When you’re working 60-80 hours/week, you start to neglect many things in your life. Family, kids, significant others, friends, social life, fitness, hobbies, even personal hygiene. It’s difficult to balance all of those while working long hours and then coming home and trying to be updated on the latest in your field of medicine. Now, I’m not saying I have the perfect solution to it, but I think it’s important to create new habits in residency; habits that allow you to slowly learn to blend the important aspects of your life with work.
After all, I believe residents learn to be some of the best time managers.
UPDATES: This page will be continually updated with new lessons and pieces of advice I’ve gained along my residency journey! You can find this page again under the Medicine tab above or subscribe for updates!
How to Live a Happy, Healthy Residency (#mobgynchronicles)
- Evening and night shifts can be hard. To start my shifts off on a high note, I always make a detour to my nearest favorite or new coffee shop to pick up a latte. Little things like this can kick off the next 12 or so hours on a good note! So indulge in something and bring it into your shift!
- What would you bring?
- Use your precious hours off to keep in touch and manage time with your family, significant others, friends, and your own me time. All of this is important but should be done in a way to better your emotional health and others!
- Prioritize Me Time – to decompress, to unwind, to gather or erase your thoughts. Usually best done when you get time off when everyone else is working (early day time post night shift)
- For me, it’s a cup of coffee while lounging in bed catching up on some reading/writing. What’s yours?
The Little Things – Medicine Edition (for residency, medical school, general medicine life)
Hoping this list will brighten up your day or let you focus on different things in the medical world that maybe the fast pace of your day does not allow you to see
- Getting off shift and realizing you have the next day off!
- Sleep after being on night call/shift
- The shower after a shift at the hospital
- When a shift at the hospital is so busy that time just flies by
- Doing a medical procedure perfectly
- When the realm of medicine proves its worth
- Being amazed by the world of medicine
- Watching how efficient medicine can be in the midst of chaos and tragedy
- Small medical school victories
- Unexpected three day weekends in medical school
- When patients are actually compliant with their medications
- Seeing a friend or co-resident at the hospital when you’re not on the same rotation
- Being released early from a day at the hospital
- Getting off a shift or call day on time
- Calm call days
- Getting off in the middle of the night or waking up super early for shifts sucks but the traffic less roads are fantastic
SIDE NOTE: If you enjoy the little things, check out the master list at the top header tabs. I post a new blog of 20 little things at the beginning of every month so follow to check that out!
Cheers,
Monica
I am no longer sure where you’re getting your information, however good topic. I needs to spend some time studying much more or working out more. Thank you for magnificent info I was searching for this info for my mission.