{"id":2128,"date":"2020-01-20T19:58:22","date_gmt":"2020-01-21T00:58:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/atashajordan.com\/?p=2128"},"modified":"2020-04-07T12:37:41","modified_gmt":"2020-04-07T16:37:41","slug":"10-wellness-hacks-for-intern-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atashajordan.com\/blog\/10-wellness-hacks-for-intern-year\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Wellness Hacks for Intern Year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Regardless of which specialty you choose, intern year is tough – mentally, physically, and emotionally. I\u2019m now seven months into intern year, and to say that it\u2019s been a whirlwind would be an understatement. I\u2019ve navigated four months of inpatient psychiatry, two months of internal medicine, and one month in the emergency department<\/a>. It\u2019s a been A LOT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the midst of taking care of patients, it\u2019s easy to forget about self-care. I definitely was guilty of this during my off-service months. Pre-rounding, rounds, writing notes, placing orders, calling consults, etc. leave little room for proper lunch breaks, regular hydration, or even taking a moment to regroup after the loss of a patient. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nonetheless, it\u2019s important to remember to take care of yourself. The age-old adage \u201cyou can\u2019t pour from an empty vessel\u201d is pertinent to us as medical residents. To best take care of our patients, we must prioritize our own wellness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the past few months, I\u2019ve recognized a few wellness hacks in my routine that have helped me to prioritize my wellness throughout intern year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Don\u2019t go home until you\u2019re ready to stay home<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve found that once I get home from work, there\u2019s a low likelihood that I\u2019m going to leave my condo. As a result, I\u2019ve started to plan events, hangouts, dates, and gym sessions immediately after work, without stopping home first. This way, I\u2019m already on the go and more likely to get involved in non-work activities throughout the week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Wear gym clothes under scrubs<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

One of the biggest intern year wellness hacks I\u2019ve discovered is wearing my gym clothes underneath my scrubs. I typically like to wear a T-shirt under my scrubs regardless as a means of soaking up any sweat that might occur throughout the day. So now, whenever I\u2019m on a rotation that allows me to wear scrubs, be assured that my workout clothes are underneath, to make a quick transition from work to work out!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Carry gym clothes with you to work<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re not able to wear scrubs to work, there\u2019s still a fitness hack for you! On the days that I can\u2019t wear scrubs, I try my best to bring a bag with gym clothes to work. This eliminates wasted time on the commute from home to the gym, if I were to stop home to change first. It also reduces the chances of me getting plastered to the couch if I make a pitstop home. Another \u201csub hack,\u201d if you will, is to pack your gym clothes the night before. I\u2019ve found that when I save packing my gym clothes for the morning, I\u2019m more likely to forget to pack them or run out of time in the morning to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Walk, run, or bike to and from work<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Getting to the gym at all might seem like an insurmountable task. So, if you\u2019re in a place with sidewalks, bike trails, and\/or decent weather, consider getting your exercise for the day via your commute. You can walk, run, or bike to and from work every day to get some extra cardio in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Subscribe to a meal prep service<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Eating well has been one of the biggest challenges for me throughout intern year. I\u2019ve found comfort foods like homemade brownies and ice cream to be easy dinner alternatives. (Don\u2019t judge me!). Thankfully, HelloFresh has been a lifesaver. About twice a month, I get a box with about six meals. HelloFresh sends proportioned, uncooked ingredients, along with easy to follow recipes. The meals take me about 40 minutes to make, and I love the variety. I don\u2019t get the boxes weekly, because they can be a bit pricey. If you\u2019d like to try HelloFresh for yourself, you can get $40 off your first box via this link<\/a>. (P.S. I get $20 off my own meals if you use my link to join!). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also enter to win a free box of HelloFresh meals, by subscribing to my newsletter here<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Have Tupperware on hand at all times<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Just because we have jobs now doesn\u2019t mean we shouldn\u2019t take advantage of free food. In medical school, it was very common for me and my peers to have Tupperware in our lockers. We waited for the moment when a surplus of free food was available. Residency and intern year are no different. I\u2019ve proverbially kicked myself many times this year for not having Tupperware with me to take home leftover samosas or pad Thai from the various lunch sessions at the hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Schedule hangouts with friends<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m usually a last-minute planner for everything \u2013 hangouts, events, trips, you name it! However, intern year continues to teach me the importance of planning hangouts with friends well in advance. As far as seeing friends goes, given the fact that so many of my friends are also residents, it\u2019s nearly impossible to find a time when we\u2019re all off work simultaneously. So, the more advance planning you do, the more likely you are to find time to hang out with the people you care about. Remember, technology also makes it a lot easier for us to keep in touch with friends in the digital era<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. Book trips well in advance<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

