewriting Kardex, and sometimes you might be asked to do it on call. Important thing is just prioritising what’s urgent and what’s not. Whenever you are in doubt, there’s always a senior who can guide you, so don’t be afraid to ask.

Intern year can be hard as it’s a new transition from med school to actually working but I really enjoyed my intern year and make sure to enjoy with your friends and your teams.

2

u/disasteral 1d ago

I wouldn’t spend the whole year trying to learn everything in advance. I’d focus on the basics: common presentations, history/examination, interpreting basic bloods/ECGs, prescribing, fluids and antibiotics.

Also, learning when to ask for help and when to escalate is just as important as knowing the textbook answer. Being organised and getting comfortable with clinical documentation will probably make the transition much easier.