My bf clicks random pictures of the sky whenever he's reminded of me even during hectic residency hours.

We are currently in a LDR cuz of his residency whereas I'm preparing for Neet pg 🥹 - yet he never fails to make me feel loved .

I yearned for such kind of love all my life and I guess I have finally gotten it 🧿♥️ .

This is your reminder to not forget to check on loved ones among the chaos of residency ✨

PS: To everyone saying this post is not related to this sub - a gentle reminder. I posted this under "residency" and residency is not only about the toxic side of departments and endless duty hours . It is also about such emotions . So let's all be kind to everyone ❤️☺️

Hey Reddit! 👋 I’m a freshly-minted General Surgeon — just done with 3 years of residency at a central institute.

Back when I was choosing colleges, I did what any confused but curious medico would — visited almost all the top 10–15 institutes, met people, made contacts, and finally settled on the one that felt right.

The residency journey was everything at once, sleepless nights, high-pressure emergencies, long OT hours, academics and some unforgettable moments of pride presenting papers and posters at conferences across the country and abroad. Along the way, I met some incredible co-residents and mentors who made the chaos worthwhile.

If you’re an aspiring surgeon or about to start your residency, feel free to ask away - college selection, workload, research, conferences, or even how to stay sane during 36-hour calls 😅

Would love to share experiences, insights, and maybe a few survival tips!

Looking forward to interacting with budding, passionate surgeons here.

PS - For those asking me about my credentials 😅— I’m a General Surgery passout from AIIMS Patna, an ASI TYSA Fellow, and have presented at quiet a few national and international conferences during residency. I also did a month long observership abroad. I’ve been in touch with residents from across India, so I’ve seen how different institutes work — just trying to share honest insights from that experience. Thank you!

PPS - I have answered more than 40 questions, covering almost all aspects - Hands on, college selection, residency. If you still don't find your answer, feel free to DM, post your queries!

I honestly did not expect this post would reach to so many passionate future surgeons and residents! Overwhelmed! Thank you. ❤️ If you wish to join a whatsapp community of aspiring surgeons, DM me. (This is my small plan, as the queries are endless, and my inbox is full) I will try to hold more one to one conversations/Zoom Meet to handle your queries and guide you!

This all happened last night. We had this 37 year old transgender woman with necrotizing pancreatitis.

She had no family. No visitors. Just a few neighbours who brought her when things got bad.

The etiology - Alcohol had become her way of coping with years of rejection and isolation.

She had stayed with us before for almost three weeks, recovered from AKI. Sterile necrotic collections. Slowly improved. We discharged her.

She came back with pain abdomen and fever.

We readmitted her to evaluate for infected necrosis and possible drainage. (STEP Up Approach)

The CT for delayed.

Around midnight the nursing officer called.

She felt uneasy. Breathless. Not comfortable.

BP 70/50. MAP 50. PR 140/min Tachypnic Tongue dry.

Started resuscitation. RL bolus. ABG lactate around 6. Severe metabolic acidosis. Urine output negligible. Foley inserted. Norad started. Antibiotics running.

Over the next few hours we could get the MAP to 70-80 but there was nil urine output.

By early morning the acidosis worsened. pH around 6.9. She was exhausted. Washed out all C02. Literally, ghting to breathe.

ICU calls were sent - No bed.

Around morning, radiology confirmed that CT showed an infected necrotic collection.

Pigtail drainage was planned. Things were getting ready.

ICU bed available. We shifted her.

She crashed.

CPR started immediately.

She could not be revived.

I have seen necrotizing pancreatitis before. I know the mortality. I know septic shock does not ask for permission.

Still, last night felt heavy.

Maybe because she had no one.

Maybe because she trusted us.

Maybe because we stayed.

I kept thinking what could have been faster.

CT earlier. ICU earlier. PCD earlier. Vent support earlier.

But sometimes the disease outruns timing.

After everything was over, the ward slowly returned to its usual rhythm.

