Future Holidays

I recently had the pleasure of catching up with a former classmate who is currently in the middle of her intern year. One of the things we talked about included holidays and the fact that it would be quite an adjustment for me next year. I will often be required to work holidays for the rest of my life. I've seen this first hand in the life of my sister-in-law who is a nurse. She worked both Thanksgiving and Christmas Day this past year. I am sure patients and families alike were thankful to have her at the hospital on those holidays during their time of need.

My friend was fortunate enough to have Thanksgiving of her Intern year off, and she was able to celebrate it with family. That in itself is a blessing, as many of my fellow classmates will likely match at a program in the North East with all of their family residing in the South East. Even if they do get time off, plane tickets for Thanksgiving and Christmas are costly on a resident's salary and not always feasible. What really struck a chord with me during this conversation, was what my friend's aunt said to her at Thanksgiving. Her aunt said something about seeing her next year for Thanksgiving, and my friend's reply was one her aunt didn't want to hear. My friend simply told her that she didn't know if she would be there for Thanksgiving next year, as she wasn't guaranteed to get holidays off. The aunt replied that she, "needed to find another job".

While the conversation continued to lighter subjects, this comment was still a very hurtful one for my friend. Those who are pursuing being a doctor, myself included, go through quite the ordeal to get there. After college we become professional students for our four years of medical school. During our third year we rotate through Psychiatry, OB/GYN, Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, Surgery, and Pediatrics. During those rotations we are on call with the residents in the hospital. Fourth year thus far has been a whirlwind of taking two board exams, applying for residency, and traveling, in my case, across the southeast looking for ideal training institutions. And yes, when it comes down to it I did chose this for myself. It was my decision to pursue becoming a physician. And as someone providing healthcare for other human beings, I can only hope that my family will remember I am doing this for a reason. I hope they are understanding of the path I have chosen and realize it will require a great deal of my time.

On May 3rd, 2013 I will graduate from medical school, but my training years will be far from over. Everyday there is something new to learn. On July 1st I will begin my residency. I will certainly have support from my upper level residents and attendings, but this will be one of the first times I will have patients of my own to care for. This is such an amazing, exciting, and formative time in the life of a new doctor. It's also a very stressful time that requires an additional sacrifice of time in order to get the training needed to become a very competent physician in any particular area. As challenging as it may be to be away from family and not have every holiday guaranteed off, it is still an honor and a privilege to be in a position to care for others.