Residency Insight -- A PRESENT Podiatry eZine

Ryan Fitzgerald, DPM
PRESENT RI Associate Editor
Hess Orthopedics &
Sports Medicine,
Harrisonburg, Virginia

Residency: A Time of Transition

The early summer is a time of transition; warmer temperatures herald in the new season and transition from the cooler spring. It is during this time that residents find themselves in transition. It's a time where student externs assume the mantle of responsibilities of residents in their intern year, and a time when current junior residents are promoted to increased levels of responsibility.

While this summer marks my one year anniversary of residency graduation, and a year of private practice under my belt, I been trying to think of words of any wisdom that I can impart to the incoming 1st year residents, to help ease the transition from student-extern to resident, or to help inspire confidence in the soon-to-be 2nd and 3rd year residents who will suddenly have a great deal more autonomy when they progress and a new group of 1st year’s arrive. What knowledge do I have to share about being a resident? What lessons have YOU learned along the way that characterized your residency experience? We both know that incoming and rising residents will have questions—I know I certainly did—and they are relying on us to share our hard-earned pearls of wisdom.


Oct. 21 - 24, 2010	Limited Registration Offer	Las Vegas, NV

My First Day

I remember the fear. Am I going to make a mistake that is going to hurt someone? Do I know enough, and can I remember what I know when it matters? These were all questions that were circling in my mind as my pager went off in the middle of the night for the first time. I was the resident now, and although I had the significant support of my uppers, and my attendings, I was the one riding the elevator down to the ED alone in the middle of the night–I was the first point of contact.

My residency training started at a run, and maintained a vigorous pace for three years. Throughout that time I learned to keep my eyes and ears open to try to glean what I could from each experience. Your residency training is an exciting time, full of unique challenges and interesting opportunities. These present as both clinical and personal obstacles, and I’ve found that you learn something from both, if you open yourself up to the experience. If I could offer one pearl of wisdom, it would be to seek out these opportunities. What you experience now will determine who and what you become as a physician. Your residency raining will be your best opportunity to learn as much as you possibly can, and I would encourage each of you to take control of your educational process to maximize your training. This is your time; make it everything you want it to be!

I am sure that there are many of you across the country with significant pearls of wisdom to share regarding your unique experiences. I would encourage each of you to take a moment to share a few of them on the current eTalk thread on this topic. We love hearing from you; your continued participation is what makes this process so great!

We at PRESENT love hearing from you, and look forward to learning from you. I encourage you to post your interesting cases in the eTalk section of PRESENT podiatry to promote our collective knowledge. We look forward to hearing from you!