PRIORITIES – PART ONE: INTRO

I felt it is important to talk about priorities. I had a very difficult time about how to formulate this post due to its depth because I don’t want to bore people.

This first post will be a primer for what NOT TO DO. I will then go into much more depth about priorities, which will be subdivided into needs and wants.

As a 4^th year medical student with the cruise control button on until graduation, you’ve had some time since the match to think about where you’re going to be for internship and your plans. For many of you, internship will be the first time you will be making a real paycheck and not just depositing a loan check into the bank. This is exciting, and also a little bit frightening.  Many of you may feel compelled to run out and try to live like a “normal” person as soon as possible. Potentially eyeing that posh apartment and an expensive German car lease.

You deserve it right?

You worked so hard in medical school and studied those long hours. Then you put in all those 24 hour calls as a sub-I as if you were an intern.

Trust me, I’ve been there, and I think you do deserve it… however… PLEASE DO NOT DO IT.

I am asking you, once again, to continue on with some degree of delayed gratification. This is basically the MO for all medical students and physicians in general.

Before you scoff and close this post, just read these next two lines:

You will not really have much time to enjoy a posh apartment or your leased German car.

It is not worth it.

Unless you are financially independent because of your parents, a rich uncle, a trust fund, or the lottery, then you have loans from medical school which you will need to start paying back already. Your meager salary will still allow you to have a posh apartment and a leased German car if you really wanted to, but it comes at a high cost. You will start your life as an attending even further behind your peers.

You will need to make a decision now, do you continue living like a college student (as you have for the last 8 years), or do you “move up”. I implore you to do the former.

I am not asking you to live in squalor or have 10 roommates and drive a car that breaks down every 5 miles; Just try to be pragmatic. Your level of pragmatism will depend on you.

TL;DR

Continue to live like a college student for residency. Trust me.

Stay tuned for “The List” in part two.

-Sensei

Agree? Disagree? Questions, Comments and Suggestions are welcome.

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