Representative poems from internal medicine residents describing wellness*
| Quote 1 | Quote 2 | ||
| Mindset | Surviving | Smile,dodge,smile, Control the bile. Lead to a save, Have everyone wave. Smile,dodge,smile. Resident 411, PGY2, Program 4 | Stretched to my limit Just wanting to do my best Everyone agrees. Resident 412, PGY2, Program 4 |
| Thriving | Intern year is fun So many awesome new friends But I am so dumb. Resident 406, PGY1, Program 4 | Grey is the day now A million suns are within Ours is now to shine. Resident 116, PGY2, Program 1 | |
| Wellness | Outside hospital | Leaving from my work Going for a run, breathe free Leaving stress behind. Resident 408, PGY1, Program 4 | Sleep, run, read, wine, eat Keep me wholesome day by day And then we repeat. Resident 302, PGY1, Program 3 |
| Within hospital | Breakfast with my team The best way to end night float It’s the little things. Resident 108, PGY1, Program 1 | “I'll be here all night” “So will I”, the patient laughs Both thinking of home. Resident 105, PGY1, Program 1 | |
| Barriers | In our hospital, We admit, discharge, admit; Learning by volume. Resident 222, PGY3, Program2 | Wellness time gets filled With what it is hard to say Then it’s back to work. Resident 114, PGY2, Program1 | |
| Environment | Bright and shiny day No ICU noise to hear Just chirping of birds. Resident 303, PGY1, Program 3 | Watching patients in the ICU suffer, I find myself needing a buffer. Some sun and fresh air are my preferred self-care, but as the days grow shorter, it gets tougher. Resident 306, PGY1, Program 3 | |
| Repetition/schedule | Repetition | Wake, Sign in, Pre-round Round, Round, Order, Write, Sign out Nothing matters here. Resident 401, PGY1, Program 4 | I am very tired Tomorrow will be better Each day is the same. Resident 305, PGY1, Program 3 |
| Schedule | 80 hours per week, With little time for sleep. And they wonder about, “What’s this burnout?” 80 hours per week. Resident 223, PGY3, Program 2 | Another twenty- eight hour call. Keeping patients safe, but not myself. Resident 204, PGY1, Program 2 | |
| Exhaustion | Long call with no sleep Pushing limits of my brain Now sole task of rest. Resident 216, PGY2, Program 2 | My body is tired But my mind is wired The clock strikes five I'm alive But my body is tired. Resident 109, PGY2, Program 1 |
*Each poem’s tone is signified by the shading of its cell—where negative tone is grey, positive tone is white and the neutral/contradictory statements are in italics.