As we enter into July, we find ourselves in a period of transition. Some residents are graduating, and must face entering the wilds of the "real world" and the challenges that come from being a practicing podiatric surgeon, while other residents find themselves moving forward in their programs, and with each step forward they must shoulder more academic and clinical responsibility as they near graduation. Then, of course, there are the newly minted residents, those whose transition is perhaps greatest of all: from that of medical student to resident.
It is for those of you who are embarking on this journey that this week’s Residency Insight is primarily directed, although all of us—1st year through 3rd—will benefit from being reminded of a
few realities which we must face in order to successfully complete our residency training.
As residents, we are in a unique position that constantly challenges us to become more than we were the day before, and we must rise to meet this challenge each day with vigor. We must adapt to function in a high-stress environment where it is our responsibility to both learn and to perform, all the while doing so on limited sleep and surrounded by people who start as strangers, but with whom we must learn to work with to survive.
It is as though we have been stranded on a deserted island—castaway —and we must learn to work together, despite the stresses that will plague us, to survive and flourish in this experience. It can be done—it must be done. We must learn to work together, despite the differences that we may have. Our diversity is our strength—we have all matriculated from different podiatric medical schools and our externship and other experiences were different. We can each bring those differences to bear to broaden each others’ horizons and to help one another develop as physicians and as men and
women. You are not simply the person you were before July 1st—you are now a member of a group—
a tribe—and
your strengths and weaknesses are now their strengths and weaknesses. It is vital that you learn to function as a member of the team to accomplish your day-to-day tasks while attempting to absorb the volumes of information that you’ll be presented with.
Teamwork is an easy concept to talk about but is infinitely more difficult to bring to bear, es—pecially when the team begins to feel increasingly stressed and overwhelmed. Regardless, it is vital that you seek to remain a coherent unit even when things seem to fall apart. To facilitate teamwork, we must each learn to manage stress for ourselves and for our colleagues. We must find a way to manage our lives at work and our lives at home—it isn’t easy, but it is necessary.
Unquestionably, you will bring a certain skill-set and knowledge base with you from medical school and your experiences as an extern (as will your co-residents), but as you begin the residency process, your ability to survive the stresses and strains of residency will require you to rely on one another, to help those who are struggling, and to work together to strengthen yourselves and one-another, thereby strengthening the profession as a whole. Podiatric medicine is too small a specialty, and frankly there are simply too few of us to indulge in petty squabbling and back-stabbing. Leave that to others. You are a member, now, of this great profession of ours, and we must utilize our collective strength to ensure advancement of our profession for years to come.
July is a time of transition, and I encourage each of you to contemplate your new role, and what will be required of you in the future. Like castaways, we must work together to survive the challenges that will surely come, and we will face them together.
Welcome to the Island.
