Comings and Goings (or Hello and Goodbye)

I find this the difficult time of the year. June brings graduation, which means saying goodbye to a number of medical students who I have worked with over the previous four years through the GPP program or who rotate as a third-year clerkship student at Wingra Clinic.

This is even a more difficult time for me with resident physicians. The residents join us for three years, and we get to know them very well as we work side by side. We share in their joy--resident Angela Oostema, MD, who is my team partner, just had a baby girl Madeline. We also hear about their experiences with rotations, and when the clinic or the hospital services get especially busy. But most of all, we get to be friends and enjoy each other's company. We learn about their hobbies, their families, and catch up on the fun things we do in our free time.

The residents gain in their knowledge and skill. In doing so, they grow to be true colleagues whose advice I seek, and recommendations I trust. We share in the care of patients who I have known for more than thirty years. The patients love to give me feedback about each resident I work with, and sometimes even shift their care to my resident team partner.

It is fun and rewarding to watch residents go from becoming somewhat timid in their first year, to confident, independent, and highly effective care providers in their final year of residency. I marvel at how much skill and confidence residents gain during their three years with us. I just recently served as the attending physician for two weeks at the University of Wisconsin Hospital. The third-year resident on the service, Virginia McKenna, MD, was so independent and skillful overseeing the other residents and patients on the service that I truly believe she could have run the service without me. It gives me a great deal of pleasure to see residents grow and mature, and that our residency training programs throughout the State of Wisconsin, the faculty, staff, and residents themselves, all contribute to this maturation process.

I have seen so many residents graduate over the years, and I never find the goodbyes easy. At graduation, the residents are happy and excited to be finished with their long and arduous journey through medical school and residency. They love to tell stories at graduation about their residency experiences, funny experiences that occurred during their training, and experiences with difficult patient cases. I, on the other hand, feel like I am losing seasoned colleagues whose energy, wit, and thirst for learning has been contagious.

At the same time I am saying goodbye at graduation, I find myself at the home of Bill Schwab, MD for a dinner welcoming a new group of incoming residents. It is surprising how quickly I engage with the new resident class, and am excited by the challenge of working with yet another group of young physicians.

So, goodbye to all of the third-year residents at our five residency programs who have kept me, and the rest of the faculty, on our toes and excited about clinical medicine! And good luck with your future careers. Please remember to make time in your busy schedules to teach medical students, residents, and other learners, as it will keep you fresh and prove to be quite fulfilling.

And welcome to the incoming residents! We all look forward to getting to know you as we start the process anew!