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Resiliency is a dirty word. A thread.
Resiliency per Webster - the ability to recover quickly from difficulties.
Resiliency per the medical field - the ability to cover up everything bad you feel and always pretend that you’re fine.
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Resiliency per Webster - the ability to recover quickly from difficulties.
Resiliency per the medical field - the ability to cover up everything bad you feel and always pretend that you’re fine.
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Last year was the worst year of my life. I didn’t have a support system, my responsibilities at work dramatically increased, we started treating a new pt population and the administrative duties required of my intern and me increased our weekly workload by 20+ hours.
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I was struggling. I was alone. When I asked chief residents for help, they offered different advice, to include this gem:
“You’ve gotta get it together and convince staff you’ve gotten over your issues.”
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“You’ve gotta get it together and convince staff you’ve gotten over your issues.”
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I was reprimanded by that chief resident when I tried to tell my PD how much extra work the intern and I were doing. They then downplayed everything, even though they did none of the work and honestly, didn’t know how. This went on for months.
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(In my PD’s defense, he’s much more insightful than I anticipate on the regular. He started protecting us and told the attendings bringing in new patients that they had to find a better way to deal with the administrative burden.)
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My mid year review focused on concern for my lack of resiliency. It focused on my inability to “bounce back.” It was about me, not the environment. Not the extra administrative burden. Not a toxic chief resident who had no issues comparing interns to dogs.
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Despite their concerns, not a single staff member approached me to ask if I was ok. They would discuss my “resilience” among each other, but not with me. How’re you supposed to bounce back from difficulties if the difficulties don’t end before the review period is over?
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Talking about my “resilience” placed the responsibility of handling everything on me, even things far out of what should be in a resident’s scope of practice, i.e. administrative bullshit.
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Luckily, I decided “to get it together” and fake it. Things got better at work, but not for me. Not until I went on an away rotation. Not until I had reached out to every person I felt I could trust and asked for help. My intern and I seriously bonded.
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The problem with the medical field is that we just make it work. Not enough nurses? They pick up more patients and make it work. Not enough residents? We combine the teams, increasing patient loads and working longer hours. So administration is cool with “making it work.”
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I am resilient as fuck and I will survive. Don’t place the onus of the organizational failures on physicians by questioning our resiliency. Talk to your residents if you see a change in them. If you hear a resident is thinking about quitting, talk to them!
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The term “resiliency” is being used against us, shaming us for not being “good enough.” Enough is enough.
Resiliency is a dirty word.
I will be a surgeon, I will live my dreams, and I will do my best to change the culture.
12/12
Resiliency is a dirty word.
I will be a surgeon, I will live my dreams, and I will do my best to change the culture.
12/12
