Residency is easily one of the most exciting and stressful times for a medical trainee. Early mornings, late nights, research, studying, trying to remember the idiosyncrasies and preferences of each staff, trying to plan for your future career while doing the best you can prepare for the next case or next patient on rounds, spending all your day helping others while having trouble finding time to help yourself. Although each specialty and trainee are different, I firmly believe each trainee can benefit from at least one of the following five tips for residency.
1) Be kind to yourself and set realistic expectations. Medicine is competitive. From birth, we are compared to our siblings, colleagues in school, teammates and competitors in sports, and other college/medical school/residency/fellowship/job applicants. It is easy to forget how much we have accomplished and our amazing individual gifts because someone else has more lines on their CV, scored higher on the test, was singled out for praise by the staff, has a nicer car/bigger house/more exciting Instagram feed. We are all high achievers and are often perfectionists. When will enough be enough? Think about what are your core values and what is most important in your life. Each person has a finite number of resources and needs to continually choose between things that are good. A trainee helping care for kids at home may not be able to put in the same number of hours studying. Some people are just naturally good at taking tests or memorizing. Others have exceptional manual dexterity. Instead of determining your sense of self-worth through external sources, consider the 5-minute litmus test of writing down all your thoughts about yourself and your anxieties then reviewing it; personally, I was shocked by how harsh I tend to be with myself, realizing I would never say these things to another person. Take time to think about your journey, your effort, and how much you accomplish each day and week. Treat yourself like you would one of your children or friends.
2) Prioritize your health. I remember a lecture on “grit” that a guest speaker presented during my intern year. What most of us took from it could be summed up by, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” We have all heard people tell us, “We had it harder back in our day,” “Trainees these days are getting soft,” and “If you waste time sleeping during residency, you will never see all the cases you need to be safe and prepared for your career.” While there is merit in learning to work hard, pushing through challenging situations, and doing your best to take advantage of the learning opportunities training has to offer, we have to take time to decompress. A quote that I have always liked is, “The bow that is always tightly strung soon loses its spring.” It is easy for us to realize that we could not work out the same muscle group to exhaustion every day and hope to work at peak performance. Try taking time to get enough sleep, exercise, go to the spa, or whatever you need to do be at your best. Taking purposeful time off from studying or working can help you get more done in less time and enjoy life so much more.
3) Lay down roots wherever you go, no matter how long you will be there. I lived in Spain for two years after high school and soon noticed that some of my colleagues from throughout the world coped better than others. Those who tried to eat the same food that they had in their own country and thought about all the things that they did not have access to anymore were often frustrated and critical of situations and people. People who immersed themselves in the language and culture thrived. Even if you are only going to be in a city for one year of your training, find ways to lay down roots and find new foods, hobbies, and interests that you may end up taking with you when you leave.
4) Establish and maintain meaningful relationships. Similar to the prior point, invest in people and relationships. Take time to learn about your co-trainees. Learn the names of the nurses, techs, environmental engineers, cafeteria workers, and bus drivers. It is so much better going to work when you have friends around every corner. Even if you have a few things not go your way at work, you may later only remember with fondness the homemade slice of bread a colleague brought you or a good conversation you had.
5) Establish an identity for yourself outside of medicine. At first, I was shocked to hear that retirement coaches existed. Having spent a few short years in medicine, I can easily see just how much it is needed. We identify ourselves as doctors. We may feel pressure to have a “doctor” home/house/car. We accept and reinforce this identify that people place on us. Some of the happiest trainees and doctors I have seen are those who have other identities outside of work, whether it be triathlete, dancer, cook, parent, artist, golfer, foodie, or content creator. Generations are starting to transition/return to a philosophy of “working to live” rather than “living to work.” While I definitely endorse being passionate about your work, remember to look outside of you bubble and enjoy the other things that life has to offer. When you do so, you will be better able to connect with patients, deal with challenges, and feel a healthier sense of self-worth.