Were You a GREAT Resident?

Were you a great resident? Smart, resourceful, energetic? A real “team player?”

We used these skills to excel during a difficult time. Residency is finite; we knew that if we went all in, worked hard, made it look easy, we would win hearts and minds. And the dopamine hits from praise? Icing on the proverbial cake.

We poured a lot of energy into pleasing others; our patients, colleagues, faculty, support staff. Those were our stakeholders.

And how did you do such a good job? You showed up, you learned, you shadowed, you practiced, you tried and sometimes you failed. A difficult conversation, a tough procedure, a complication. When you failed, you learned, you grew.

And now, you may feel like all of your hard work, all of that hustle, led to your current circumstances. If you struggle with overworking (great notes that take you soooo long, paragraph responses to patient messages, etc), saying “no,” or fear of disappointing others, you know what I am talking about.

But the good news is, that your training also left you with other skills. You are an expert problem-solver. You have drive and persistence.

The challenge is, are you willing to change the stakeholder?

What if the stakeholder was you?

You know that you want something better; just like the patients you see want better health, and the faculty wanted better knowledge and skills as you progressed during training, what if your wants are the new goal?

Faster charting

Less time in the inbox

Boundaries and self-care

You know how to make a goal and execute; you are persistent. But changing things in your own life, for your own experience requires the same drive and hustle you used as a resident. But instead of pleasing others, it requires you to please yourself.

To make and set goals, one tiny step at a time.

To learn from your failures.

To check in with yourself with kindness and curiosity.

This means choosing to put your needs above others. Eeek. You can’t continue to come last in your own life; you didn’t become a physician that way. Training, very likely, came first. If you had an ailing parent or young children or some other major life struggle concurrent with residency you may have been more split, but most of us were all in on training. You know what it’s like.

Will you decide that your life is worth it? Will you go all in on yourself?