The start of a new year is a time for reflection, renewal, and resolve. For physicians, it often comes with an unspoken question: Do you still remember the spark that first lit your path into medicine? In the endless churn of shifts, charting, and late-night calls, that spark can dim. The burnout we push to the margins of our consciousness slowly edges its way into the center of our being. And yet, the heart of medicine—the reason we chose this calling—remains within reach.
Medicine is not just a career; it is an intimate contract with humanity. It is found in moments small and sacred: the squeeze of a hand as reassurance, the careful explanation of a diagnosis that changes everything, the quiet hope you offer when science can no longer cure. But in the noise of deadlines and metrics, these moments are often drowned out. We forget to look for them. We forget to hold them.
This year, let us resolve to rediscover them.
Rediscovery is not a grand gesture. It is a practice, a discipline of seeing the world and our patients with renewed clarity. It might begin with a journal kept in your pocket, ready to catch fleeting moments that remind you of the privilege of being trusted with another’s life. It might involve finding a mentor to guide you back to the values that led you here or taking five minutes between patients to breathe, to reset, to remind yourself of the meaning in your work.
For me, rediscovery began during a particularly grueling rotation. The weight of sleepless nights, critical decisions, and endless notes felt unbearable. But then, during a quiet conversation with a patient—a woman with metastatic cancer who wanted nothing more than to speak about her grandchildren—I remembered. I remembered that while medicine is filled with knowledge and skill, its true essence is connection. That moment, simple and unassuming, reignited something within me. I saw my purpose again: to bear witness, to care, and to heal where I can.
Burnout tells us that we must endure. But rediscovery reminds us that we can rejoice. Rejoice in the patient whose test results bring relief. Rejoice in the colleague who helps you laugh after a long shift. Rejoice in the moments of quiet when you sit with your coffee and reflect on the privilege of this life, however hard it may feel.
Let this be your New Year’s resolution: to notice. To feel. To rediscover. Not every day will feel purposeful, and that is OK. Purpose does not demand perfection; it asks only that we pause long enough to see it, even in the midst of chaos. Medicine is hard, yes, but it is also beautiful—so long as we allow ourselves the space to find its beauty.
This year, let us resolve to hold onto that spark, to protect it fiercely, and to let it guide us forward.
Shanice Spence-Miller is an internal medicine resident.
