Medical Education today
WHAT I WISH I HAD KNOWN AS A RESIDENT A Compilation of Other Tips and Wisdom for those Starting Their Journey in Medicine Shared by a Group of 6,000 Women Physicians in January 2021. As you embark on your journey in medicine, remember it is a long journey. You must above all else take care of your human needs. Being a resident won't be easy but there is much you can do to improve your experience of it. Learning to manage your mind now will serve you well your entire career. Be a friend to your fellow residents and colleagues and support one another. Choose to be in it together and on each other's team. All of you will benefit. There is more than enough room for all residents and all physicians to do well. When we take care of each other well, we all benefit. Choose a narrative about your experience and life as a resident that serves you. This will help you show up as the best version of yourself. Decide that you are not a victim. You are also not an imposter, you belong, and you bring great value no matter what level of training you are at. Work is part of life and life includes work, especially when you work in medicine they are hard to separate and balance is often elusive. Try to find ways to make things work all well together. Aim for work-life “integration”-- even in residency. If you don't care for yourself well, you won't be able to care for others well. Remember your why; notice and appreciate what's going well and what brings you joy. Move your body and take a few intentional long, deep breaths of fresh air every day, no matter what. 14
SAN FRANCISCO MARIN MEDICINE
Jessie Mahoney, MD
Your Personal Life Prioritize Your Health: • Don't forget to take care of yourself— you're the only one that can. • Learn mindfulness and practice it every day!!! • Exercise. • If you are sick, stay home. • Eat and sleep. • Plan a way to have healthy food available instead of hoping a healthy meal will happen on the fly. • Don’t drink to feel better - sleep is better for emotional health than alcohol. • Prioritize your mental health. Now.
Develop yourself as a person:
• Learn problem-solving, conflict resolution, and communication skills. • Be kind to yourself, learn balance, forgiveness, and compassion. • Asking for help is a sign of courage and strength. • Nurture a growth mindset. • Learn to recognize when people’s fixed mindset limits the amount you can get done or the difficulties that arise. Know it’s not your fault and it’s not your responsibility to fix them. • Believe in yourself. • Follow your passions. • Keep some hobbies. • Use residency rotations as experiments of what type of work life balance you need to feel happy in the long run, rather than just learning challenges and achievements.
Prioritize Your Own Happiness - Don’t Wait for The Future:
• Be with your friends and family as much as you can. • Don’t put your happiness on hold for medicine. As doctors, we tend to think, “after I accomplish X, then I will do Y,” and a zillion years later we still haven’t done Y. Travel NOW. Get married. Have kids. Maintain friendships. Visit your parents. There is never a perfect time. Life is short. Work where you are valued as a human being. Corporations can replace you. Loved ones cannot. • Enjoy your moments now. • Thank your friends and family for supporting you through this. • Get rid of the mundane tasks: hire a housekeeper, set auto-pays, subscribe and save. • Simplify and declutter your life: buy all of one sock (no more matching)... clear room in your life for what really matters. • Medicine is a marathon, not a sprint. • Be satisfied and practice gratitude every night in what you have achieved in life.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
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