Self Care

It is easy to wear adversity as a badge of honor. "Back in my day, I was on call every other night, taking 36 hour shifts for months at a time." And, if I'm to be completely honest, it's kind of fun to make a statement like that with a bit of swagger. But this is not healthy. I spent part of this weekend learning from a group of medical students and physicians who reflected on the importance of self-care (among many other things). What is the humanism that brought us into medicine? What does it mean to be a healer? How does the harsh reality of medical training alienate us from the heart within us? How do we build resistance to persevere in the face of residency? How do we find ourselves after we make it through to the other side?

These are questions I have poked and prodded, but it was amazing to encounter students and physicians who have immersed themselves into pondering and reflecting on this. One lesson for me was the importance of self-care and wellness. Residency will transform us, and the harshness of it - the lost sleep, the endless hours, the menial tasks, the burdens of responsibility, the stark emotions - will change us. There may be more built-in support than there was a decade ago, but it is still inadequate. We must find support among our family and friends to weather this experience. We find strength within ourselves. We build community to buoy us up.

On the spectrum, I am probably more on the stoic side. I endure well. But the challenges of residency - even if they are necessary (which I am not sure they are) - are not healthy. It is not healthy to go through a day and only eat saltines and juice. It is not healthy to avoid going to the dentist for years. It is not healthy to switch back and forth from day and night schedules. It is not healthy to counsel patients on a healthy diet but resort to fast food because there's no time for anything else. There is no doubt in my mind that we were all much healthier before residency. Now, I am learning ways in which I can recapture that health.

Take care of yourself. Cultivate friendships. Spend time with family. Empathize with others. Communicate. Build a community. Meditate. Walk, cook, exercise. Bask in the sun sometimes. I am learning these things.