This weekend has been really relaxing and re-energizing. Weekends are rare during residency, and are exceedingly sparse during the first and second years. This year, my third and final of residency, has ushered in more weekends. It’s been awesome for organizing and cleaning at home. Today, I’ve been able to vacuum, clean the kitchen, and am in the process now of organizing my desk.
Goals for 2018
In taking a new approach to the prototypical “New Year’s Resolutions,” I decided to rename it “goals” for the year 2018. Earlier today, while jamming out to music on my Bose Mini Soundlink, I did some thinking about my goals for this year. I’ll share my big three.
#1 Studying with a fresh perspective
I will study with a new purpose, as if I have a patient sitting right in front of me
Sounds strange just writing this, but I recently sat in on a lecture that drove this very point home. I’ve been fortunate to have success on many exams utilizing the “study [x, y, z] material for the exam” approach. I want to extend and improve on my success with a more diverse and more detailed working knowledge of medicine. Also, I want even better exam scores. How I plan on doing this will involve approaching reading and answering practice questions differently. Starting in 2018, I pledge that I will study with a new purpose, as if I have a patient sitting right in front of me. This will impart relevance to the study topic at hand.
Note to self when answering practice questions: you may very well see a patient with the same presentation and be faced with the same problem. Learn from it.
#2 Improve my communication
The hope is to improve on two fronts: answering my text messages promptly and reaching out to family and friends more often. Time seems to be accelerating the deeper I get in residency/training; I need to take pause and appreciate others in my life with a simple “Hi, how are you doing?” Time constraints are often an impeding factor, but I plan on using breaks in the day to reach out more often to develop quality relationships.
#3 A focus on my well-being
Super complex and relating to a myriad of areas of my life, this is the year to enhance my health. Despite eye-popping reports of physician burnout, I remain very happy with my choice of practicing medicine as a doctor. Training takes a toll on everyone in residency, but I plan to stay ahead on the wellness curve.
Exercise, something I frequently recommend to patients and seldom do myself, is first and most important on this list. I’m happy with weight lifting, elliptical/stationary bicycle/treadmill, or a walk outside even if for only 30 minutes, if that’s what I can do in a day.
Diet, another key element in my life, has suffered as of late. Instead of reaching for pizza/fries/Lo Mein, my 2018 diet will consist of less carbohydrates and more protein. When possible, I’ll make fruit smoothies with fiber and protein sources. Lastly, looking forward to the future is super invigorating. I will begin training in a GI fellowship, aka my dream career. To be the best physician possible, it has to include personal improvement all of the aforementioned categories.