BLOG: The ‘first of July’
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
In medical and surgical training programs for residencies and fellowships, the first of July marks a critical, transitional 24 hours.
It is certainly a milestone for graduating medical students and medical residents, starting residency and fellowships, respectively.
In a prior post in 2017, I dedicated the July 1 post to telling the story of an international medical graduate who came from thousands of miles away to start residency in a busy city hospital. As the post detailed, his first day of residency — the first of July — was spent in the ICU.
That post was about the struggles of an international medical graduate, pursuing his dream residency in America, crossing continents and oceans and striving to overcome several obstacles, not the least of which was his very long name that he had to spell over and over! His was similar to my own story. I endured many difficulties coming from Amman, Jordan, to Michigan in the early 1990s to pursue internal medicine residency at Hurley Hospital in Flint.
This post is about a fellow who started his endocrinology fellowship on July 1 in our program. Scott Mazurek, DO, was a senior medical resident (PGY3) at our residency program. With genuine passion for endocrinology, Scott made it clear from his early days of residency that he would pursue endocrinology as a career.
Scott introduced himself in the fall of 2017 during our annual endocrine symposium. This symposium is popular in mid-Michigan, and it was launched in the mid-1970s by David Rovner, MD, the founder of MSU Endocrinology. Scott had just started his residency and made sure to spend that Saturday attending the symposium. He then took an elective in our division. Scott had to skip the first few days of the rotation, due to the occasion of the birth of his daughter. He expressed to us a sincere apology for missing those few days. He appeared so eager, wanting to use every hour of the rotation to learn endocrinology. This was quite impressive and telling — it is not uncommon for residents to take their vacation during an endocrinology elective!
No wonder that Scott deservedly obtained the endocrine division’s award during the residency graduation in June. This year’s ceremony was the first to be held outdoors, following strict CDC guidelines, but it was still a special ceremony filled with joy and celebration.
On Wednesday, Scott rounded with me and the other fellow. As I introduced the team to one of the patients, I said, jokingly, “This is Dr. Scott Mazurek, who was a resident until midnight yesterday, and today he is a fellow.” Scott was still wearing the residency white coat, as he had not yet had the opportunity to collect his fellowship uniform and gear, which we also joked about during the round.
The sad thing about this July, for incoming residents, is that we are in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
I was so disheartened when I read a story on social media last week posted by an internist/hospitalist in a teaching hospital in an area in the country that is now experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases. He wrote about his concerns for the incoming class of residents, the risk for contracting the virus and the rising number of hospitalizations. In some hospitals, the ICUs are almost at capacity.
So this year’s first of July is different for new residents and fellows.
In this new year, starting on the first of July, I hope and pray that our residents and fellows stay safe and healthy, being on the frontlines in the fight against this merciless disease.
Collapse