think ryan murphy doctors diaries
leadership
Take a Walk In Their Shoes
Dr. Ryan Murphy is the first Value Fellow at University of Utah. Charged with aligning value initiatives for trainees across the institution, Ryan’s first step into healthcare leadership is a steep one. We asked this second year hospitalist and front-line leader to share what he's watching.

What I'm Watching

These days I've been spending a lot of time reflecting on my own training, which was truly a series of juxtapositions—excitement and boredom, energy and exhaustion, profundity and mundanity. This PBS documentary portrays each phase of medical training with a profound accuracy. I remember the shock of calculating the number of hours I was spending in front of a book during the preclinical years.

This PBS documentary portrays each phase of medical training with a profound accuracy.

I remember the sense of uselessness as the third year medical student at the very bottom of a well-defined hierarchy. I remember the sadness and disappointment when the mental and physical exhaustion of residency overrode my ability to empathize with my patients. That being said, I also remember the nervous excitement of seeing my first patient and the satisfaction of successfully managing several critically ill patients by myself overnight for the first time. I still feel that sense of gratification when I reassure a patient that she is going to be okay, or maybe that she’s not, but that either way I’m going to be there to help. If the documentary seems depressing overall, I would encourage one to pay close attention to the high points in the training process. They do exist.

Where to find it

If you're a KUED Passport holder, access the series here.

Contributor

Ryan Murphy

Hospitalist and Associate Editor, Accelerate, University of Utah Health

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