“My advice to Black girls everywhere: whenever you find yourself in a room where there aren’t a lot of people who look like you — be it a classroom, or a boardroom, or a courtroom — remember that you have an entire community in that room with you, all of us cheering you on.” – Kamala Harris

Happy Saturday! The week was quite eventful. Finally meeting my anesthesia co-residents in person? Check. First day on the job as a doctor? Check. First time introducing myself to a patient as their doctor? Check. Holding the team pager all day and replying all pages timely? Check. Y’all it’s been a week of A LOT of firsts, and guess what y’all? I survived. Today was my second day on the wards working as a resident physician and I made it through, even enough to write about it. Ain’t God good!

Now on to the get down!

What I’m thankful for: My amazing peer mentor. As anesthesia interns we are matched with a peer mentor who is a year above us (he/she just finished intern year) and who based on a questionnaire we filled out, shares some similar interests. I was paired with a resident whose husband is also a resident physician (something we both share in common!). Y’all, I am so incredibly thankful for her. As soon as I reached out to introduce myself, she asked how she can help make the transition easier, made herself available to orient me to the electronic medical record system, offered to meet up for dinner so we can talk more in depth; I mean she really exceeded my expectations. I reached out for tips and advice on intern year and she offered a ton! I appreciated that so much.

What made me laugh this week: My co-residents. We laughed at the wild ride we’re in for with intern year. Perhaps laughing to keep from crying? Ha! Of course, this year is also quite spicy with COVID-19 cases increasing. Wheeww #SendHelp

What inspired me: Honestly at this moment, I’m inspired by the growth I will have by the end of intern year. Right now, I’m trying to get a handle on things, trying to learn how to do this doctor thing right, trying to learn how to multitask on the wards, treat patients, interact with other co-residents, nurses, pharmacists, it’s a lot. This learning curve is steep, and yep it’s a challenge. But it’s fertile ground for growth. Grow, baby grow.

What I’m loving: That I’m finally living my dream. It’s been over 10 years in the making!

What I’m reading: “Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning” by Peter C. Brown. The internal medicine program director at my institution kept referencing this book during orientation and raving about how good it was. I decided to borrow the audiobook from my library and see what it’s all about. I just started it today, but so far I’m like “Whaaaaaat, what do you mean reading the textbook over and over again isn’t as productive? What do you mean repetition isn’t an effective learning strategy?!” It’s an interesting read so far. I’m only listening on my drive to and from work so it’ll probably take a while to finish, but I’m looking forward to learning HOW I can learn better, especially since in this profession, learning is life long!

Also! Update on “Queenie“, the book I was reading previously. Turns out the rest of the folks in my book club enjoyed the book. As y’all already know, I personally didn’t, but I did get through over half of it. After discussing the book, the full plot, the various characters, its relation to present day events and so on, I’m like yeah, no need to continue torturing myself – it ended exactly how I thought it would. I’m glad others enjoyed it though. If you give it a read, let me know your thoughts below!

What I’m listening to: I rekindled my love for Nelly Furtado’s “Maneater” this week. I legit woke up one morning and it was the song stuck in my head. The song came out in 2006 and it is STILL a bop!

What I’m watching: “Scrubs” on Hulu! It’s my recent go-to relaxation show.

What I learned I could do better: Accept feedback without being defensive. Working at it y’all.

One goal for next week: My first (long) call shift is next week. My goal is to get through it. Prayers up!

Hope you enjoy your Saturday!