the underwear drawer

four down, one to go

Yesterday, I was a second-year anesthesia resident. Today, I am a third-year anesthesia resident. I am not smarter or more capable today than I was yesterday, though I feel like I should be. Now suddenly, I'm a senior, in my last year of training. I'm still a resident, but expected to start making a transition, to work more independently or to supervise others, moving away from following orders and moving more towards trusting my own judgement and making the calls as to what should be done. It's funny, because while taken one at a time, each day and week of residency seems to occupy an eternity, I look back to my intern year and I cannot believe how quickly four years have gone by.

I'm not graduating for a year yet, so this is not quite my valedictory, but if I could pass on one piece of advice to the med students or new interns, beyond what type of shoes to get or the best places to steal hospital Jell-o and government cheese, it would be this. Write those stories down. Even a few years later, you will not be able to believe what you've been through, or how much you've changed.