Dr. Juurlink,



Thanks for the work that you've done on this paper! Medical students and residents have a lot of advice available to them but rarely has it been compiled in this fashion. I think you have produced a valuable resource and I will be referring medical students to it in the future.



Formatting

-I believe the standard formatting does not include indentations for each paragraph. Could these be removed from the introduction and conclusion?



Methods

-For the purposes of reproducibility and clarity, I think it the inclusion of a brief Methods section describing how this advice was solicited and distilled would help to contextualize the article. Would it be possible to provide the number of individuals approached for advice, the criteria for deciding who should be asked, how the advice was solicited and provided, any distillation or modification of the advice that occurred to get it into its final form, was all advice included, etc. I expect that much of this was informal, but the details are still of value to help the reader understand where this advice came from.



Results

-I believe the advice that was provided warrants the title of 'Results' with the rest of the other headings becoming subheadings.

-Would it be possible to provide the demographic information of those that solicited advice? e.g. age, gender, specialty, number of years since residency.



Conclusion

I would suggest revising and expanding this section. It may also be appropriate to retitle it as a 'Discussion.' This would allow further reflection upon the process. Some possible topics of discussion would include: 1) the reception of the talk that was alluded to in the introduction, 2) the limitations and benefits of the informal methodology, 3) the underlying positive, hopeful tone of the advice, 4) the need to better consolidate advice like this in the future.



Grammar and Writing

-I am unsure if PGY2 is a term that is internationally understood. I would suggest using "Second year residents" whenever possible to assist in the interpretation of the article for international readers.

-The introduction are written in a comprehensible and entertaining style.

-Paragraph 1 Sentence 2 would better read: They travel to Niagara-on-the-Lake, a quiet town 90 minutes from Toronto, with their partners and children in tow.

-Paragraph 2 Sentence 2/3 would better read: The residents spend time in interactive educational sessions facilitated by a small intended to help them mature as physicians, develop leadership skills, and facilitate career planning.

-Paragraph 3 Sentence 1: "This past year, I was" is less clear than "In 20xx I was." In subsequent years this change will allow readers to know when this occurred without checking the year of publication.

-Paragraph 3 Sentence 3: "Following a superficial needs assessment (I asked my senior resident what he thought I should talk about) and reflection upon my circumstances as a PGY2, I decided to offer them advice.



Conclusion

-I think this paper contains valuable advice for medical students that is worthy of being disseminated in published form.

-The data from this paper supports its conclusions as it acknowledges the limitations inherent in the process used to gather the presented data. However, I think the paper would benefit from further description of these methods and a more expansive discussion.

-I have no competing interests.



In closing, thank you for publishing this paper in an open format as the advice it contains will be valuable to medical learners. I hope my suggestions help you to improve this paper prior to submission for formal publication.



Brent Thoma, MD, MA

University of Saskatchewan