Dear About-To-Be-Intern Self,

Intern year (as the first year of residency is called) is going to be tough. At times, in fact, it’s going to be downright awful. There will be stretches where you don’t see the sun and can’t remember the last time you felt anything but exhausted. The trend you noticed in medical school, in which current physicians and administrators don’t value your time (and waste it) and then wonder why your mental health is poor, will persist. You will be told by some to do more because “you’re a doctor now” and you’ll be belittled by others because you’re new and you don’t know what they think you should know.

You will be impressed by how your health deteriorates intern year. You are welcome to take some of the blame for your decline if you’d like, but the truth is that everything about intern year is the opposite of the wellness advice we give our patients. From your sleep schedule to your stress level, or from the food the residency program gives you to your work hours, there is very little healthy about intern year. It would be misleading to ignore these negative things that will unfold, one way or another, as they have for every intern. They manifest a bit differently for each person, but their occurrence is a guarantee.

Like all things in life, the negative of intern year is paired with the positive of these 12 months. First off, you’re paid – a huge victory after 4 years as a medical student. Your salary will be meager compared to your future salary (and it will be poop if you calculate the hourly rate) but remember that the intern salary is higher than the average annual income of Americans. Second, you are a doctor now. A real doctor. This title, alone, allows you to meet the most extraordinary people and hear their amazing stories. People will tell you things they never told anyone else. Your kind patients and your brave patients will be beacons helping you through intern year.  Focus on remembering the kind and brave patients more than the hard and mean patients; it’s the opposite of what your mind will want to do. I assure you that remembering the kind and the brave will help you more than you realize.

There will be difficult senior residents and supervising physicians; there will also be amazing ones. Take a moment to appreciate the inspiring senior residents and supervising physicians and reflect on why you respect them. You’ll be in their shoes before you know it and you can learn from them. Let the degrading and unkind supervising physicians and residents bounce off you; let them be a lesson of what you do not wish to become. The same goes for the nurses and other staff in the hospital. Nurses will be your biggest nightmare and your biggest savior throughout intern year. A knowledgeable and respectful nurse is gold. Thank the hard working and thoughtful nurses. Learn how to navigate the mean and not patient-focused nurses. You’re a doctor now and, once intern year is over, you’re going to be a team leader. Intern year is about getting ready to be a leader.

No one is good at being an intern when they start. Every intern gets better at medicine, navigating the healthcare system, and working with the interdisciplinary teams of healthcare. You won’t notice how much you’re learning at first. The days will pass slowly and the weeks quickly – before you know it, you’ll wake up and realize that you are a new version of you. You’ll blink and a new July 1st will be just around the corner. Then, intern year will be behind you…forever. I’m not delusional enough to say, “enjoy it while it lasts.” I am delusional enough to say fight for your health (because you’ll need to) during this year and soak up as much knowledge as you can. In the end, intern year exists to help you get closer to becoming the best doctor you can be. Intern year will force you to grow. It will challenge and push you to a new level. Always remember that intern year is finite and only one small phase of the Doctorhood Quest. It will pass.

You go this. I know you got it. At the end, you’ll know you got it too.

Yours truly,

Jett