The Black Jack Sparrow: Adventures at Ross University

Being a resident is pretty cool. It feels surreal being on the other side at the same hospital that I did my rotations at.  It's been a difficult transition actually feeling and behaving like a doctor i.e. placing order and making decisions.  There is the constant underlying fear of doing something to harm the patient, which is counterbalanced by the excitement of being able to make decisions with the comfort of knowing that there are more experienced providers who I can go to for advice.  Planning out the day and figuring out which tasks take longer than others has been difficult, especially because some things that are not ordered in the morning will not get done later if ordered in the afternoon or on weekends, such as ultrasounds or echocardiograms. 

So far I have been with a very supportive inpatient team, but there have been many challenges along the way. Residency is definitely not easy but it's nice to finally have a paycheck.