May–June Before Internship: Studying, Scheduling, and Life Admin

The month before internship makes or breaks your first three months as a resident. Most people waste it. You will not.

You’ve got two choices from May to June: drift, or run a tight pre‑internship playbook. At this point, you do not need more vague “rest and recharge” advice. You need a week‑by‑week, then day‑by‑day plan for studying, scheduling, and life admin so that July 1 does not hit like a truck.

Let’s walk it in order.

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Big Picture: Your 8‑Week Runway (Mid‑May to June 30)

Here’s the frame: everything you do now should serve one of three goals:

1. Prevent crises in July–August
2. Make you safe and functional on day one
3. Buy back sleep and sanity later

If something doesn’t do at least one of those, it’s optional.

At this point in the year (post–Match, pre‑orientation), your timeline looks roughly like this:

May–June Pre-Internship Timeline

Period	Event
May - Mid May	Confirm contract and licensure steps
May - Late May	Build study plan and secure housing
June - Early June	Life admin, insurance, banking, moving prep
June - Mid June	Focused clinical review and EMR/onboarding modules
June - Late June	Move, finalize schedules, emergency prep

Keep that arc in mind as we zoom in.

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Mid–Late May: Lock the Foundations

At this point you should stop thinking like a student and start acting like incoming staff. The hospital expects you to be ready; they’re not going to chase you.

Week 1 (Mid–May): Paperwork and Protection

Your job this week: remove any chance that HR, licensing, or credentialing delay your start.

By the end of this week you should have:

• Signed and returned your contract
• Submitted every “pending” item in your onboarding portal
• A clear list of remaining licensing/credentialing steps, with dates

Start the week like this:

1. Licensure and credentialing

   • Confirm your state medical license status (temporary vs full).
   • Check:
     • Background checks complete?
     • Fingerprinting done?
     • Notary forms submitted?
   • If anything is unclear, email GME now, not “next week.” Credentialing delays are how people end up starting late or scrambling.

2. HR and benefits

   • Log into the hospital HR/Onboarding portal.
   • Complete:
     • I‑9 and tax forms (W‑4, state withholding)
     • Direct deposit info
     • Immunization documentation
     • Drug screen appointment (if required)
   • Screenshot or PDF every confirmation page. You’ll thank yourself when something “goes missing.”

3. Malpractice and contracts

   • Verify:
     • Start date and expected hours
     • Moonlighting policy (if applicable)
     • Malpractice coverage (claims‑made vs occurrence)
   • If you do not understand a clause, ask a current resident or program coordinator for translation. Lawyers are great, but residents know what actually matters.

4. Program communication

   • Check your new hospital email and set it up on your phone.
   • Read every email with “orientation,” “schedule,” or “onboarding” in the subject.
   • Create one folder called “Residency – Critical” and move anything you might need again.

At this point you should have zero “unread” program emails and zero unanswered portal tasks.

Week 2 (Late May): Housing, Schedules, and Baseline Study Plan

Now you stabilize your life logistics and design your study framework.

Housing and move

• Confirm:
  • Lease signed or move‑in date scheduled
  • Parking or transit plan to the hospital
  • Approximate commute time during rush hour
• Do at least one real commute test at the time you’ll usually be driving or taking transit. Do not guess.

Schedules

You’ll get a draft master schedule or at least your first rotation block.

At this point you should:

• Identify:
  • Your July rotation
  • Call schedule (nights, weekends, 24‑hour call if applicable)
• Create a simple calendar (Google, Outlook, whatever) and block:
  • Orientation days
  • First rotation dates
  • Call shifts as “all day busy” or “no plans”

This is your skeleton. Everything else fits around it.

Study plan basics

Stop pretending you’ll read 10 hours a day. You won’t. Build a realistic structure.

You want a 4–6 week pre‑intern curriculum with:

• 60–90 minutes / day of focused clinical review
• 20–30 minutes / day of question‑based learning (yes, even pre‑intern)
• A short, high‑yield procedures/EMR/safety checklist for your specialty

For example, if you’re starting internal medicine:

• Core resources:
  • Pocket Medicine
  • MKSAP Qs or UWorld IM Qs (small daily dose, not a marathon)
  • A short “intern boot camp” series if your program provides one

For surgery:

• Core resources:
  • Surgical Recall (for quick call prep)
  • DeVirgilio or equivalent for cases
  • Basic knot‑tying and suturing practice schedule

Write this down as a weekly template, not vague intentions.

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Early June: Build Systems Before You’re Exhausted

By June, your paperwork should be mostly done. Now you build the invisible scaffolding: banking, insurance, phone, health, and home systems that prevent mid‑call disasters.

Week 3 (Early June): Money, Insurance, and Essentials

At this point you should be acting like you’re about to take a pay cut and a sleep cut. Because you are.

