91

Taking Care of Learners and Ourselves - On Being a Doctor: On Leaving Clinical Medicine and Laura and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

In the , Dr. Lynch recalls his immersion into residency training: “As soon as I dissolved, I began to react—or perhaps I should say ‘combust.’” In the , Dr. Rock describes her terrible, horrible, no good, very bad birthday.

Use these essays (links above) to:

  • Listen to audio recordings ( and ) , read by Drs. Hood and LaCombe.
  • Do you feel like an “impostor?” Do you think others feel the same way, or do you feel alone?
  • Do you feel inadequate and incompetent as a physician? Do you blame yourself for your patients' poor outcomes?
  • Do you know to whom you can turn for support?
  • Does your training program have well-established avenues for communication and help for individuals in need?
  • What does Dr. Rock mean when she wonders how people whose jobs don't provide distraction from their own problems manage?

Annals of Internal Medicine is the premier internal medicine academic journal published by the American College of Physicians (91). It is one of the most widely cited and influential specialty medical journals in the world.

Back to the May 2020 issue of 91 IMpact