Resident Physician Mental Health
Congratulations med students! Huge accomplishment graduating from medical school. You have base medical knowledge and made it through the first part of your medical training. You should be proud. Next step, #residency. In this blog, I'll be talking about things to think about for your resident physician mental health.
Mental Health for Resident Physicians
The next couple of years will be bumpy. Residency will test all aspects of your life. How you respond to each challenge will shape you as a human, as well as, a physician. Be sure to take care of your mental health.
Throughout residency, you will feel like you have to prove yourself. It will feel like you don’t know anything. It will seem like the people surrounding you have it much easier. It will appear like they know more than you do, have better examination skills, or are better at their presentations. Know others feel the same. Everyone feels like they have to prove themselves. Stop comparing yourself to others in your cohort. You are good enough. The only person you need to be proving anything to is yourself. Are you capable of meeting your full potential? Are you giving it your best? If you are giving it your best, it will be enough.
Residents feel like they’re not good enough or they do not deserve to be in their residency program. You’ve gone through a selective process to match. Remember, not everyone who graduates from medical school matches. You did match and you earned a spot in this program. You’ve made it to the arena. Your program wants you and believes in you. They believe that you have the skills and abilities to complete their program. If they didn’t want you, they wouldn’t have let you in. It was not a mistake. Your name didn’t slip through the cracks. They selected you. Believe them. Believe you are worthy of being here. You belong in your program.
Give yourself grace when it comes to your health. You deserve to take care of yourself. I know this sounds silly but hear me out. When you are exhausted and on hour 34, of what is supposed to be a 30-hour call, when you start to feel sick, have pain, or feel off, listen to your body. Physicians are fantastic at telling others what they should do for their health but they are horrible patients. If a patient came into the office and said, “Doc, I’ve been really fatigued lately, have pain here and here, and I also have a fever.” Would you ever tell the patient to suck it up and go to work? You would never do this. Residents and physicians do this all the time. Give yourself grace to say, “I don’t feel good today and I’m not coming to work.” Now, there will be repercussions. Deal with that when you have to. Your health is more important than work.
Resident Physician Burnout Syndrome is Real
Watch out for burnout syndrome. A JAMA study of second-year resident physicians found burnout occurred in 45% of those surveyed. Work stress and burnout syndrome are real. One way to prevent work stress and burnout syndrome is to cultivate your life outside of medicine. Get to know other people who are not in the medical field. If you are religious, find your religious group and get involved. If you have a hobby, find the local chapter. You are going to need ways to recharge and refill your cup. If you don’t find a way to recharge and manage stress, you may be in for a world of hurt.
You need to know your ‘why.’ Why are you going into medicine? This path to becoming a physician is not going to be easy. Residency is going to be demanding. During these difficult times, you can always fall back on your why. Have your north star ready. When times get tough, and they will get tough, you need to go back and say, “I’m doing this because………” Your “why” will be your guiding light and help you overcome the challenges you face.
Throughout residency, you will doubt yourself and feel like you don’t belong. You are worthy. The program chose you. Be sure to take care of yourself to prevent burnout syndrome. Know your “why."
Online Therapy for Physician Burnout and Wellness
If you’re struggle with physician burnout and need online therapy, reach out to me here for a complimentary 15-minute consultation. I want you to get better and if I can help in any way, I will.
My name is Chris Rabanera and I am a psychotherapist that provides individual therapy for motivated individuals. Issues I work with include work stress and burnout, anxiety, relationship issues including personal & professional, family dynamics, grief, and life transitions. When you work with me, therapy is comfortable and client-focused.
