Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Free association on lessons learned as a new attending psychiatrist

Garrett Rossi, MD
Physician
November 18, 2021
Share
Tweet
Share

There are several major transitions in a person’s medical career. The first occurs when you leave behind undergraduate life for medical school. The first term as a medical student will test your resiliency and confirm whether you are prepared to make the necessary sacrifices to be a physician. The next transition occurs as you leave the academic portion of medical training and enter clinical rotations. This process culminates with the intern year of residency. This will be the first time you are fully responsible for patients and have the autonomy to make important medical decisions. What each of these transitions has in common is they can all be nerve-racking experiences. Trust me, I’m a psychiatrist. I hear it from students and residents all the time.

Residents fantasize about attending life, and in difficult times, this can help you through some challenging circumstances. However, attending life comes with its own set of trials, and the one constant in medicine is the need to keep growing and learning. As a recent residency graduate and new attending psychiatrist, I’ve learned many lessons in my short career. I want to share with you the growth mindset I’ve used to make the transition to attending life easier and how I analyze my daily work to become a better attending, educator, and psychiatrist.

You will likely have a moment as a new attending where you ask yourself, am I prepared for this? It may be when a challenging case presents itself, or it may be the first time you perform a procedure unsupervised, but that moment will come. What I’ve learned to do is trust my training. You have spent the last several years practicing for this time, and you know a lot more than you think. The times when an interaction or treatment did not go as well as it could have, was because I questioned myself at a critical time? My experience has taught me to trust fully in my judgment. After all, I’ve spent a good portion of my life developing it.

I’m always looking to improve my knowledge and perform better clinically. A great way to improve these skills when you are early career is to analyze your cases with a critical eye. I’m never satisfied with a good enough outcome. I constantly ask myself with each case, “What could I have done differently that would have improved the outcome.” This is not just for cases where things did not go as well as planned, it should also be applied to cases where the outcome is optimal.

If you want to take case analysis even further, you can discuss your challenging cases with a peer. I try to schedule weekly calls with my best friend from residency to go over cases together. Having another person you trust to offer their clinical opinion can offer a different perspective and will almost always lead to learning something new.

The final thing that I need to remind myself about is to watch my stress levels. Contrary to popular belief, your stress levels will increase as a new attending. As a resident, all those things you were not responsible for are now a part of your daily life. Sometimes it will be necessary to remind yourself to continue important activities like proper diet and exercise routines which combat burnout. You want to grow into the best physician you can be, but not at the expense of your wellbeing. Take time to enjoy the outdoors, spend time with friends, and engage in some fun activities. After all, life is not all about work.

Garrett Rossi is a psychiatrist who blogs at Shrinks in Sneakers.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

A message from a physician treating COVID patients

November 18, 2021 Kevin 0
…
Next

Personalized, precise, and data-driven: Precision Medical Education is here

November 18, 2021 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Psychiatry

Post navigation

< Previous Post
A message from a physician treating COVID patients
Next Post >
Personalized, precise, and data-driven: Precision Medical Education is here

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Garrett Rossi, MD

  • Marijuana legalization: an unpopular view

    Garrett Rossi, MD
  • Will anyone take the COVID-19 vaccine when it’s approved?

    Garrett Rossi, MD
  • We have a duty to denounce violence before and after the election

    Garrett Rossi, MD

Related Posts

  • The lessons learned from street medicine

    Nicholas Bascou
  • Lessons learned from my MPH gap year

    Waqas Haque
  • What I learned after being hacked on social media [PODCAST]

    The Podcast by KevinMD
  • Attending physicians should not pass down their impressions of trainees

    Cherilyn Cecchini, MD
  • My grandfather’s death: What I’ve learned about life

    Munera Ahmed
  • A physician’s addiction to social media

    Amanda Xi, MD

More in Physician

  • Why judgment is hurting doctors—and how mindfulness can heal

    Jessie Mahoney, MD
  • Why evidence-based management may be an effective strategy for stronger health care leadership and equity

    Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD
  • The gift we keep giving: How medicine demands everything—even our holidays

    Tomi Mitchell, MD
  • From burnout to balance: a neurosurgeon’s bold career redesign

    Jessie Mahoney, MD
  • Why working in Hawai’i health care isn’t all paradise

    Clayton Foster, MD
  • How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

    Patrick Hudson, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • Why health care leaders fail at execution—and how to fix it

      Dave Cummings, RN | Policy
    • How veteran health care is being transformed by tech and teamwork

      Deborah Lafer Scher | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • Why flashy AI tools won’t fix health care without real infrastructure

      David Carmouche, MD | Tech
  • Recent Posts

    • How veteran health care is being transformed by tech and teamwork

      Deborah Lafer Scher | Conditions
    • Why judgment is hurting doctors—and how mindfulness can heal

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • Why medical schools must ditch lectures and embrace active learning

      Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA | Education
    • Why helping people means more than getting an MD

      Vaishali Jha | Education
    • How digital tools are reshaping the doctor-patient relationship

      Vineet Vishwanath | Tech
    • Why evidence-based management may be an effective strategy for stronger health care leadership and equity

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • Why health care leaders fail at execution—and how to fix it

      Dave Cummings, RN | Policy
    • How veteran health care is being transformed by tech and teamwork

      Deborah Lafer Scher | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • Why flashy AI tools won’t fix health care without real infrastructure

      David Carmouche, MD | Tech
  • Recent Posts

    • How veteran health care is being transformed by tech and teamwork

      Deborah Lafer Scher | Conditions
    • Why judgment is hurting doctors—and how mindfulness can heal

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • Why medical schools must ditch lectures and embrace active learning

      Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA | Education
    • Why helping people means more than getting an MD

      Vaishali Jha | Education
    • How digital tools are reshaping the doctor-patient relationship

      Vineet Vishwanath | Tech
    • Why evidence-based management may be an effective strategy for stronger health care leadership and equity

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...