*Definitions

As promised, here is a list of definitions (in my words, at least) of some of the vocabulary that I use which may be unfamiliar. Or maybe, you've heard me use these words for the last four years and just have never figured out what the heck I was talking about. I promise to keep adding to the list throughout the year as new words pop up. It took me a good four years to learn "doctor-talk" (in addition to the infamous "doctor-handwriting"), so it will be fun to teach it to you. Let me know if you come across other things I should clarify, too.

SUSAN'S MEDICAL SCHOOL/RESIDENCY DICTIONARY:

boards (board exams, medical boards; USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examination)); see also "Step 1", "Step 2" and "Step 3"

1. [noun]: a series of 3 (really 4) tests, known as "steps," that a person is required to pass during medical school and residency in order to get a medical license in the United States; there are also separate board exams for each medical specialty which certifies that a physician has met the standards required to practice a particular medical specialty

2. [noun]: an exam that is the god of all other exams

CK (Clinical Knowledge); see "Step 2"

CS (Clinical Skills); see "Step 2"

Family Practice (FP, Family Medicine)

1. [noun]: a medical specialty in which a physician is certified to treat everyone: children, adults, and pregnant women

house officer (HO); see also "resident"

1. [noun]: just another word for resident, but can be used to designated the number of years of service by being followed with roman numeral, i.e., HOI (pronounced "H.O. one") = first year resident, HOII (pronounced "H.O. two") = second year resident, and so on

intern

1. [noun]: a physician who is in their first year of residency

synonym: scut-monkey

Match Day

1. [noun]: a day every year in March where fourth year medical students across in the country simultaneously find out where they will be going for residency. The student and residency program are "matched" after the student ranks their top choices for residency programs and the residency programs rank their top choices for students. Then, a magical computer program in the depths of the Earth complies all of these ranks and spits out the fate of every student.

2. [noun]: a moment of shear excitement/terror/panic/relief that is witnessed by your classmates, family, friends, and, at our institution, the world (thanks to live-streaming video on the internet)

M4 (fourth year medical student, senior medical student)

1. [noun]: a person who is in their final year of medical school

synonym: 20th-grader

pimp

1. [verb] pimp-ing, pimp-ed, pimp-s: to be quizzed, questioned, or put on the spot by any of a medical student's superiors at any time during rounds, surgeries, lectures or random encounters

2. [noun]: a person, usually a man, who solicits someone for prostitution in return for a share of the profit (no, this is not a medical reference and is not clearly related to its verb form, but is listed in an effort to be complete)

residency (residency program)

1. [noun]: an institution in which physicians are trained in a medical specialty (e.g. family practice, surgery, radiology, Ob/Gyn, etc...); this training takes a minimum of three years following graduation from medical school depending on the specialty, for example:

Family Medicine - 3 years;

Internal Medicine - 3 years;

General Surgery - 5 years;

Ob/Gyn - 4 years;

upon completing this training period a physician takes an exam and, once passed, becomes "board certified" to practice in that specialty

resident; see also "house officer"

1. [noun]: a physician who is currently in a residency; yes, they are doctors, but they are not yet board certified to practice their specialty of choice

round

1. [noun], rounds: the daily event in which medical students, residents, and their staff physicians meet to discuss their hospital patients and develop a plan of diagnosis and treatment; this can take place in a conference room or at the patients' bed-sides

2. [verb], round-ing, round-ed: the act of making rounds

Step 1; see also "Step 2", "Step 3", & "boards"

1. [noun]: the first exam in the series of USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examinations) that is taken between the second and third years of medical school (M2 and M3 years); it is an all-day computerized, multiple-choice exam

2. [noun]: a perfectly good way to ruin your last free summer

Step 2; see also "Step 1", "Step 3", & "boards"

1. [noun]: the second exam in the series of USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examinations) that is taken during the fourth year of medical school; it is divided into two separate, and unrelated exams: CK (Clinical Knowledge) & CS (Clinical Skills)

CK - an all-day, computerized, multiple-choice exam

CS - an all-day, practical exam in which the examinee is graded on encounters with 12 standardized patients/actors (yes, like the episode of Seinfeld); this exam is only given in select cities in the United States and is known among students to be a test of your ability to speak English

Step 3; see also "Step 1", "Step 2", & "boards"

1. [noun]: the third, and final, exam in the series of USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examinations) that is taken anytime during residency; it is a two-day computerized, multiple-choice test; upon successful completion, a physician can obtain a license to practice medicine in the United States (but... you still have to complete residency to become "board certified" in your specialty)