Education

The CA-1 Primer

• ALWAYS BE EARLY OR ON TIME!!!  What you do affects everyone around you as well including your colleagues.
• ALWAYS PREPARE FOR AND SHOW UP TO MORNING REPORT. This includes coming in a little earlier if you were post-call the day before to get your pre-ops ready (This only applies at LICH).
• Until you know which attendings do not like to be called, CALL ALL OF YOUR ATTENDINGS the night before or find them before you leave to discuss the anesthetic plans for the next day.  (Feel free to ask an upper classman advice about this before you leave).
• LEARN YOUR MACHINE (always check your machine; do not trust that other people have done this for you already).
• DO NOT USE DRUGS YOU DIDN'T PREPARE YOURSELF.
• ALWAYS LABEL YOUR DRUGS.
• SET UP YOUR ROOM AS THOROUGHLY AS POSSIBLE until you advance in the year more and are more comfortable finding things quickly. 

• IF YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND SOMETHING ASK IN THE BEGINNING BEFORE ITS TOO LATE
• Talk to your peers and upper classman, we are all here to help you
• The more proactive you are in the beginning the easier it will be to become comfortable in the end (do as much as you can and show interest in learning)
• Make it a point to study 30-60 minutes or more everyday, (this can include reading for your case the next day or your patients pathologies)
• When you are on call in the O.R. always check the daily pre-op list for assignments AS WELL AS the add-on lists. (At KCHC: there is an add-on book at the nurses station, at SUNY & LICH ask the nurses for the list).  It is a good habit to wake up around 6 to check again if there were any more add-ons after you have gone to sleep.  THIS IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY
• When on call always set up 2 emergency rooms (full OR setup) at LICH and SUNY.  At KCHC there is a trauma room, back up trauma, and neurology room that should be set up.
• BE DILIGENT WITH YOUR ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLIANCE (not logging in Typhon cases or handing in credentialing slips will come back to haunt you).
• Do not worry if you cant do something the first couple of times you try everything takes time and practice
• DO NOT GIVE ANY MEDICATION YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW TO USE (if you don’t know the dosage do not give it before asking and attending)
• Do not let your charting take away from your patient care ( Make sure the patient is settled and stable before you start writing in the chart)
• Do not wear scrubs outside the OR without a white coat
• Try to pay attention to what the senior resident responsibilities are because sooner than you think they will be your responsibilities too

  

PGY-1 Primer	CA-1 Primer	CA-2 Primer	Code Box Setup Guide
Cardiac Primer	Neuro Primer	OB Primer	Grand Rounds Archives