02/01/2026
MEDICAL TRAINING, THEN AND NOW
by Dr. Alan S. Tenerife
Back in 1997-1998, during our internship, one of the toughest challenges we faced was being on duty for 24 hours —something that's no longer the case for medical interns today. We spent countless hours in hospital wards or the ICU, checking on critically ill patients as frequently as every 15 minutes to every hour, noting their vitals on monitoring sheets at their bedside. The next morning, after hardly getting any sleep, we would stand in front of our fellow interns and residents to endorse our patients. The residents would put us on the spot about the cases and fire theoretical questions our way. If we stumbled on an answer, they would look at us with a bit of annoyance, asking why we hadn't read up on our cases. With so much work in our hands, finding the time to study our cases was a real challenge. Being a medical intern was incredibly demanding and left us both physically and mentally drained.
We've seen fellow interns struggle, dealing with breakdowns, depression, or taking time off. We used to think that being in medicine was straightforward—just hitting the books while dressed in crisp white uniforms and impressing other people. But stepping into the real world, transitioning from the classroom to the intimidating hospital wards, felt like being a fish out of the water.
The truth is, working in a hospital requires not just knowledge but also resilience. You might be one of the brightest students in class, but if you can’t adapt and build your toughness, your performance will likely be average at best. Over time, though, we learned to be more resilient, and the most resourceful among us carried those hard-working traits through to our residency and ultimately to becoming consultants.
Nowadays, I think interns and residents in most institutions have more flexibility and a less rigorous environment than we did. They still encounter significant challenges related to their work, but perhaps it’s not as intense as it was in my time. I can't definitively say which approach is better—the rigorous training we went through or the more relaxed one now. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, and the evolution of the field should reflect the changing times.
My advice to young interns and residents is to aim high. You have new tools that can provide information instantly, so stay focused and avoid distractions from social media while on the job. Engage in rounds and have proactive discussions with your consultants . Your textbooks are invaluable resources, but it’s also crucial to absorb the thinking processes of your experienced consultants—some insights can’t be gleaned from reading alone. If it were that easy, anyone could become a specialist just by flipping through a book on pulmonology or nephrology. Medicine is far more intricate than that. Before I started my cardiology fellowship, I read the cardiology section of Harrison’s multiple times, thinking I had it down. But when I had the chance to learn from some of the top cardiologists in the country, hearing their brilliant insights opened my eyes to the different levels in this profession. It's completely normal to feel intimidated as a newcomer, but if you study diligently and work hard, you’ll build your confidence. Medicine will always be challenging, but you'll find yourself ready to handle whatever comes your way.
*pic courtesy of Canva
