Career and Life Planning Guidebook for Medical Residents

Adventurers know that keeping your balance is critical. Without balance, reaching the goal could be impossible. Is your life in balance? Perhaps not. Your years of training have been intense. While this has been necessary to learn important clinical skills, many physicians can’t sustain the physically and mentally demanding lifestyle endured in training without developing some form of personal and/or professional stress, including burnout. But a new day dawns. Within a fewmonths, you will likely have a new job under contract, and may have even transitioned into a new home or community. Your life as an attending physician is just beginning. It’s during this transition that you can begin to Recapture Balance. You can’t just flip a switch. The tools you learn in this chapter will help to define your work-life balance, set good habits, and protect your priorities. Some say the next 24 months have the potential to set the tone for the rest of your life. It’s time to get a life again. 1. Timing Is Everything 2. Licensing, Credentialing and Insurance 3. Preparing For Your First Day As An Attending 4. Identifying A Mentor 5. Setting Goals And Boundaries: Transitioning To A New Income 6. “Graduating” From Resident Life To Attending Life • Successfully make the transition from resident to attending. • Achieve work-life balance while working toward personal and professional satisfaction. • Obtain medical licensure and credentialing to ensure you start on time. • Identify a mentor to assist you in your transition from resident to attending. • Develop tools for making sound decisions about your finances and lifestyle. L E T ’ S G E T S T A R T E D In This Chapter O U T L I N E G O A L S The Transition 331 WWW.PHYSICIANCAREERPLANNING.COM