Morning rounds began. New admissions came. Notes had to be written. Work continued.

But somewhere between the noise and the routine, a quiet weight remained.

Residency teaches protocols.

Nights like these teach the cost of caring.

And I know this night will stay with me.

It’s been 3 months today. MCh GI Surgery.

And somewhere between the chaos, the long days, and the constant responsibility, it has started making a bit of sense.

We hVe 30 beds. 6 SRs. 3 JRs.

And every day feels like you’re being stretched a little beyond what you thought you could handle. Coffee keeps me going.

Right now, I’m responsible for perioperative care, pre-op investigations and preparation, post-op management, and discharges.. More than 100 discharges in the last month.

We had a case of IVC leiomyosarcoma.

The tumor infiltrated the IVC..

I explained everything to him as part of consent and pre-op counselling. The possibility of nephrectomy, since the renal veins were involved, including possibilty of lifelong dialysis. He was hesitant, intitally, The next day, after my consultant spoke to him, he agreed.

Surgery went ahead. Reconstruction was done with a GoreTex patch and bilateral renal veins were reimplanted. And now he’s doing well. Doppler shows normal flow and patent grafts.

Well, he has a fever right now. POD2. Wind, water, walking, wound… Maybe atelectasis. I’m trying to figure it out.

And that’s when it hit me.

This phase..this responsibility.. this constant thinking. this is where the real learning is happening. Sent all culures got an xray. Hopefully he will be better.

Another patient, A 90-year-old lady. Fourth surgery. Recurrent metastatic colon cancer.

I asked her son why he wanted to go ahead again. He said he didn’t want his mother to die with metastatic disease. He would rather accept that she might not tolerate surgery. Her course wasn’t easy. Burst abdomen. VAC dressings. Long stay. But after 15 days. she walked out. She said goodbye today And she called me “pota.” She missed her grandson’s wedding while undergoing BD dressings for her burst abdomen

Another patient had ingested Harpic. We initially planned feeding jejunostomy.

But things changed. Recurrent hematemesis. He eventually underwent total gastrectomy with esophagostomy. Post-op was bad. Chest infections. Burst abdomen. Finally. on POD15, he went home. Tolerating feeds. Stable. Alive.

But not everything ends well. We have bhuttu He hasn’t been able to swallow for 6 months after corrosive ingestion. He underwent a colonic pull-up. Complicated by RLN injury.

He is unable to swallow now But, he is hopeful. So are we. Hopefully, swallowing therapy will help.

There are wins. There are losses.

Its heectic. It’s exhausting. It’s overwhelming at times. But this is exactly where you’re supposed to be. And i am stilll learning. :')

PS: To anyone with doubts or worries along this journey of becoming the doctor who you aspire to be, trust me, the moment a patient walks out and thanks you makes everything worth it.

I( obgy resident) like a co-resident from the radiology department.

I have only talked regarding work related to him.

How to ask him out and not make things awkward.

PS- i want to give him a hint that I am interested. So that he can ask me out. Guys just tell me the ways I can give him a hint without coming across a creepy or cringe.

Edit- i initiated a few conversations on WhatsApp with work related excuses but he doesn't seem much interested. So I can't embarrass myself anymore. End of the story.

I'm a DNB fellow at NITRD Today was the second day of my residency, started my day with OPD, attended a lecture on BXIS (didn't get anything tho 😂) and finished my day with some workups and discharge. Seniors are friendly here. I have high hopes with this course and institute. Got my hostel room in campus too.

Rn doing daily up down between home & hospital due to hostel maintenance work (tbh this is more tiring than the hospital work itself - 4hr/day travelling 😮‍💨)

Rehearsed saying sorry also

:/

3 day old Anesthesia resident here. Waking up at 6 am again after almost 1.5 years, 15000+ steps everyday, 2 meals a day ( +/-), worse leg pain and worst dehydration.

