Writing my 2017 year-end article as a third year resident (PGY-3) is truly something.  I find myself reflecting on a myriad of things; vying to be a competent physician, enjoying my first wedding anniversary with my wife Claudia, bringing home our Cavalier King Charles puppy, and finding my niche within the ever-changing landscape of healthcare.  I’ll explain a particular highlight of 2017, relating to personal professional development.

Residency Trains the Human to Be A Doctor

As of today, I have completed 30 months of a 36-month program.  With the passage of time comes (limited) experience in the clinical medicine world.  This year, more than others, I have noticed that the practice of medicine is just that.  It is adaptable, and largely dependent on knowledge plus experience.  Guidelines and standard-of-care are two cornerstones of modern medical care.  Evidence-based and peer-reviewed literature is the precise mechanism underlying the success of western medicine.

Oddly enough, the more knowledge I gain, the less I feel I know.

Residency is the formal time period wherein academic hospitalists, sub-specialists, and experienced nurses teach people — my co-residents and I — how to be a doctor.  Accomplishing this intricate task in a mere three years is sort of mind-boggling.  Personalities transmogrify.  Knowledge expands.  Oddly enough, the more knowledge I gain, the less I feel I know.

How Personalities Change During Residency

Medical training is arduous.  Hours are long.  Rounds are often both mentally stimulating and exhaustive.  It is all necessary to mold the best clinical physicians.  A side-effect of the process is a change in personality.  Whether or not we realize it, residents’ personalities adapt.  Usually for the better, people emerge from training an evolved version of themselves.  A key area I am trying to improve is to more efficiently condense lots of patient data.  Keeping the best bedside manner is also pivotal.  The overarching message, though, is to always bear in mind that people are seeking a doctor’s expertise.  I am honored to have the opportunity to treat, and sometimes cure, both routine and complex ailments.

Becoming a Gastroenterology Fellow

I am so proud to be a part of GI medicine.

I discussed the pure joy of matching into a Gastroenterology (GI) fellowship in a previous post, but to properly review 2017, I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about the Match.  I am so proud to be a part of GI medicine.  It is by far the most interesting subspecialty for a multitude of reasons, some more personal than others.  I’ve said to many colleagues and friends that gastrointestinal medicine is the #1 most enjoyable topic I study.  Coupled with a family history of Celiac disease, matching into a GI fellowship is a dream come true.

As an aside:  statistically, GI is the most competitive Internal Medicine subspecialty.  The NRMP compiled interesting data to back this claim.  GI programs as a whole received 1.5 applicants per available training position in the 2017 cycle.  By contrast, Cardiology, historically the most competitive field, had a ratio of 1.3 applicants:position.

2017 In Summary

• I am incredibly happy at my residency program, and have experienced a positive metamorphosis as a person and professional.
• My wife and I had our first wedding anniversary!  🙂
• I matched into my dream subspecialty field, Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Here’s to an even more AMAZING 2018!