As far as trips are concerned, book your travel plans in advance! Whenever you know you\u2019ll have a weekend off or a week of vacation, make sure that you book your travel out early. This hack isn\u2019t so much a money-saving hack as it is a self-preservation trick. If you wait until a free weekend arises to \u201csee what you\u2019ll get into\u201d there\u2019s a good chance that you\u2019ll end up spending much of that time at home doing nothing (my MLK weekend lol). There\u2019s absolutely nothing wrong with some personal recharging time, but just make sure that you book some adventures as well! The earlier you book (and pay for) trips, the less likely you are to bail at the last minute because you\u2019re too tired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. Get a therapist<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I genuinely think that therapy should be required for all residents, especially during intern year. The transition from medical student to physician is a difficult one. It doesn\u2019t help that the system of residency sometimes feels likes it\u2019s created specifically to stifle our wellness. In the midst of what can be a very challenging year, finding a therapist is a great way to process a very transformational period of our lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. Schedule time for hobbies<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Do you remember the last time you set aside a few hours to indulge\nin a hobby? Whether you enjoy hiking, painting, reading, writing, or dancing,\nthere is always time to prioritize hobbies in residency. You might not be able\nto go to dance rehearsal every night as you did in medical school. But it is\npossible for you to spend even one hour a week on something that brings you\nimmense joy. One way to make sure that you have non-work-related FUN during intern\nyear is to schedule it. It might seem counterintuitive to schedule hobbies into\nyour day, but this is a great way to carve out time each week to prioritize\nsomething you enjoy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bonus: Save time doing dishes with Cascade Platinum<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I’ve always hated doing dishes, but about two years ago I discovered the magic of Cascade Platinum<\/a> dishwasher detergent. I used to be someone who washed dishes by hand or prewashed dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. This took up SO MUCH of my time. But now?! I put my dirty dishes straight into the dishwasher (caked-on, three-day-old pasta sauce and all) to get FLAWLESSLY clean dishes each time. Trust me, you can buy yourself an extra 15 minutes every day by using this amazing detergent<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"intern<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Intern year has been all that I anticipated it to be. It\u2019s\nbeen challenging, yet rewarding. Exhausting, yet motivating. Seemingly\nimpossible, yet definitely achievable. In the midst of intern year, I\u2019m\ncontinually working toward finding sustainable wellness hacks to keep me on track.\nI hope that you are too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are some wellness hacks that you\u2019ve developed throughout intern year? Leave a comment down below!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the midst of intern year, we must continually work toward finding sustainable wellness hacks to keep us on the path to providing quality patient care!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2146,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Intern year is tough, and in order to provide the best care for our patients, we must first take care of ourselves. \n\n#MedTwitter #InternYear #Residency","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,273,276],"tags":[308,193,198],"class_list":["post-2128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-medicine","category-residency","category-work-life-balance","tag-intern-year","tag-residency","tag-wellness"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atashajordan.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/10-wellness-hacks-for-intern-year.png?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9VPX9-yk","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atashajordan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atashajordan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atashajordan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atashajordan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atashajordan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2128"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/atashajordan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2128\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2850,"href":"https:\/\/atashajordan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2128\/revisions\/2850"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atashajordan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atashajordan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atashajordan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atashajordan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}