Repetition

As with learning anything, practice and repetition make a cornerstone of residency training. In between the excitement of challenging, strange, and unique cases, I am assigned to run-of-the-mill surgeries: PEG placement, sinus surgeries, dialysis graft placement. These aren't crazy enough to write blogs about, but they reinforce aspects of my training that need to become instinct. And slowly, I am becoming acculturated; I begin to anticipate alarms, become more efficient in setting up my room, and feel more comfortable with intubation.

It is something I say to patients often. Surgery is always a big deal to patients; there is no small procedure, and even a cataract repair is a big deal to the one receiving it. However, you want doctors who are comfortable enough to consider these straightforward, small interventions. We respect what we're doing, but we don't get all riled up. We've seen enough to know what's dangerous and how to prevent and treat it. Residency is the practice and repetition to achieve that.