How medical residents should spend their time off
by MARY L. BRANDT, MD Here’s the scenario. It’s Friday evening. You’ll be back at work on Sunday. You’re sleep deprived because you are a resident . You haven’t spent any quality time with your significant other, friends or family because you haven’t had any real time off. Next week has plenty of call and it would really help if you planned out good food for the week and cooked something. And, by the way, you have the inservice exam coming up, so you really should study. There is no one answer how to balance these things. Everyone will be a little different in what is most important to them, and different weeks will be different, too. But, there are some basic concepts to think about that might help you plan how to spend your time off. Sleep is actually a high priority even though it feels like you are giving up social time. Whether it’s visiting friends, studying or just goofing off, you won’t get the benefit of your time off if you are completely exhausted. If you are sleep