A Day in the Life of a First-Year Resident
5:30 a.m. – Wake up and start the day!
After saying goodbye to my dog and husband, I headed out for the day! Today, I grabbed some coffee on the way. It takes me about 15 minutes to get to campus. I aim to get there pretty early these days to ensure I have plenty of time to chart review all my patients.
6:50 a.m. – Arrive to PRI for the day!
I am currently working on the Women’s Mental Health Unit, which is one of our rotations during first year. I begin chart reviewing by checking for any overnight updates or important events for all the patients. Then I attend the morning report with the nursing staff around 8:30. This is a great way to start the day with interdisciplinary care and get important updates.
9 a.m. – Time to round!
Our team rounds includes the attending physician, medical students, social workers and me. This is our opportunity to check in with our patients and assess any major changes we need to make in their treatment. This is also a great chance for learning. Our fabulous attendings love to teach!
11:35 a.m. – Notes and taking care of business
After running the list with the team, it’s time for me to get to work on any remaining tasks that came up during rounds. This includes patient orders, collateral calls with family or providers and, of course, writing notes. Our lovely medical students play a big part in helping out with these things and it’s a great opportunity to teach.
1 p.m. – Lunch time before didactics
All four classes gather together each Thursday at lunch before we split off into our respective classes for lectures. Today we have Tacos4Life catered in, which is always a hit. This is always a great time to catch up with other residents and hear program updates from our co-chiefs.
1:45 p.m. – Time for a sweet treat
We take our Icees seriously and who doesn’t love a treat yourself moment? Here I am with one of my fellow interns, Sarah, before we head back to lunch.
2 p.m. – Didactics time
Today marks the start of our lecture series entitled “Intern Boot Camp.” We worked through common psychiatric cases together with some of our rotating M4s as guests of honor. Not pictured are our teachers for the day, Dr. Lea and Dr. Parrill.
4 p.m. – Bye bye PRI!
Normally we have grand rounds on Thursdays after didactics but today we just had our PGY-1 lectures. So now it’s time to head home.
5 p.m. – Afternoon stroll with the baby
I had to make sure to take Gus to enjoy the weather and sunshine. As you can tell, he loves it! I then wrap up my day by cooking dinner, catching up with my husband and checking for any updates on my patients before I head to sleep around 9 p.m.