Ah July 1st. A day of dread for many fresh new interns. I still remember my first official day as a doctor. I spent the entire day with a look of shock and dread on my face. Every time my pager went off, my heart rate and blood pressure went up. I was even afraid to prescribe Tylenol.
Many people will have many words of advice to you, and as a recently graduated chief resident, here are the SingleFemaleSurgeon's top ten tips for thriving during residency.
The underlying theme to remember here is that just because you're a resident, it doesn't mean that life stops.
1. Do one small thing that makes you feel human each day.
--Read a few pages of a (non-medical) book, work out, knit, water a plant, whatever.
2. Appreciate your family and friends and call them whenever possible.
--Maintain your support system. If you are lucky, your fellow residents may be helpful, however, they are still your coworkers.
3. Do one thing that makes you feel like a girl each day.
--I love Coco Chanel. Spritzing it on each morning made me feel chic, despite wearing scrubs.
4. Move your body.
--Work out as much as you can. Try not to gain weight. Yes, there is an intern year 15. Choose the healthy option. Your back will love you for this when you are standing for hours and hours.
5. Go away on vacation at least yearly.
--Explore the world. Get out of your normal environment and see something totally different. It brings perspective.
6. Get a hobby, if you already have one, continue to indulge in it when you have time.
--It just helps you relax and blow off steam.
7. Get your financial house in order.
--Save if you can, don't keep driving up credit card debt just because you know you're going to make more money later, read Women and Money by Suze Orman and follow the steps.
8. Don't talk about work when you're out with colleagues.
9. Find a female mentor, and be a mentor to another female.
--In my field there is quite a paucity of women faculty, but even a chief resident can be a mentor. Males just don't get it no matter how supportive they are.
10. Vent and then let it go.
--There just isn't enough time to stay mad.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Very sound advice. Thanks. Especially about the female mentoring part...Surgery, in my place anyway, has male predominance.
ReplyDeleteIt can be hard to find a female mentor, but a few great places to find one--other surgical subspecialties, the annual meeting for your specialty, female-targeted specialty society (see the links on the left panel). Even women in other medical specialties can be great mentors!
ReplyDelete