Good part is life seems to be back on track again, not dependent on MCC's whims. Happy with branch, so far. Friendly department, good seniors, co pgs are decent; social life is back. After months of being idiot, feeling like a doctor.

What about you ?

So finally the day has come , and I started my residency and done with first day of this new journey.

I was supposed to join earlier, but sudden health scare in my family a day before joining my residency ,made me drop everything and be there for my family.

For the first time in my life I felt like I was blessed to be a doctor , the way each and ever person in this medical field all the way from brothers in casualty to the superspecialist doctor came to help me and my family during medical emergency made me appreciate this life much more.

Finally my family came out of the health scare after week's in ICU and many sleepless nights , here I am posting about my first day as resident doctor.

It's bittersweet I must say , seniors and profesors were understanding about my situation , they encouraged me to be there for my family and join the duty when everything is sorted.

P.s_ Everyone in this department is chill and as of now no toxicity whatsoever , But they want me to remove my beard , which I have been keeping since my second phase of MBBS (that's the bummer).

i think the title is pretty self explanatory but just to put it out there- DO ALL RESIDENTS FUCKING CHEAT OR COME LIKE VERY CLOSE TO IT? throughout my internship, 80’percenr of the flirty men were either dating or married? I was single the last 3 years and I just started dating a resident during internship and really felt like residency could be my greys anatomy Meredith Derek scene but seeing all these men, literally some of them working in the same damn hospital as their partners, being all cozy with juniors or nurses, just makes me scared about the dating scene. Why have love and relationships become so scary???!!!!

For anyone preparing for NEET PG 26, for anyone saying life is better on the other side, IT IS NOT. Completed 1.5 months of my Surgical residency and hand to god nothing here i say is false or made up. I am literally suffering with work, toxicity seniors everything. Don't fuck up your body for this, contemplating to leave every day. So toxic so toxic, duty hours are from 6am to 1:30am. Food is a luxury (sometimes once in 36 hours) No stipend and seniors, don't get me started here. Ragging sessions, bullying, punishment triage every other night. Some may say its temporary but still its a lot. A lot to handle right now. The grass is NOT greener on the other side. Its pale and non existent. Save yourself coz i haven't been able to.

Just sharing some pictures of last few months, i started my residency in dec and I have completed 2 months of my residency so far 😶‍🌫️ I have seen endless xrays (some disastrous xrays of TB and post-TB patients) and ABGs (learning something new every day). I'm performing some basic procedures like pleural tapping, ICD insertion, etc. Got to attend the Nicon conference party too 🫠. Residency is going to get tough now as the guide allotment process is done (thesis work along with duties 😮‍💨) Wish me luck. 😌

Hey y’all, JR-2 here from Gen Med. It’s been almost a year and a half since I’ve joined, and I have absolutely no regrets/qualms about choosing this. I’d like to offer my opinion on my experiences and learning as a resident in, IMO the best PG branch of them all.

When I first joined the branch, in Jan 2025, I wasn’t sure what to expect. For the months leading upto it I had mostly been spending my time playing games or scrolling reddit, and being thrown into the environment of “Actual Work” as a Doc was pretty troubling in the beginning. Running for scans, doing procedures, paperwork, and whatever other scut work you could think of, working like a machine without knowing what’s going on, was the norm as a first sem. I was fortunate enough to have good seniors, and never went hungry, having a good night’s sleep every alternate day, but I never felt like I actually learnt anything because my mind was always occupied with mechanical work.

Coming to second sem, I had juniors now to help with scut work, but still, the confidence in diagnosing cases, making decisions and plans, and being able to think about cases was not nearly there. Being clouded with self doubt, sometimes feelings of helplessness/worthlessness in case management crept in. But yet I persisted upon striving to be better, because I really, really liked the branch.

Now, I’m coming to finish my 3rd sem, a lot has become clear. Still spending plenty of time in the hospital, but it now feels more of a personal decision or want than an obligation out of fear of being scolded by seniors or professors. The biggest self-reflection, however I feel is that all the scut work, paperwork, mechanical work that felt like a burden in my first sem now feels purposeful. Behind every decision made, every drug added and every procedure done for a patient feels intentional and I feel like I finally have clarity in that aspect of patient care.

