How to crush it with a residency

I believe that residencies give an opportunity to catapult us into our careers. When approached with the right mindset and the fortitude to work your tail off, you will be surprised what one more year of training can bring you. 

Rarely do we get a guarantee in life, but I’ll give you one here: When you set out to crush it, are willing to work hard, are flexible, and consider failure as a learning opportunity, you are guaranteed to succeed. 

Below is a discussion from Alison Bozung, an intern at my clinic. She has impressed me with her ability to go above and beyond. As a fourth-year looking to take on a residency next year, if you follow her advice and approach “another year” as she is, you’ll come out of the experience having already succeeded.

The search is on

There comes a time in each optometry student’s life when graduation is finally right around the corner. For me, it’s a time of which I’ve dreamed for years. I cannot wait to walk that stage, grab my diploma, and make my next career move-by spending another year as a student.

Why residency was the best thing I ever did for my career

Over the last few months, I have been talking with peers about the residency search process. On one hand, it’s simple: choose your area of special interest, find the sites that fit you best, and apply. However, once the process begins, it can get a little overwhelming. What if we choose the wrong one? How do we know we will be matched with our top pick? I want to share things I have learned from both my mentors and peers alike regarding the search for the perfect residency. Sure, there are still details we all have to work through when deciding, but this can shed some light for students desiring to pursue (or those still on the fence about) another year of education.

Choose something that excites you.

A mentor recently told me that you can find your passion in optometry when you reflect on a hectic day of seeing a specific subset of patients. How did you feel at the end of the day of seeing pediatric patients or managing glaucoma? If you feel like you just ran a marathon backwards, this may not be your area.  Instead, if at the end of the day, you feel tired but wired, I think you’ve found your niche.

 

 

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