It’s July 1, and new interns have already earned both an undergraduate degree and completed 4 years of medical school. What else do they need to do before “hanging their shingle” and seeing patients as an attending physician? Read on…

July 1 traditionally marks the start of residency and fellowship for new doctors and doctors who have completed residency.

On this momentous day, I am so excited to welcome the new interns into one of the most noble professions. It is the continuation of a crazy ride but an incredibly awesome and humbling one.

For those who don’t know what an intern, resident or fellow is:

-A resident team means you have a team of committed physicians, all looking over you and your chart, all under the supervision of an attending physician (like me!).

-Even new interns have already had at least 5000 hours of hands-on clinical training before arriving on July 1.

-New interns have already passed 2 of the 3 “steps” required to be licensed in the US: 3 days of testing, nearly 600 multiple choice questions, and 12 standardized patient encounters including assessment of history taking, physical exam skills, communication skills, and ability to form a plan of action based on findings.

-Intern year ( with an estimated 4000 hours of work!) is just the beginning of post medical school training.

-After those 4000 hours, your average pediatrician, family medicine physician and internist (all primary care physicians) will complete an additional 7000-8000 hours of training before taking their respective board exams (an additional 8-10 hours of testing).

Your average general surgeon will complete an additional 16,000 hours.

So, when you see your primary care physician, specialist, or surgeon, know that they’ve spent more than 10,000 hours of training to help you stay healthy.

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