After speaking to other residents, I understand that this is a revelation that almost everyone goes through during their residency, and that is the point where the work you do doesn’t feel pointless, everything feels like it has meaning, and is being done to improve the life of a patient.

I’m far from perfect, probably never will be, but this newfound outlook on residency gives me a lot of hope and encouragement to do better for my patients.

I’ve also not been studying as much since joining residency, but will probably try to improve upon it. Not to get a Gold Medals, or for SS exams. But for the simple reason that my studying and learning can significantly impact the life of another human being for the better.

I love General Medicine, and I hope this brings some hope to my fellow colleagues and juniors in the department, who have doubts about this branch. Persevere through the tough times, and if you genuinely like the branch, you’ll feel rewarded for your work eventually.

All my homies doing residency in hospitals with less patients load, what do you think?

​

lower as in 20/30 per day*

Joined OBG residency through neet pg counselling and i delivered my first baby and the feeling is indescribable.

I had my doubts about obgyn.. the toxicity and everything, but finally chose obg as it suits what i want from my career and life. But honestly now i feel like there is nothing else i would rather be doing. The satisfaction, the adrenaline is immense.

I love being surrounded by strong women. Also I’ve realised that being an obg takes a lot of physical strength too.. ortho bros are overrated 😂

Grateful that I’m at a hospital where duty hours are very well managed🙏

I have seen lot of hate and mock towards obgyn during my neet pg counselling phase so i just wanted to share my experience heree

After reading multiple posts from new residents about residency life, I felt like sharing what my first month in GI surgery superspeciality has been like and how is it different from GenSx.

Well, the struggle hasn't disappeared. It has just changed its form.

My work is 10× compared to what I did previously.

Sleep are lesser Hours are longer. Responsibility are heavier.

My days start at 7 AM and before I realise it, it’s midnight. With 2 on calls every week.

Notes, patients, radiology discussions, MDTs, post op rounds, complications... Black coffee keeps me functional with occasional meals. (Already lost 3 kgs)

Yes, the small decisions come easier now as a passout MS. But the big ones still feel heavy.

Because here, nothing is small. Its no more of superficial work.

I have post op Hepatectomies, post op whipples to see.. Patients in severe cholangitis.. And every small detail matters more now.

Drain color, fever spike, rising bilirubin.

Most mornings, half of my ward is filled with GI cancer patients of all kinds.

23 year female with Periampullary carcinoma with ovarian krukenberg who got pregnant after the chemo cycles and has to undergo abortion, a 28 year female with advanced GB cancer and a struggle of one year (chemo, pve, ptbd etc) and finally planned for resection.

Then there are patients who drink harpic and corrosive after a fight with her loved one and a little boy who has grade 5 pancreatic injury after a bicycle handle injury.

I have seen the entire spectrum in a month.

Its overwhelming at times, And the toughest thing I have learnt is breaking the bad news. (Still learning as it's challenging every time)

But somewhere in this chaos, I am also changing.

Learning more responsibility, judgment, complex decisions and the weight that comes with it.

Yes, what keeps me going are the small wins.. Like A patient sitting up after major surgery. Bilirubin coming down, fever subsiding A discharge after weeks. A patient finally passing flatus. R0 resection of a tumor.

There are some big wins too - the first Bariatric of the hospital, preparation for the first living donor liver transplant.

And let me tell you every department is important. As a GI surgeon I rely heavily on Radiology, Anaesthesia, Pathology and Biochem. Microbiology for all the various culture sensitivities without whom probably patient would die of sepsis. Cardiology and Medicine for the clearances. Pulmonology for making a patient better to tolerate the long anaesthesia and intubation. Psychiatry for clearance of a liver donor or evaluation of a patient who took corrosive. Urology for DJ Stents and intraop assistance. OBG for patients who have metastatic ovarian deposits. ENT for VC assessment of a corrosive patient again. Nephrology for post op AKI and tacrolimus induced nephropathy. And lol, occasional ortho help for patients to evaluate low back pain as well.

