Resident-to-Resident Sage advice
1. Do no harm.
2. Trust no one. (Kinder version: "Trust, but verify")
3. Medicine is an art, not a science. (Corollary: Never argue with an attending, unnecessarily)
4. Never make excuses.
5. Never carry a coffin by yourself. (Corollary: If you are unsure, ask someone smarter.)
5. Discharge planning must begin at admission.
6. Workups that can happen as an outpatient, should.
7. Never open a can of worms unless you plan to go fishing.
8. Common diseases occur commonly.
9. Before ordering a test, decide what you will do if it is a) positive or b) negative. If both answers are the same, don't order the test. (Corollary: if a test is unlikely to change your management, don't order it.)
10. When dealing with consultants, remember the Law of Subspecialization: If you are a hammer, the world looks like a nail.
11. The quality of care is inversely proportional to the number of consultants on a case.
12. If it cannot be read, don't write it.
13. Any order that can be misunderstood, will be misunderstood.
14. If a drug is not working, stop it.
15. If you are not sure what a drug is doing, stop it.
16. Never see patients on an empty stomach or a full bladder. Both compromise patient care.