Item	Target Timing
Direct deposit set	Mid May
Emergency fund	Early June
Disability insurance	Early June
Budget draft	Early June
Credit cards updated	Early June

Money and banking

• Confirm direct deposit routing and account numbers.
• Set up:
  • Rent and utilities on auto‑pay
  • Minimum credit card payment on auto‑pay
• Create a bare‑bones budget:
  • Rent, utilities, insurance, loan payments
  • Food and transport
• Aim for 1–2 months of expenses in an emergency fund if possible. If not possible, still track cash tightly.

Insurance

• Health:
  • Review your residency health plan options; pick and enroll.
  • Confirm coverage start date (often July 1).
• Disability:
  • If you don’t have own‑occupation coverage, this is the last semi‑calm moment to get it.
• Renters:
  • Cheap, boring, but mandatory. Get a policy and list any required building/hospital entities if needed.

Phone, Internet, and IDs

• Make sure:
  • Your phone plan is stable and has good coverage near the hospital.
  • You’ll have home internet up and running by move‑in + 1 day.
• Collect:
  • Driver’s license or state ID
  • Passport
  • Social Security card (or at least know where it is)

Anything you might need for credentialing later should be in a physical folder labeled “Residency Docs.”

Week 4 (Early–Mid June): Medical, Mental, and Home Setup

At this point you should be thinking like your own patient.

Your own medical care

Schedule (for before July if possible):

• Primary care visit:
  • Medication refills for at least 3–6 months
  • Chronic issues addressed or at least acknowledged
• Dentist:
  • Cleaning + any urgent work. You won’t schedule a crown mid‑ICU.
• Ophthalmology/Optometry:
  • Extra pair of glasses, updated Rx if needed.

If you take any daily meds, set up automatic refills at a pharmacy near your hospital or home.

Mental health

I’ll say it bluntly: waiting until you’re drowning in October to find a therapist is a rookie mistake.

In early–mid June:

• Identify:
  • A therapist or counselor who takes your new insurance (or offers reasonable self‑pay).
  • A psychiatrist if you already see one or think you might need one.
• Consider:
  • Scheduling a “check‑in” appointment for August or September now. If you don’t need it, you can cancel. If you do, you’ll be grateful.

Home systems

Your goal here is “future me can survive on autopilot.”

Set up:

• Food

  • Stock pantry with:
    • Shelf‑stable basics (rice, pasta, beans, canned soups)
    • High‑protein snacks (nuts, protein bars, yogurt if you’ve got a big fridge)
  • Pick 2–3 “intern meals” that take <15 minutes:
    • Example: frozen veggies + rotisserie chicken + microwave rice.

• Cleaning

  • Basic kit: vacuum, all‑purpose cleaner, trash bags, laundry detergent.
  • Decide now: are you paying for a monthly cleaning service? If so, schedule first visit for late July.

• Sleep

  • Blackout curtains or eye mask.
  • Earplugs or white noise app.
  • If you’re on nights first: consider a cheap box fan + blackout curtain combo now, not later.

At this point your future home should be more or less “livable on day 2,” not a construction zone.

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Mid–Late June: Focused Study and Clinical Prep

Now you shift from macro‑life to micro‑competence. This is where studying matters—but only if it’s targeted.

Week 5 (Mid June): Rotation‑Specific Prep

You know your first rotation by now. Use it.

Time Allocation in Mid June

Category	Value
Clinical Study	35
Life Admin	25
Rest/Social	30
Other	10

Aim for something like that balance. Hyper‑studying with zero rest backfires.

Internal Medicine or similar ward month

Your focus:

• Recognition and first‑pass management of:
  • Chest pain, dyspnea, altered mental status, sepsis, DKA, GI bleed.
• Daily bread and butter:
  • CHF, COPD, pneumonia, UTI/pyelo, cirrhosis complications, AFib.
• Tools:
  • Skim Pocket Medicine sections on your most common admitting diagnoses.
  • Do 10–20 relevant UWorld/MKSAP questions per day, untimed but focused.

Surgery

Your focus:

• Pre‑op and post‑op orders (fluids, pain control, prophylaxis).
• Common emergencies: SBO, appendicitis, cholecystitis, post‑op fever, bleeding.
• Learn:
  • How to write basic post‑op notes and ward progress notes.
  • Basic lab/line management (when to pull foley, JP drain basics).

Peds, OB/GYN, EM, Psych

Same principle: identify top 10–15 conditions + emergencies you’re most likely to see week 1. Ignore zebras.

General tasks this week

By the end of week 5 you should:

• Have a short list (1–2 pages) of “first‑call scripts”:
  • What to ask in a page about chest pain, fever, hypotension, SOB, “patient fell.”
• Have read:
  • Your program’s handbook or intern guide.
  • Any EMR tip sheets or workflow docs they sent.

