Summer marks the transition period for many professional programs. Regardless of whether you have just completed pharmacy school or a residency program, you are likely undergoing a transition period into your new role. Once the excitement and newness of your new role starts to fade, you may become overwhelmed with the competing deadlines and responsibilities. Anticipating this shift and setting yourself up for success now are key to a successful year.

Read, read, read … and read some more

As a resident, you are paid to learn as much as you can in a year. During your APPEs, you likely learned how to incorporate guidelines or consensus statements into your practice, but as you progress through your residency year, you’ll be expected to dive deeper into the literature. Having a better understanding of the primary literature and identifying publications as they come out will allow you to gain confidence in critically evaluating studies and strengthen the recommendations you make to your preceptors and clinical teams. If you are unsure where to start, ask your preceptors what they do to stay up-to-date with new literature, and adopt practices that you find beneficial.

Consider developing a system to organize the literature you have accessed; this will make it easier to reference later and prevent you from repeatedly searching for the same articles. Previous residents have used cloud-based software to help improve accessibility across devices; however, there is no one-size-fits-all approach.

Keep a running to-do list

Throughout the year, you will have multiple competing projects and responsibilities that will test your time management skills. Find a way to organize your deadlines and upcoming tasks in an easy-to-manage system. Some past residents have found success in using an online calendar system, virtual/physical sticky notes, a physical planner, or a virtual project timeline tracker system. Identifying your preferred method will require trial and error; however, the sooner you can develop a routine before these responsibilities truly kick off, the more smoothly your year will progress.

Start early

The year will be over more quickly than you realize. Although maintaining an organized list of deadlines is important, getting started EARLY on projects is equally important. There are several “hard” deadlines that leave no room for movement; however, a large part of the year depends on you and your ability to effectively bring your project to completion. Residents often forget to build in time for preceptor feedback and revisions. As a courtesy to your preceptors, you should build in 1–2 weeks for preceptors to return feedback. You will likely encounter roadblocks throughout the year that you may not have anticipated. Getting started early will allow you the time to navigate these challenges as they come up and continue to meet your required deadlines – your future self will thank you.

Don’t neglect yourself

The final key for a successful transition is to continue doing the things that bring you joy outside work. Continue to connect with friends and family to help keep you accountable for your well-being throughout the year. People close to you in your life often know you the best and can help identify when you may need to take a pause to focus on yourself. Often, residents feel they must completely sacrifice their personal life for residency when, in fact, they just need to adjust according to the ebb and flow of the varying requirements. Residents rarely use their PTO, which is to their detriment. Approach your PTO the same way you do your other residency projects – develop a plan early for maximal use. Identify hobbies early on that you enjoy, and try to continue these as much as possible during residency. Most institutions do not allow you to cash out your days at the end of the year; hence, if you don’t use it, you lose it.

Remember why you decided to do a residency because it can be a long, but rewarding year. Don’t forget to celebrate your wins as you encounter them, and don’t hesitate to ask for help from your mentors when needed. Congratulations on your recent graduation from pharmacy school or PGY1 programs, and best of luck this upcoming year!