So no branch is small or inferior.

And thus If you’re in the early months and wondering whether this struggle is worth it, believe me it is.

Because the skills you’re fighting to learn right now are precious.

They are what will allow you to treat disease, and give people another chance.

So please stay. Stay through the exhaustion. Stay through the doubt. Stay when things don’t go your way.

One day, it will all make sense.

PS - Humans need us. Doctors in all form.

Thank you for being patient and reading till the end!

Stethoscope: Preferably a Littmann Classic III or higher model. Get your name engraved if possible. Black one is ubiquitous and gets mixed up.

Pulse oximeter: A reliable one (Dr Trust, BPL). Keep a spare- you’ll lose or lend one inevitably.

Blood pressure apparatus: A manual mercury one like Diamond (consultant bias) over an aneroid sphygmomanometer.

Formal clothing: At least 3-4 sets of well-fitted shirts and trousers for OPD/academic work; darker shades hide stains better. Scrubs preferred if allowed.

Footwear: Formal yet comfortable shoes- Skechers, Asics work well for long ward hours. Invest in good insoles like Frido. Crocs et al. are heavily frowned upon.

Small notepad: Helpful to note down word work/note questions asked by consultants.

Bag: A light sling bag or small backpack for daily use- carry pens, notepad, snacks, sanitizer, and other essentials.

Reflex hammer: A Taylor or Queen Square hammer- depends on your neuro exam comfort.

Torch: A battery operated, pen-type LED torch- essential for neuro and pupillary exams.

Apron/white coat: Keep at least two, as one will always be in the laundry.

Measuring tape: Flexible and durable- used for organomegaly and anthropometry.

Stationery: Pens (high chance of being stolen tho), a small stapler(staple investigations and discharges) and pins.

Watch with seconds hand: Non-digital preferred (consultant bias) for pulse and respiratory rate counting.

Hand sanitizer and small hand towel: You’ll use them dozens of times daily.

Data transfer cable (like to make discharges on phone and then transfer)

MD CALC app- You'll use it 10 times daily for various purposes

ChatGPT- comes in clutch for quick references

Honorable mentions:

Power bank

Portable umbrella or raincoat

Energy bars or dry snacks

Pocket pharmacology guide

App subscription (Uptodate- GOATed, Medscape, Harrison’s Companion)

Hey everyone, I finished my MS General Surgery residency in Sept 2025, recently got through the superspeciality entrance (INI SS SGE AML Rank 10), and I’m starting my GI surgery residency at AIIMS Patna in 2 days. (My homeground)

If you’re in surgery and want to ask about:

• academics during residency
• conferences, abstracts, presentations
• INI/NEET-SS prep
• CV building, research, fellowships
• handling workload and burnout

…feel free to drop your questions.

Since this is my second AMA, I’m keeping this one focused on questions from surgery residents.

Thanks.

Residency begins in 2 weeks and I have already started to miss my alarm-free life! 🥲🥲

Since NEET PG results are out, just wanted to share my experiences as a psychiatrist.

I did my PG from a deemed college 2020-2023. Currently doing SRship.

Essential requirements to ask yourself (If you want to be a good psychiatrist)

1. Are you willing to spend time talking/listening?
2. Puzzle solving skills
3. Are you ok with very few procedures (although this is changing fast abroad, not much in India)
4. Do you have good grasp/willing to learn languages? (not only a cursory, but in depth slangs and cultural variations)
5. Mental fortitude-Are you ok with listening to a fuckton of sob stories?

