This new year, I am feeling hopeful. I feel there is promise. I am so grateful for our scientists. I am so grateful for the advancements in medicine. I believe in science and I sure do believe in medicine. What a career path I have chosen to exemplify both!
What a year 2020 has been—a year I never imagined. A year of turmoil and loss but also celebration because I have achieved many milestones in the year of 2020. What a way to start residency, am I right?
I see co-residents, attending physicians, healthcare workers doing their best every day and coming in with positive attitudes daily. We have been assuming risk every day as we go to work to care for patients suffering from COVID-19.
In fact, one of my close friends who is a resident physician has been watching her father in the ICU as he struggles to recover from the virus. He is a physician who works hard to take care of his patients. He’s a patient advocate. He is a father and a husband and serves many other roles. This is what sacrifice looks like.
This pandemic isn’t over by any means, but there is hope. There is light at the end of the tunnel; I just know it. Let’s protect and care for another. Please, please, please continue to mask up and wash your hands. Hygiene is so important.
This year, I hope to learn more. I hope to transition from an intern to a PGY-2. I hope to continue being compassionate to my patients. I hope to be a great doctor. I hope for a break. I hope for rest. I hope to see friends. I hope to be able to hug others. I hope to be an amazing psychiatrist.
These are my hopes for 2021. Wishing you and yours a very Happy New Year!
Thoughts from a psychiatry resident physician,
Dr. AKP
