Wishing an incredibly huge, sincere, and heartfelt CONGRATULATIONS to all my colleagues who matched this year! I'm incredibly proud of my friends and genuinely thrilled for their success. It was a little bit after noon, and I was in the middle of seeing a patient when my phone started going off. Between the calls and the texts, I had to give up and eventually put my phone on vibrate. But each incoming message made me grin from ear to ear. One of the best feelings in the world is knowing that someone you care about and love has succeeded in doing exactly what they want to do.
So guys, after everything you've been through, you have FINALLY arrived. Take a moment and breathe it all in. Thump yourself on the back, take a shot (or seven), eat a big fat piece of cake, jump out of a plane (with a parachute), or get lost on a European adventure- whatever makes you happy. In roughly 3.5 months, you'll be trading in that "Medical Student" badge for one that reads "Medical Resident." And people besides your family and friends will be calling you "Doctor _____". And the scary part? They'll be using "Doctor" as an official title, not just a term of endearment. That right there, is pretty freaking AWESOME, dontcha think?
Nothing but the best to you guys- you earned it and you deserve this moment. Be proud of yourselves. Don't forget to thank the people who helped you get to where you are. Be confident, but stay humble. Don't take anything or anyone for granted. Welcome to the rest of your life- you have this amazing opportunity to seriously change lives for the better and to help those that hurting- so go out there and become the physicians you've always wanted to be.
They never said that it would be easy. Only that it would be worth it.
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To briefly address the big, pink, polka-dotted, plaid elephant in the room- you'll have to check back here in a year to see how things pan out for me. Not gonna waste time dwelling on how and why I think things panned out this way, mainly because I can't change anything about it. Right now, I just try and keep in mind one of many things my favorite Resident pointed out to me in her hour long pep talk: "This is your Plan A. It has always been your Plan A. You are not going to settle for a Plan B." Much love to those of you who've unfailingly been there for me throughout all of this- whether I've met you in the last four years, or known you for the last twenty-six, your support keeps me going and means more to me than you will ever know.
I can't think of a single reason why I should be a doctor, but I can think of a thousand reasons to quit. They make it hard on purpose. There are lives in our hands. There comes a moment when it's more than just a game and you can either take that step forward or turn around and walk away. I could quit, but here's the thing- I love the playing field.
1 comment:
I wish I could crawl through the computer and give you a hug right now. Thank you for your honesty and post. I have been thinking of you and am so disappointed for you and with you. I know that you will be a great doctor and it sucks that you can't start that journey this year... but you will get there, that I know.
Do you think not matching is becoming more of a SGU reality? I don't know that many upper-termers so my sample size is low. How I wish SGU would release real numbers. Any thoughts? Not that it changes things at this point but I've always believed that we (meaning me and everyone I personally know) would match and this totally undermines my philosophy.
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