The Three Places We Find Joy with Dr. Richard Abrams

Richard Abrams, MD, is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Associate Dean of Learning Environments at Rush Medical College (Rush University). Dr. Abrams completed his Medical school from University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago and Residency from Rush University Medical Center, where he continued on as a chief resident. He practices as a general internist and hospitalist at Rush and has been heavily involved in graduate medical education as a past internal medicine residency program director, a dean for graduate medical education at Rush and in his current role as an Associate Dean of Learning Environments is bridging the gap between graduate and undergraduate medical education. There are three places to find joy, according to Dr. Richard Abrams. There is joy in what we do, there is joy in working with others, and—most importantly—there is the joy we find within ourselves. Today, we discover how to find joy in each of these areas of life. And as we continue on this journey of medicine, asking ourselves what brings us joy should be a driving force behind the decisions we make. When we realize how to find joy within ourselves, we’ll find it in the people that we work with, and in our careers. Pearls of Wisdom: 1. The joy in medicine exists in three parts: The joy in what you do, the joy in working with others, and finding joy within yourself. We should ask ourselves how we can start to find joy in each compartment of our life. 2. Your relationship with a mentor is like a professional mother or father. They not only shape your career trajectory, but they’ll imbibe in you the values they teach. And, they’ll treat you like family. 3. We need to be open to the things we don’t want to hear, because sometimes people can see things in us that we don’t necessarily see in ourselves. 4. Success as a young physician contains three things: Being present, being reflective, and being able to utilize the knowledge that is at our disposal in the very best ways we can take better care of our patients.