Career and Life Planning Guidebook for Medical Residents

SECTION I: T MINUS THREE YEARS R E A D : Introduction: You’re about to cross the finish line! Medical School? Check. Residency? Check. Let’s take a briefmoment to acknowledge what you’ve accomplished so far! Acceptance into medical school, completing and graduating from medical school, matching, and now approaching completion of your residency or fellowship. Congratulations are in order! You and your significant other (SO) also deserve acknowledgment and praise. Reflect upon all the situations and experiences you have gone through together in these last several years. You have worked as a team, found ways to be flexible and creative, gotten knocked down and then gotten back up. You have shown each other dedication and willingness to work together for your relationship through all the highs and lows. You now have the next big milestone to pass; likely one of the biggest you’ll experience: finding your first post-training job. This upcoming transition is a fresh start full of possibilities and freedom. You will finally get to decide where you go, what you’ll be doing, and how you’ll be spending your time. You’ll be in control. How liberating and exciting is that?! In order to be ready for this transition, you and your SO will have to do some important homework. Up until this point, your lives have likely been hyper- focused on your career aspirations of becoming a doctor. Medical training has dictated where you live and what your day-to-day looks like. You are about to complete that stage and start fresh. What do the next steps look like for you and your family? The future is no longer just about being a doctor, and not just about finding the “right” job; it’s about creating a new vision of your life that is both meaningful and enjoyable for both of you - at work and at home! We each have 24 hours in a day and only so much time during our lifetime. How will you spend that time? What will you do in your free time when you’re not at work? Figuring this out won’t happen overnight or by its own accord, but you can work step-by-step to design a day-to-day that feels right for you and your relationship. So what’s the key to creating a fulfilling and meaningful life for yourself and your relationship? Having gotten this far, you’re already on the right path. Let’s continue to build upon that foundation. It all starts with intentional thought and behavioral patterns. We’ll lay out how to examine yourself and your relationship, improve your communication skills, and how to put step-by-step tools into action to create an ideal work-life scenario. Let’s do this! CAREER AND LIFE PLANNING GUIDEBOOK FOR MEDICAL RESIDENTS 70