For the residents…
June 9, 2011 2 Comments
Only today did I realize that after almost two full years of residency, I have not yet acknowledged one of my greatest sources of support – my co-residents. They have stumbled along this path, by my side, step by step, over the years. They have celebrated, and grieved, and learned alongside me. They are the pillars that hold me up when I am ready to fall. They have demonstrated to me, time and time again, that if they can do it, so can I. They have scaled this mountain with me, pulling me along when I began to lag. Without co-residents, this journey would be impossible. They inspire me to be a better doctor, a better teacher, a better student – every day. And I go to my limits for them – work-up a patient at the end of the shift only so that it will be easier for them when they come on, call a consult so that they will not have to deal with the inconvenience.
Residency is about caring for patients, but it is also about caring for one another – volunteering to work extra time when a colleague’s baby is sick, or when someone needs to get to a graduation or a wedding on time. I cannot imagine this journey without them. And as I venture into year three, when we will be transferring patient care from our hands into the hands of one of our co-residents, this bond only becomes stronger.
More on trauma tomorrow, but for today, a thank you to the residents – my support, my vitality, and my strength through this minefield of residency.
A Medical Resident's Journey 
“What I mean, is this. How can we care for patients, man, if’n nobody cares for us?” – Chuck, intern in House of God.
Sometimes the only thing that kept me going was knowing I had friends in the trenches with me.
What a lovely Ode to your fellow residents. I hope your collaboration with them will continue over to collaborations with your patients so they know they have a team who cares about them.