1. I'm definitely an outpatient person. It's not that I don't like inpatient medicine. It's more that every time I start an outpatient rotation, I feel like I can breathe. Mostly healthy children. Regular hours. Most weekends off. I have time to have a life outside of medicine (see #2). Yes, folks, quality of life does matter. When I'm on an inpatient rotation, I pretty much eat nothing from a plant except coffee. And please come no where near my filthy house. Or my unshaven legs. You've been warned. 2. I don't do well when I don't have a life outside of medicine Fortunately, my residency program has to be one of the best at giving us time to have a life besides medicine. But there are definitely times when it feels like all I'm doing is working. Don't get me wrong. I love my job. But my job is my job, and it turns out I like spending time with my hubby and dog more than I like spending time at the hospital. Sorry, Dr. Sir. William Osler 3. Really sick kids make me sad By and large, Pediatrics is a pretty darn happy field. Most kids, even quite sick kids, often get better and thrive. Between hospital Trick or Treating, Spiderman-costume-clad window washers, Santa Claus bearing gifts, and hospital prom for the hospitalized kids, you can't get much more Hallmark Channel than that. But occasionally, a patient will come along that is just really really sad, like my patient who just passed away from a stupid accident, or a non-accidental trauma patient (i.e. child abuse), or the terrible rapidly progressive brain cancer patient. No thanks. I know some docs love trying to save really sick patients from the brink of death, and that makes them heroes. Not me. I'd rather have that never happen to them than be a hero. Looks like Hematology/Oncology or Pediatric ICU isn't in my future... 4. I love having continuity with patients To me, there is not really anything cooler in medicine that getting to know my patients. For instance, today I ran into an old patient from 2 years ago who I helped care for as a medical student. She and her mother remembered me, and it was great to see her feeling well and doing so much better. And one of my favorite parts of the week is Thursday afternoon, when I have my own continuity clinic and get to watch my patients grow. My baby patients will be 3 by the time I'm done with residency! 5. My definition of "busy" has changed drastically. Now, I want to go back and slap my undergrad self who used to complain about being "busy" because of 2 hours of class and a paper due in 3 weeks. Going along with #5: 6. A work week to me now lasts 12 days, and a weekend only happens once or twice a month Now I know why Golden weekends are so special. I used to think they were just fricking normal weekends. But no. Golden weekends are indeed Sacred, Golden, Holy days. Do not mess with my Golden weekends. 7. There are few things I covet more than a good night's sleep at normal sleeping hours. After having completely switched my circadian rhythm approximately 12 times since starting intern year, I now know why sleep medicine docs stay in business. 8. Intern year is actually pretty fun, and no longer scary My father was an intern in the Dark Ages when he used to walk 42 miles in the snow to get to the hospital, then he worked for 5200 hours straight, had every 1 night call, performed 65 bowel impactions every night, and never slept except in the empty bed in the same room as a dead patient (that last part is true). So, I had heard horror stories. Well, thankfully, it's 2013 now, and life as a resident is a bazillion times better than it used to be. I know some of the older docs are bitter that we have lovely things called "Work hour restrictions" and "Wellness Committees" that make our lives better. So, yes, intern year has actually been really cool so far. Yes, I'm busy, but it's mostly a good kind of busy. We are treated well, I go to work with so many awesome people, and I get to work with kids everyday. I suppose I'm ready for the next 2.5 years (but first, Xmas vacation please!) Source
