I get many emails from other parts of the world asking for advice on how to start a medical career in Germany. What is one thing I can do to maximize my chances? I always answer this:
I have been working at the Charité University Medicine Berlin since 2008. Me and many of my colleagues are very content with working here, but every now and then you hear cynical voices about how bad, slow and misorganized things supposedly are.
As I have written before, I think that this discontent should always trigger some kind of constructive action. You always have a choice:
However, how do you protect yourself from cynicism and depression when people around you are whining?
Gratitude is always a great move. I like to point out the good things of life. For that matter I created a list of things I like or even love about working here. Here is my Top-15-List of things I like about the Charité:
Liked this Blogpost? Sign up for regular updates here.
Click Here To Get Updates And A Free Start Guide
Every day I come across several problems that I am not responsible for:
All of these common problems not only cause delay in our workflow but lead to great frustration in your team. By choosing your reaction to all of these issues you make a great decision between ongoing frustration and improving the quality of your work.
On my first day in the OR during an internship in NY a physician’s assistant briefed me: “You know, the surgeon we are going to spend the next 6-7 hours with yells. A lot.
Keep in mind he is not yelling at you. He is just yelling…“ As it turned out he was right and the advice he gave me was valuable.
If you’re hoping this blogpost ends with the resume that doctors absolutely must have the apple watch or they can’t fulfill their obligations: I have to disappoint you.
I didn’t purchase the apple watch, my wife gave it to me as a gift when I finished my residency training. I was really thrilled even though I didn’t have clear expectations regarding the service this gadget would provide for me during the day-to-day work…
But there are a couple of features that are quite nice:
Whenever I want to improve the quality of my work, my first urge is doing more:
If you really want to improve in your field, you have to the opposite. Doing less is often more. So stop doing the wrong things, so you can focus on the important tasks.
You need a stop-doing-list: So what should be on it?
Sometimes I have the feeling we are talking 80% of the time about what we are planning to do and why, instead of just doing it.
Does it really make sense to discuss a patient with the colleague from the previous shift, with your boss, another consulting doctor and the radiologist? Remember, nothing gets done by talking.
Easy on the smalltalk: I know, I know, keep the atmosphere nice, having a chat with the patients and the nurses is important. But I only use it as a time-filler, when I have to spend time with the patient. (during procedures etc). But besides that, I focus on the job.
Document only relevant things. The little amount of time left over after talking about our patients and what we are going to do with them is easily consumed by our legal obligation to document.
This was well meant, but as Tucholsky said: well meant is the opposite of well-done. So keep it focused, short and simple.
Easier said than done. Of course you have to answer the phone. But many times I’ll ask: „What’s up, this an emergency? I’m in the middle of something”
At least the caller gets to the point right away. Many times they don’t call me again. Also, keep your door closed. Leaving your door open is like begging to be interrupted.
Better organization, preparation and pro-active thinking would have prevented most of them:
By the way, I’m not opposed to working hard and much. We just have to spend our time with things that are useful and avoid ineffective working habits.
Everybody has had these shifts: in the ER, the ICU or on the ward: the phone won’t stop ringing, several red alarms at the same time and everybody calls your name and is mad, that you won’t show up.
Here is my eleven-step-strategy to stay on top of things – even when times get rough.
In medicine skills are almost like a status symbol. Whether your colleagues will speak highly of you greatly depends on whether you are able to perform angiograms, ultrasound or other procedures.
But there is one skill that you don’t get much credit for, even though it is indispensable:
Ask ten fourth-year-students, what they rather want: a lesson of lung auscultation or to visit the cath lab? More than likely nine of them will choose the cath lab.
Let’s say you have a patient with dyspnea, who is admitted to the ICU. Many times before a thorough physical exam unexperienced doctors will suggest
Every other year, depending on my scientific efforts, I get to go to a conference abroad. Going to a conference is kinda like going to Disneyland: Countless things to do, but only very little time.
The opportunities there are overwhelming. There are