Week 6 (Mid–Late June): EMR, Orders, and On‑the‑Ground Logistics

This week is about how to actually function at the hospital.

EMR and order entry

If your program offers EMR training modules or a sandbox environment, do them. Do not click randomly for 5 minutes and call it good.

Focus on:

• How to:
  • Place admission orders / order sets
  • Write progress notes
  • Order pain meds safely (doses, frequencies)
  • Order imaging with appropriate indications
• Where to find:
  • Old notes
  • Micro results
  • Radiology reports
  • Discharge summaries

If they offer a cheat sheet, print it and keep it in your white coat.

Physical logistics

In this period you should:

• Tour the hospital if allowed beforehand:
  • Find: call rooms, resident workrooms, cafeteria, ED entrance, main labs, radiology.
• Confirm:
  • Parking pass or transit card details.
  • Where to pick up your ID badge and scrubs on day one.
• Understand:
  • How to page someone.
  • What the “rapid response” and “code blue” process looks like on your floors.

Refine your study

Shift your study now to:

• Brief daily review:
  • 30–45 minutes clinical reading
  • 10–20 questions
• Practical micro‑skills:
  • How to present a new admission succinctly.
  • How to structure a SOAP note efficiently.

At this point you should feel “rusty but not lost,” not “I’m going to read all of Harrison’s.”

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Last 7–10 Days of June: Move, Reset, and Micro‑Prep

Do not cram in the final week. You’ll just show up exhausted.

7–10 Days Before Start: The Move and Setup

Moving

• Aim to be physically moved and sleeping in your new place at least 5–7 days before orientation.
• First 24 hours after move‑in:
  • Build the bed.
  • Set up a place for your keys, badge, and wallet.
  • Unpack kitchen basics and scrub supplies.

Final life admin passes

In this window, you should:

• Confirm:

  • Orientation date, time, dress code, and location (building + room).
  • First rotation start time and where to report.

• Prepare:

  • One “intern bag” with:
    • Pen + backup pen
    • Small notebook or note cards
    • Pocket reference (or phone app fully downloaded)
    • Snacks, water bottle

• Check:

  • Your name and specialty on any rosters or schedules they’ve sent.
  • Any outstanding onboarding modules; complete them now.

3–5 Days Before Start: Light Review and Emergency Planning

Now is for sharpening + contingency planning.

Light clinical review

Daily:

• 30–45 minutes:
  • Review your “top emergencies” list.
  • Skim a few common order sets or note templates.
• No more than 10–15 questions per day—just to keep your brain warm.

Emergency and contingency planning

You want answer keys to “what if everything goes sideways”:

• Who is your:
  • First call co‑intern or senior on your service?
  • Program coordinator (with phone number saved)?
  • GME office main line?
• For your personal life:
  • Identify an emergency contact in your new city if you have one.
  • Share your basic schedule and hospital info with a family member or close friend.

Sleep transition

If you start on days:

• Lock in a consistent sleep‑wake cycle the last 3–4 days.
• Avoid staying up until 2 AM “because it’s my last free week.” Everyone does that. They all regret it.

If you start on nights:

• Slide your sleep schedule later by 1–2 hours each day.
• Blackout curtain + white noise ready.

The Day Before Orientation: No Heroics

At this point you should not be studying. You should be stabilizing.

Your checklist:

• Lay out:
  • Clothes for orientation. Generally business casual unless told otherwise.
  • Hospital folder with:
    • ID (driver’s license/passport)
    • Vaccination card if needed
    • Any paperwork they explicitly said to bring
• Pack your bag:
  • Notebook, pens, small snack, water bottle, phone charger.
• Walk through:
  • Where you’re parking or which train/bus to take.
  • What time you’re leaving home (with a 15–20 minute buffer).

Then: light dinner, one episode of something numbing, and bed.

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Simple Daily Template for May–June

You do not need a military schedule, but you do need a default day. Something like:

• 30–60 min: Clinical study (AM or early afternoon)
• 20–30 min: Questions or case‑based review
• 30–60 min: Life admin/errands (bank, insurance, moving, etc.)
• The rest: social time, exercise, or actual rest

On busier moving days, compress the study block instead of deleting it completely. Consistency beats intensity here.

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The Two Things That Actually Matter

By the time you hit July 1, you want two things:

1. No avoidable fires.
   Contract signed, license clear, benefits active, housing stable, money flowing, medications and health needs handled. Crises will come from medicine, not from your bank app or landlord.

2. Safe, not superhuman, clinical readiness.
   You’re not supposed to be an attending. You’re supposed to:

   • Recognize sick from not sick
   • Know first steps for common emergencies
   • Use your EMR and paging system without panicking

If you walk into orientation with those two under control, you’re already ahead of a lot of your co‑interns—whether they admit it or not.