For most people, the holidays are a time to step away from the daily grind to rest, attend parties, and reconnect with family and friends. However, as every medical student soon learns, physicians don’t always have the luxury of a traditional holiday experience. While this may seem disheartening at first, your responsibilities as a physician can actually add more meaning to your holidays. Here are a few tips to help you skate through the season gracefully and joyfully: Play (but not too hard) at holiday work parties With the amount of hours and high-stress situations physicians and medical students endure, they certainly deserve some holiday cheer. Generally, hospital holiday parties may wreak less havoc than your typical office party—but for the less seasoned medical student or resident suffering from burnout, these social gatherings could cause more harm than good. Higher health standards may apply in the medical profession, helping doctors-in-training to exercise restraint. Since many health care professionals also work over the holidays, they may commonly find themselves in clinics, surgery, or 12-hour shifts the morning after a holiday party. Keep the right perspective during holiday shifts Injuries and illnesses don’t take time off to celebrate the holidays. Christmas and New Year’s may feel like just another day in the office. More likely, however, you may find that there is even more work to do during the holidays: incidences of sickness due to weather, accidents due to decorations and gadgets, and heart issues due to the strong emotions holidays can evoke. Even though working during the holidays may take some getting used to for a medical student, it’s also a wonderful reminder of what makes our jobs so important. Dr. Shapiro says, “When you’re first starting off after medical school, it may feel unfair that you have to work a holiday, but then you realize what the patient is going through and you quickly realize the necessity of being there.” It’s also important to remember that having a job is a blessing that not everyone has during the holidays. Keeping the right perspective can turn a begrudging experience into a truly rewarding one. Don’t be afraid to start your own traditions as medical student The holidays come with many traditions and expectations that aren’t always consistent with medical students’ or doctors’ unpredictable schedules—especially those who happen to be on call. Rather than letting it get you down and feeling pressure to celebrate the same way as everyone else, feel free to create your own special celebrations. For example, if you know you’re going to be working on Christmas Day, plan to celebrate with your family the day before or after instead. Going off-script doesn’t have to mean missing out. This time of year can be especially hard for female residents and physicians who are moms, as they usually feel the most pressure this time of year to balance their work and family obligations. One female physician encourages spontaneity: “I think this is a time that has so many expectations of how things should be and always have been. When a given year has to be different, it can be incredibly disappointing…. I just try to remember that there is no one perfect way for it to happen.” Source
