Career and Life Planning Guidebook for Medical Residents

SECTION I: T MINUS THREE YEARS 3. What am I willing to do? This is one of the grayer areas of being a practicing physician; it speaks more to confidence and comfort level than true ability. For example, I also happened to train at a program that did more obstetric deliveries than any other health system in the area, making my OB/GYN experience unusually heavy for a FM resident. I did very well on my GYN and OB rotations and scored highly on those sections of my boards. However, I did not feel confident in my abilities to incorporate this into my everyday medical practice. Could I do a delivery in a pinch? Probably. Do I feel highly capable of doing so? Nope. With regards to comfort level, this is where you need to take your own personalwellness into account. I practiced that “triple threat” of primary care (inpatient, outpatient, nursing home medicine) for well over a decade. I’m pretty confident I am still capable of doing so. The difference, in my journey of learning to be well, is that I choose not to. I made an active decision that being that pulled in several emotionally-taxing directions at once was not in the best interest of my wellness as a person, let alone as a physician. And that’s OK. All this leads us to number series. 4: What am I not willing to do? or as I like to call it, what are your deal-breakers? It’s easy to say no to something when you haven’t been trained in it, or when the discomfort/risk obviously outweighs the harm. Being truly well involves having the insight, courage, and confidence to say “I know I’m capable of this, and I know I used to do this, but I’m no longer (or not willing) to do this anymore.” Your reasons for establishing your “deal-breakers” are going to be varied and might evolve over time. A brand new attending might feel very differently about something than amildly-seasoned attending, and so on. Knowing that these guidelines are in flux, being willing to revisit and reassess them, and paying attention to your own internal warning bells that something is *off* is crucial in establishing these boundaries and keeping your wellbeing as a priority. One of the biggest challenges in setting those boundaries is learning to deal with feelings of guilt for saying no. Check out our toolbox section below for more tips and tools on this crucial skill. . CAREER AND LIFE PLANNING GUIDEBOOK FOR MEDICAL RESIDENTS 58 “Congratulations, Young Doctors: These are unprecedented times that are new to us but not to mankind. PhysicianWellness starts with believing in yourselves! Acquiring knowledge and experience is a lifelong journey.to being the best doctor you can be, one patient at a time. Question everything. Embrace uncertainty. Be humble because medicine is as much art as it is science. Learn to be resilient through self-care. Trust your teachers, and enjoy the ride...“ Ernesto Vazquez, M.D., Family Practice, CMO MercyOne Population Health Services Organization