Third-year students this time of year think and carry themselves as physicians; the knowledge and experience that evolved from nearly eight months of patient care responsibilities formed their professional character and outlook. But typically, third-year students do not recognize how much they have grown from these experiences, and at times they still they worry about being inadequate. This is a common feeling, known as “imposter syndrome,” and nearly every physician-in-training experiences this feeling at some point during medical school or in residency training. Understandably, the long hours and complicated medical issues do serve as a challenge, but they also foster humility and encourage camaraderie with their fellow students. Spring of the third year is also the time during which students begin to define their professional goals and solidify their specialty choices. At Tulane, students in both the second and third year have the opportunity to meet with faculty advisors in any specialty of interest during “Residency Day” programs organized by our career advisor. Third-year students have learned to adapt to any training environment as they rotate from one specialty to another in both inpatient and outpatient settings. They bond with their patients and teams while also striving to master enormous amounts of clinical information. You should be so proud of their accomplishments...just four more months and they will be seniors!
