RESIDENCY IS ENDING

It’s January 1, 2019 and that means I have exactly six months left of residency. Residency! I didn’t even know what residency was when I started medical school. I learned early on that residency was supposed to be really hard, but I didn’t know why.

Fast-forward 2.5 years and I have pulled more all-nighters than I can count, memorized dosing regiments of medications I used to not be able to pronounce, learned how to talk to terrified parents and draw blood on their screaming babies, and so much more. Residency was hard, but it was also way more fun than people make it out to be.

As I approach my last six months, I see a bright light ahead, refueling me with excitement and energy for whatever comes next. I have exactly six weeks of “primary” rotations and four months of electives. In that time I still have two weeks of vacation, my sister’s wedding and medical school graduation, a three-day conference for future chief residents, and a month-long rotation at the ABC News medical unit (which I am beyond excited for). The bottom line: it is going to fly by.

I am a planner, and I need to set goals for myself in order to give myself something to work towards. Naturally, I set three very “pediatric resident-specific” goals to focus on during the time I have left:

1. Ask questions. This is one of my last chances to be the junior level physician, and I have no shame in asking “why.” My goal will be to ask “why” at least once per day. I can ask myself, my attending, co-residents, nurses, whoever.

2. Publish my research. I have been working on a project since April of intern year and we had some minor changes recently that set me back several months, but I want my work to be in accepted for publication before I graduate.

3. Complete our pediatric board prep question bank. I have about 9 months left until my board exam and completing a test question bank is a great first step to priming my brain for “study mode.”

Cheers to a New Year and making the most of these next (last) six months!