Photo courtesy of Janine Robinson on Unsplash
Striving for Wellness in Residency
By Celeste Bouchard, DO ‘20
As a Family Medicine resident in Minnesota during a time where cases of COVID-19 are surging in my community, the sanctuary in my mind these days is focusing on what I can control. I can’t control the fact that our hospital service is being asked to take on 1.5x its normal capacity due to overflow of patients, or that pleas from public health officials are being ignored as people seem to have somehow lost faith in science. What I can control is adjusting my perception, practicing resilience, eating a healthful diet, exercising, embracing social connections and optimizing my sleep.
As a busy resident with tons of student loans, I don’t practice all of these habits perfectly. I do my best given the time and budget that I have, and I’d like to think I’ve come up with some efficient ways to practice healthy habits. As one of my favorite professors taught me, “the enemy of good is perfect.” It’s okay if you can’t be 100% healthy all of the time. Some wellness practice is better than no wellness practice.