#148: Welcome Baby Doctors! The Cribsiders Intro to Intern Year

August 6, 2025 | By Sam Masur

Audio

Summary:

Welcome new pediatricians! In this special Fables from the Cribside episode, our team of resident producers talk tips and tricks for new pediatrics interns. We cover big feelings, finding your pre-rounding groove, avoiding night-shift tummy, and remind you to call your mom! 

New Interns Advice Notes 

The first day jitters

It can be really intimidating to actually be a child’s doctor! It’s an honor, but it also carries a lot of gravity and pressure that can prompt imposter syndrome, especially if you don’t have children.

Thankfully, everyone on the team (including the parent) is there to help. It’s always okay to turn to a more experienced colleague or look up something alongside a parent.

The highs

• Being a pediatrician who gets to help kids live longer, healthier lives
• Finally feeling like a doctor who is part of a care team
• When a family asks you to be their child’s pediatrician!

The hard

• Keeping in touch with family and friends, especially across distance
• Constantly adjusting to new systems, new expectations, and new roles
• Coping with the emotional intensity of medicine, especially as you’re still building a new support system

Clinical advice

• No one expects you to know everything! No one is judging you for asking questions. 
• Be open to new learning styles – what worked in med school may not work in residency!
• Lean on your upper-level residents’ workflows as you learn to become more efficient. 
• Examine all the normal children so that you’re prepared to identify abnormal findings.
• Pre-chart the same way every single time to be fast AND detail-oriented.
• You are never too good for the fundamentals. Keep a clear one-liner in your presentations, even as things get casual.
• When in doubt, go to the bedside. If you can’t, escalate to another team member (even if they’re asleep!)
• Parents know their child best. This goes double for kids with medical complexity.
• Don’t ignore findings you can’t explain.

Life advice

• Leave the hospital (and truly try to leave work at work). 
• Change your socks and brush your teeth to make you feel like a new person on a 24-hour shift. 
• Healthy food with some fiber keeps the night-shift tummy away. 
• Unless it’s a true emergency, you are never too busy to drink water, go to the bathroom, and eat a snack. Don’t give yourself an AKI!
• Make community and fun wherever you are! An afternoon coffee and some music in the workroom go a long way.

High-Yield Cribsiders Episodes for the Peds Intern

#2: Go with the High Flow: Bronchiolitis with Dr. Brian Alverson

#4: Things We Do For No Reason in Pediatrics

#33: Febrile Infants – When Babies Are Too Hot

#76: IV Fluids – Salty and Sweet

#99: Parenting for the Pediatrician Part 1: Infant Sleep, Picky Eating, & Potty Training

#106: Parenting for the Pediatrician Part 2: Discipline and Limit Setting

Also try out Pediatrics On Call from the AAP.

Tip: Make a dedicated photo album on your phone with screenshots and resources that you use frequently so you don’t have to look them up every time!

Citation

Lidsky, H, Ward B, Rago A, Venkataraman V, Cruz D, Berk J, Chiu C, Masur S. “#148: Welcome Baby Doctors! The Cribsiders Intro to Intern Year”. The Cribsiders Pediatric Podcast. https:/www.thecribsiders.com/ August 6th, 2025.