Rethinking Residency

“The loneliest moment in someone’s life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly.”-Unknown, but frequently attributed to F. Scott Fitzgerald A debilitating thing happens when we begin to feel like our efforts don’t make any difference. At first, we might try even harder to…

There are times when we might feel so overwhelmed or distressed that we are emptied of our desire to engage. Everything just seems too hard. Or we are physically exhausted, deprived of sleep, rest, and relaxation. So we find ourselves mindlessly scrolling through social media for hours, at the end of which we usually feel…

“Guilt is one of those emotions that feeds on itself. With every bite it gets a little heavier.” Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been talking about coping with loss and about checking our social support to see if it is genuinely supportive. As we discussed, some of the steps to healing are both…

To Solve or To Soothe? When we face a situation that causes us distress, we can try to reduce that distress by working to change the situation. We can also try to manage our emotions, or we can try a combination of both approaches. Emotion-focused coping centers on efforts to change our emotional responses to…

Research has consistently shown that social support helps buffer us against stressors, but there are times when we may be getting suboptimal social support that can actually make us feel worse. 

Have you ever struggled with your emotional reactions after losing a patient? There are rituals and practices frequently associated with loss of a loved one that may be absent in the case of loss of a patient.

Why do you do what you do? Work is not something that happens in a box over on the side while the rest of your life waits patiently for your attention.