By: Madikay Faal, PGY-2
During a mundane day at the hospital, the list of diseases and procedures one could hear is never-ending. New expensive medicines are being developed around the clock, but for many of us it is far too easy to forget the original prescription: sunshine. It is free, consistent, and widely available. In this brief piece, I hope to highlight why we need to prescribe it more for our colleagues and for ourselves.
Who can blame us for forgetting it at times? As clinicians, we spend numerous hours in the hospital. The artificial lights of desktops and patient rooms are simply our norm. To obtain a workroom with a view is equivalent to a winning residency lottery ticket. The sacrifice is unfortunately necessary, but as our brains are pushed to their limits it, is no wonder that we count down until our next day off. Fatigue builds and while we would all like to imagine ourselves as superhuman, reality doesn’t usually reflect that. Burnout is real, and to make sure we are able to provide the human element of medicine, it is important that we refer back to the original human needs.
The difference between the present and thousands of years ago is stark. Although survival was at the forefront of their minds, I imagine that the people of that age were able to succeed at something many of us are unable to do. We all try to seize the day, but in their world lacking modernity’s many advancements, they likely bested us in their ability to enjoy nature’s simple pleasures.
It is not completely our fault—smartphones and electronic medical records are an unignorable staple in the lives of all residents. However, during the most melancholic points of residency, when it felt like the night shifts would never end and workroom walls were pushing in from multiple directions, it wasn’t Instagram that helped revitalize me. It was the sun.
Yellow, warm, and 93 million miles away, this great sphere in the sky helped me to do something we should all prioritize more—anchoring. Stepping out on non-tile earth and breathing in fresh clean air serves as an important reminder. Although our world sometimes feels limiting, there are millions of other pieces moving out there in harmony, and it is comforting at times to just go with that flow.
Anchors to life can come in various forms. Friends, faith, and activity can do wonders for the soul, but they are easily deprioritized when life becomes busy. Consistent rediscovery is necessary, and I would argue that in this world where many are feeling disconnected from each other, connecting back with the ground below us and the vast sky above us is a good first and important step.
Savoring sunshine to me means, most importantly, to savor being human. It is normal to feel disheartened by overly long days; however, I find consolation in the fact that, regardless of the shift outcome, the sun will rise again and bring opportunities to enjoy the simple pleasures of life, friendship, and caring for others. In this career where so much is out of our control, those precious moments can be fleeting. That said, it is all the more important that we savor them when we can.