Top 10 observations of a CHoR resident

As Dr. Jared Klein completes his pediatric residency at CHoR and prepares for graduation this weekend, he shares some of his serious and not so serious observations from his time as a senior resident:

Two years ago, I wrote a resident blog post titled “Jared’s top 10 observations about starting intern year.” Now that I am at the end of the road of residency, I thought I’d share a follow-up list of my observations over the past three years. Since the top 10 list format worked so well last time, let’s do it again.

1. I now understand why medical schools place so much emphasis on leadership. As a doctor, you are a leader in all aspects of the job, whether it is counseling a patient on their lab results or overseeing one of the inpatient teams. During residency, there’s an attending physician above you, but you’re the one coming up with solutions and executing the daily plan.

2. It’s fun to see your patients grow up. I saw several patients with chronic conditions during my intern year who have been hospitalized and under my care throughout my time in residency as well. It’s great to see and re-connect with these families. I feel like I have grown up a little with them too.

3. Even at 30, it still feels weird to be called “sir.”

4. You are always applying for something. My future is in pediatric cardiology which follows the “spring match” process. This means I began applying for a position about a year and a half in advance of graduation. During this time, I was also applying for an abstract to be accepted by a national meeting and funds to attend said meeting, as well as applying myself on difficult rotations such as PICU and NICU nights. The end result of all these applications? Matching at the Cleveland Clinic! Like LeBron James, I’m going home.

5. If you see something interesting, write it up. I’ve been lucky to have many mentor faculty members at CHoR who have helped me foster my writing style and develop professional publications, such as the ones you can view here. I’ve also learned that you can even get your poetry published if you find the right periodical!

6. It’s fun to see your medical students grow up and become residents too. You never know who might match into your program. I’m thankful to have had the opportunity to continue working with my former medical students: Ben Yoon, Avni Sharma, Kyle Trowbridge, Adam Rossi and Elyse Miller.

7. No one is too old for a game of Uno.

8. Much of medicine is about learning your “arsenal.” Does the patient have cellulitis? Then you can use this antibiotic or this combination if they are allergic to the initial medication. Did the patient fail their development screen? Then they can be referred to this clinic or this early intervention program. There are many resources, tools and services available for patients and it’s my job to help connect them to the right ones.

9. Being on pediatrics, we are lucky to have lots of visitors including Rodney the Ram, Santa Claus and even Darth Vader!

10. I really am going to miss Virginia and all of the wonderful people I’ve met during my time here. Best of luck to the graduating residency class of 2017. It has truly been an honor to work with all of you for the past three years.

Congratulations to all of our graduating residents as you embark on your future medical careers!