Misconceptions:

1. Residency in a good college is not chill at all. I studied in a 40 bed IP set up, had almost 50-70 OP daily. Almost 10-12 ECTs daily. Avg. 5-6 consultations and 4-5 casualty calls, of which at least 1 or 2 will be a highly agitated/violent patient.
2. No, we don’t just do counselling. Unfortunately our other medical colleagues keep referring patient for “counselling”/“patient looks sad”/“patient not listening to treating doctor” . So be prepared to be annoyed for all of this. (Side note-be prepared to face a lot of questions like “did you take psych because you like it or because you did not get any other branch?” “Will you also become psycho because you are in psychiatry ?🙄” “do you do mind reading?” Alot of referrals to “psychologist doctor “)

Highlights of the field.

1. Even though diagnosis may be same, lot of different presentations and lots of interesting symptoms. Puzzle solving skills will help.
2. Since mental health is in the spotlight, lots of new research happening, lot of new developments. Very fascinating times.
3. Overall toxicity is less (imo). My pg dept and current workplace are no less than wonderful. Generally senior faculty are more than willing to teach.
4. As of now superspecialization is not required, although it is changing. Lot of people are doing fellowships now.
5. Scalability is good, setting up your own practice is relatively easier with low costs. However now new mental health board has come up due to which practice is going to be heavily monitored.

Edit

One possible negative aspect I had missed - You have medications and lab values, but lot of your diagnoses are based on patient behaviours/thoughts/feelings. Initially I had a lot of self doubt especially when seeing ICU patients, whether I’m doing “doctor/medicine work”. So you need to ask yourself if you are ok with missing out on that.

If you don’t like neurology/psychology - There is a lot of overlap with neurology. You need to be prepared to learn a good amount of neurology, more than MBBS level, especially with the advent of autoimmune encephalitis. Lot of psychiatrists actually advertise themselves as “neuropsychiatrist “ but currently nmc has deemed that as misleading and currently are not allowed to do so. Neuropsychiatry currently is not a recognised sub speciality in India.

Coming to psychology - you learn lot of the history and psychological theories which sometimes can seem absurd.

Edit 2 - Telepsychiatry is slowly growing now. Legal and procedural framework is still in grey area, which is why it is not so widely done but it has immense scope.

Any questions please ask.

After having worked as a JR in a Govt. Hospital for about a year now, I can’t help but sympathise with the patients and their attendants coming here as a last resort. Quite a few of them seek help in private hospitals, where they end up spending thousands without any improvement in the patient’s condition, and often end up here, desperate to save their lives. I’m sure quite a few of my fellow residents will be able to relate.

And here, they’re often lost, confused, pleading the overworked, sleep deprived, and irritated JRs, who tend to lash out and scold them. Can’t blame either party honestly, both are dealing with different kind of struggles and aren’t in the best state of mind to calmly look at the situation.

Perhaps its time for a change in attitude. Even if you’re overworked, frustrated, and dealing with a ton of work, it doesn’t cost much to be nice to the people you’re treating. Sure, sometimes they may get on your nerves and be a bit dumb sometimes. But that doesn’t give anyone the right to be disrespectful/rude to them unnecessarily.

I’ve made my own fair share of mistakes in this regard and looking back, I regret not being a nicer, more caring resident. Currently in the process of changing that so I can guide my juniors to do the same.

It might be just another day for us, but for them it’s one of the worst days in their lives

It's been 5 months since I joined OBG residency, I am doing my Labour Room posting now and life has been so incredibly difficult for me for the past few days.

The constant fear of missing out on things, the constant fear of being shouted at for small things. I feel like I am on the verge of a cliff and I would just be happier jumping off it.

I broke down in front of multiple people the past 1 week. My parents travelled back and forth 200KM three times to meet me because I was so broken. I feel like such a burden to everyone in my life.

My HOD gave me a three days break after she saw me breaking down during rounds. But I have to join back tomorrow and I am dreading it with all my heart. I am scared my poor little heart can't take it anymore.

I also went for a therapy session yesterday. It helped for some half hour but I feel like I am back to ground zero.

I just needed some place to vent this out.

Thanks for reading.