An End, a Beginning, and Some Thanks

My last post. I wish I had something sage to say, but I don't. It's amazing to me that it was only five years ago that this all began. As I say every year, I still remember exactly where I was when I got the news. I was so happy, taller even. A dream realized, and now, I'm only months away from the actual diploma. It has gone by so fast (though some parts faster than others).

So this is the end. In truth, it is also a beginning. This blog was the start of something special for me personally. Perhaps 95% of what I wrote here was garbage, but I think there was something good in the other 5%. Some posts were the skeletons for eventual journal publications, two were the outlines for research projects that I currently coordinate, and many were important for my own self-development. It is also the impetus for my next writing project, Resident Murmurs, which will give my writing new meaning in the medical community.

Numerous people have asked me if I was ever worried I would publish something wrong or naive, something that would hurt my career. As I look back on past posts, there was a ton of stuff that was wrong, and a lot of posts that were naive. But that's growing up. That's why I write -- to look back and do better, teach better, and learn better for next time. I have no regrets; it has been a wonderful process.

There are a few people I should thank. Above all, my mother, Kathy Swendiman, who is a saint. She read and revised every single post (all 235!) that I wrote. Every misspelling, every made up word (of which there were many, she likes to remind me). This blog would not exist without her. I used to joke that writing was a way of keeping my parents "posted" as I went through medical school, ensuring that they wouldn't call so much. Truth is, I called them anyway, and they put up with my inane drivel for five (going on 28) years.

This blog was actually inspired by my sister, Shelley. While she was in Ukraine for two years plus, she wrote regularly in her Peace Corps service blog. For better or for worse, thank you Shelley for reminding me the power of story-telling and reflection. You ignited the fire, i.e. this is your fault, per usual.

Finally, thank you to anyone who actually read this crap. I just hope you got something out of it -- insight into the musings of an aspiring doctor, an occasional giggle, or thinking differently about something, I just hope it was worth it. Thank you.

And with that, I retire from the Blogosphere. Starting March 21st I move on, writing with some of my colleagues at Resident Murmurs (www.residentmurmurs.org). I hope you continue to follow us on our journey through medical training. See you never.


Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose, or paint can manage to escape the madness, melancholia, the panic, and fear which is inherent in a human situation. - Graham Greene