Stigma of Gap Years Before Residency

Profession: Physician

Submitted On: November 8th, 2020

"I recently graduated from medical school and decided to take a gap year before residency. While taking a gap year before medical school is very common, gap years between residency and medical school isn't something that is commonly discussed. Because I was in a 7 year accelerated BS/MD program, I felt like I missed out on some life experiences since I never had time to slow down. Because of this, I felt extremely burnt out and decided to look into a gap year after med school, but there weren't many people online who shared their experiences about what it was like. Some comments that did talk about this topic on Student Doctors Network highlighted how residencies look down on applicants that take years off because they needed a break or needed time to think about the field. I think this attitude by residency programs is unnecessary, since it is perfectly valid for folks to feel burnt out after medical school and need time to recharge before committing to the workforce. I would even go so far to say that taking a wellness gap year should be a plus for the program, since physicians would come in refreshed, ready to learn and practice. The system needs to change to have a culture of wellness, not burnout. There is a reason why half of the profession is statistically burnt out, and I think this can only really be addressed if we change the culture."

We appreciate the opportunity to share stories like these with our community, with the goal of destigmatizing the struggles faced within the medical field.