Nuggets for immigrants and medical nerds!
“Your journey through medical school was just like that, wasn’t it? You took a deep breath, and by the time you exhaled, it was already over. I’m here to tell you that residency is exactly like that.
“Lots of trailblazers from start to finish. You are bold shakers of the status quo, and I’ve always admired that about your group.
“The fact that you’ve asked me as a resident and a recent graduate, to share a few words of wisdom with you is such an honor. But it’s also such a striking reminder of how quickly time passes.
“So it’s important that you learn to be deliberate with time. Leave room for slowness. Be mindful. Be attentive. Be reflective. Create space to think about how each week, each month, and each rotation is affecting you, and how it’s moulding you as a physician.
“What you want to learn, what you don’t want to learn. Do not be passive with your time in your residency. Otherwise, it’ll just whisk right by. Use humour as a coping mechanism for when things are stressful. I promise you, jokes are, like, ten times funnier at three in the morning.
“Laugh with patients. Laugh with nurses. Laugh with your attendant. There’s an MD in front of your name now. That makes your actions, choices and words weigh so much more.
Medical students will look to you for guidance. Allied staff will actually care about what you have to say at hospital rounds. Members of the wider community will seek you out for your opinion.
“Lots of trailblazers from start to finish. You are bold shakers of the status quo, and I’ve always admired that about your group.
“It is important to use this added weight in service of what is good. Don’t stop at being professional. Go further and be kind. Be kind to your patients.
“Be kind to the people that you work with, and most obviously, but yet most frequently ignored – be kind to yourselves. Residency is an amazing journey. It is brutal, but it’s also beautiful. And I have no doubt that success awaits you.
“Congratulations.”
By Dr. Josiah Osagie
1T9 Class Valedictorian,
University of Toronto
(shared with the graduating Class of 2T0).
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