Resilience

Part of medical training is building up resilience. There will always be difficult attendings and patients. We will always make mistakes or overlook things or be shortsighted. As a medical student, this is quite hard. When an attending criticizes our physical exam or points out all the things we missed on our differential or yell at us for nothing at all, we feel awful. Medical students are pliable, scared, and easily intimidated. When we witness harsh or unreasonable criticism, we are greatly affected. But as we go through training, we build up more resilience. As an intern, I'm more grounded in what I know and don't know. When an attending points out my oversights or mistakes, I am more receptive. When they make comments that I find unreasonable, I let it go a lot easier. Work is very different than school; now, I don't let emotions overtake me. I think this is a very crucial survival skill in residency which can often feel harsh, cold, and unsympathetic.