The doctor is in

So. This happened.

I graduated. Now it's time for me act the part... and start residency. It would be fair to say that my reaction is equal parts excited and scared out of my mind.

It's been a long road getting here, but I'm very excited to be here. Can't imagine any place I'd rather be. But it's scary. Now, people will turn to me and ask "so what should I do about this". Or "what do you want to do for this patient." Sure, 4 years of medical school has taught me quite a bit, but it's not nearly enough. That's what residency is for... but it's one of those "here, let me push you into the pool - time to learn how to swim."

The good thing is - and in honor of father's day - it's exactly like a dad teaching you to swim by pushing you into the pool (PS - happy father's day dad!) It feels scary, but he's standing there. Making sure you don't drown. Giving you advise just when you need it, but letting you try and figure out as much as you can by yourself. And that's what my teachers / attendings / nurses / fellow residents / patients and all the support staff will be over the next 3 years of my residency training.


Well. Over the rest of my life really. You can't ever know everything in medicine. You can't ever know how to deal with every situation a patient can come in with. And in the Emergency Room, I have no idea who is going to walk in with what. It'll be scary. It'll be chaos.

And there's nowhere I'd rather be than right in the middle of it. Learning. Helping. And, hopefully, healing. I've still got a ways to go. Better get to it. Tomorrow is my first day as an intern at Cooper University Hospital.

So I end my medical student career with these words: “You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” –A.A. Milne

And I'll start my residency career with these: "Let's do this."

- Dr. Karthik
#DrKarthik