…if I could go back in time

The other day I was reflecting on the past few years, and realised that I’ve come a long way. It’s been about 10 years of my life dedicated to medicine, and about 3 years of it as a job.

I’m by no means an expert, but I’m definitely better at handling stressful situations. It’s been a steep learning curve and a period of huge personal growth. So I was thinking, what would I tell my baby intern self if I could?

Here are my 10 things I would tell myself! If you’re about to start internship maybe take a peek. Maybe you’re already past that stage and can agree with some?

What would you tell yourself?

  1. Don’t be so hard on yourself
  2. It’s okay not to know what to do in the future
  3. Take it one day at a time
  4. Mistakes happen, learn from them and try your best
  5. When colleagues, patients or families are angry it isn’t about you
  6. Don’t take things personally
  7. Document everything
  8. Check everything yourself on after hour shifts – (trust no-one, assume nothing)
  9. Take care of your needs to prevent burnout – physical and emotional
  10. Don’t be afraid to be different