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I blinked and somehow pandemic intern year is halfway over? It feels like I’ve been an intern both no time at all and also my whole life.
Some reflections on the last six months for my friends of #MedStudentTwitter finishing up #Match2021 about what I’ve found truly matters:
Some reflections on the last six months for my friends of #MedStudentTwitter finishing up #Match2021 about what I’ve found truly matters:
1. I learn best when my mind and body are appropriately rested. More time in the hospital doesn’t always equal more learning - in fact it often equals less! I’m grateful my program believes duty hours are the law and not simply suggestions.
2. Overall institution culture matters as much as program culture! As a medpeds intern, I’ve found myself treated with more respect and kindness by my @UMichSurgery @umichneuro @UMichUrology colleagues than I thought possible, and my life is infinitely happier because of it.
3. Cultures of kindness permeate all levels of training. Want to know how residents are treated? Figure out how they treat their med students. I’m grateful that our @UMichMedAdmiss students are bright, enthusiastic, and above all treated with respect.
4. Often, you’re too busy advocating for your patients to advocate for yourself. 10/10 recommend finding chiefs like @UM_IntMedCMRs and a resident union like @hoaumich so that someone is always taking care of you, while you take care of others.
5. The basic human needs of shelter and food still apply to residents. Make sure your program pays you an easily livable wage for the cost of the area. Residency is stressful enough without worrying about making rent. And the more your program feeds you the better, of course.
6. But more than anything, the people are what matter. @UMichMedPeds has managed to make a new city feel like home, even during COVID. I’m even willing to walk round when it’s to see a cointern on afternoon social rounds! They have made what could have been the scariest six
months of my life into some of the best. Has pandemic intern year been unbearably difficult in many ways? Absolutely. But it’s also been overwhelmingly beautiful in so many others, thanks to the people who have made it so.
The tl;dr? Find a program that protects you, respects you, prioritizes you, supports you, and feeds you. These matter more than any ranking ever could. Simple enough, right?
And to whoever is lucky enough to land at @UMichMedPeds: we can’t wait to have you
And to whoever is lucky enough to land at @UMichMedPeds: we can’t wait to have you
