Sunday, April 1, 2012

Welcome, new medical students!

Dear soon-to-be-first-years,

It's about that time that most of you have gotten your acceptance letters!

I just wanted to welcome you all to your new field.  It will be challenging, stressful, you won't sleep very much, but you'll make such a deep impression on the people you meet.  Depending on your bedside manner, so many people will thank you for taking care of them and being so kind to them.

Depending on how hard you work, doctors with years in the field you are rotating in will be impressed with what you know, and residents and interns will praise you for how hard you work.

Medical training involves jumping through a lot of hoops, filling out mountains of paperwork, but it's worth it when you make a diagnosis or formulate a good treatment plan.

At this point in my training, I'm following the path of general surgery and considering fields like trauma surgery, pediatric surgery, surgical oncology, or doing ambulatory general surgery, but I plan on teaching medical students and residents my entire life once I reach that point.

I write in this journal not only for self-expression, but to help guide those who are entering medicine after me, since at times it can feel like you've just been in a shipwreck, and are trying to find your bearings while remembering how to swim again.  There are people out there looking out for you, so don't feel too whelmed when you're just starting the game.

cheers!

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