Happy Sunday friends ☀️ I hope everyone has been enjoying/surviving the summer heat.
Last month on Sunday Morning Rounds ⏪, I shared some life updates about big changes surrounding a recent move to a new city and new job 🩺.
As exciting as a new chapter like this can be, maintaining a wholly optimistic mindset amidst change in medicine can be difficult. One month later, I wanted to share some reflections on how the transition has been and things I've learned 👇
- No matter how much you plan, something will go wrong ❌. As someone who loves to plan and prepare, I spent hours getting familiar with my new health system and its protocols. While this was helpful, there were still multiple times when I showed up for shift and immediately found myself overwhelmed and underprepared 🆘. When it comes to working in a new department or starting a new job, you can only do so much to get ready. Keeping this in mind and expecting things to not quite go your way can save a lot of stress and angst 😤.
- Frustration will come from unlikely places 😡. As I started working in these new Emergency Departments, I found that my frustration wasn't coming from not knowing the medicine or how to care for patients, but rather from things like not knowing how to page a consultant or where to find a nasal cannula when I needed one 🔍. It's an odd feeling as a physician to have knowledge but not be able to apply it because of a lack of system familiarity. Something that helped me to navigate this was remembering that...
- A helping hand is always close by ✋🏼. One mantra I kept hearing during my first few shifts was "You are never alone" ❤️. While this might seem like an obligatory thing to say, I'm happy to report it's been very true ✅. Just the other day on a very busy shift when I was managing a sick pediatric patient and needed help, I immediately had four other physicians in the room ready and willing 💉. This point is especially important for new interns to remember 🔑. While your attending physician wants to challenge you to figure some things out on your own, they will never let you drown 🛟.
- Your future self figured it out 💡. When you're dealing with the initial phases of change in medicine, whether it's a new hospital or an entirely new career, it can be difficult to see an end point 🛣️. However after just a couple weeks in my new role, I found myself helping physicians that had been there for years with little things I had discovered through my struggles, like how to get a call out faster or a shortcut to the physician lounge. I couldn't help but laugh about how hard those things seemed at the time and how much progress I'd already made 😃. It's important to take a moment during the whirlwind of change to appreciate little wins and how far you've already come 📈.
While I'm still fairly new at this and face different challenges every single day, reflecting on these points has brought me some peace of mind. Whether you're a brand new resident trying to find your way through the hospital 🗺️, a nurse who just pivoted to an entirely different specialty 👩⚕️, or a seasoned healthcare worker who just decided to switch things up a bit 🔄, I hope these tips do the same for you.
🚑 EM Residency Success: My Emergency Medicine Resident Starter Kit contains 5 tools to help EM residents enhance their learning and efficiency in the department. Don't miss out!
🗺️ Something I discovered: This La Colombe S'mores Draft Latte has become my newest obsession because it is d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s. I couldn't find it in the grocery store so I bought it online. No regrets.
📈 Better USMLE Scores: TrueLearn SmartBanks use expert-created questions and deep analytics to help take your board exam scores to the next level. Click this link to receive $25 off a SmartBanks subscription of 90+ days!
📨 Subscribe to Sunday Morning Rounds: Sign up for my monthly newsletter and receive tips and resources to help you learn, grow, and become a better doctor.
📱 Let's connect: Find me at @MedSchoolMoose on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram for more stories and tips.