This year, I had the chance to take Christmas off, and I was happy to take a nice long weekend, but I find that I can't stop thinking about patient care items. One of the strange things about being on vacation is that it's not so much a vacation from a location as much as it is a vacation from the profession. No more decisions, I just want to relax. But I realize now that I've done something quite dangerous: I have become the job.
Even in my regular life, it shows. I don't do much outside the medical world. I eat out sometimes. I go to coffee shops. But most of my time is spent simply waiting to get back to being a doctor. Outside of the white coat, I'm not sure who I am.
So, I need to find myself a little and start enjoying life, now that I've got some time to do just that. But how do you go about getting a life? I'm really not sure. If it takes more effort than going to Starbucks, I might be in trouble.
4 comments:
Hello, I just stumbled onto your blog and I think it's very interesting. So far I've enjoyed reading your entries... I hope you will keep writing. I have a question - why are Psychs considered "dumbasses"? From that post about "surgeons are jackasses, ____ are smartasses, etc."
Hope you enjoyed your holidays!
hmm you know i don't think "becoming the job" is such a bad thing, because it shows that you really care about medicine and your patients, like there's people saying that medicine is not just a career but a way of life
No, I would say that becoming the job is a very dangerous thing. Regardless of your love of medicine, it can't be the only thing in your life.
Early on in my MS1 year I remember one of our teachers telling us that the most important thing to remember in medical school is to "beware of joining the priesthood." I've tried to keep that with me while going through school, but it's hard to balance life with school. I'm finding more and more that all I know how to talk about fluently now is medicine, particularly when hanging out with non-medicine friends. I still look forward to the day when I can put on that white coat and take on real responsibility, but the question is, what else will there be left in my life other than medicine when I get there?
Terrific blog by the way, just discovered it today. I hope you're finding ways to balance your life, and this post has inspired me to find more ways to balance mine.
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