Inaugural 2018 CA3 weekend retreat
Like me, I suspect many operate their lives with to-do lists that span varying lengths. My days are managed by an outlook calendar of to-do’s, and even more urgent are the four to five daily phone alarms I set so that I don’t forget to call my sisters on their birthdays, or get my annual PPD planted. On my desk at any given time are three to six post-its for the week-month chores: numerous letters of recommendations to write, or big-lift projects for the program that have bubbled up to an on-deck circle of my PD availability. And then, there’s the aspirational pile that resides somewhere in my consciousness — big lifts that I never seem to have the capacity to tackle. This year, thanks to the Residency Support Council, and to two very motivated CA3s (thank you, Maria and Grace!), we got a huge thing off of my aspirational wish list — Resident Retreats!
Several months ago, we brought the CA1s and their families into our simulation center for a day in the life of a Cornell Anesthesiology resident experience. I always want to augment our trainees’ loved ones’ connections to the four-year training program and being able to witness and partake in anesthesia emergencies, or work with airway skills, IV trainers, and ultrasound machines, were all really fun ways of achieving that.
And over the last few weeks, both our CA3 and CA2 classes traveled upstate on separate weekends for a retreat away in Coxsackie, New York along the Hudson River. We rented them an amazing riverside house with a batting cage, kayaks, foosball, Ping-Pong, trampoline, karaoke… and a few faculty joined for certain parts. In addition to a work-free weekend away in the Hudson River Valley, both retreats had a thematic focus: the CA2s (“Learning to Lead”) held discussion sessions focused on the transition into the final year of training while the CA3s (“Learning to Fly") delved into what to expect from professional life as junior attendings. I was fortunate enough to be a part of the CA3 weekend (along with my four-year-old daughter) and was touched to be in the presence of this tight-knit group of anesthesiologists weeks away from their graduation as they reflected upon their four years with us at Cornell in such a relaxed and beautiful setting.
A great vision come to fruition for me… Congrats, Class of 2018!
CA2 weekend retreat
E.B.