#ResilientResidencyInsights 6 - You want to work smart through residency? Then hold on to this Book no matter what!

As-salamu alaykum,

One of the greatest struggles that you will have through residency and beyond as a healthcare worker is the constant tension of how best to allocate your limited resources - your personal time, your energy and your focus.

The Case for Working Smart

Throughout residency, you will be juggling patient care and studying to better understand the pathology and the management of the conditions that you encounter; family especially moms will insist that you make a regular check in with them regardless of your schedule; you will likely have to work on a number of projects around quality improvement, patient safety or core research etc. 

You get the drift!

It is unlikely that you will ever find the sweet spot that balances each of these without any tension.

However, it is possible to fulfill the rights of your core priorities and to achieve more with less despite your limited bandwidth.

Making smart choices that invest in your growth, not simply as a medical trainee but holistically across the 4 dimensions (physical, spiritual, mental and social/emotional) that we have referenced a few times at this point will be an essential part of that journey as is learning about tools unique to your residency workflow such as the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and other related technologies.

The Book to Help You Achieve More with Less

There is a book that can dramatically shift the odds in favor of you doing more with less.

It is no other than the Book of Allah - The Glorious Qur’an.

Allah, the Most High, said about His divine revelation;

Surah Al-An’am v92: “This is a blessed Book which We have revealed—confirming what came before it…”

Allah describes the Qur’an as a Blessed Book, in other words, a Book that is laced with Barakah.

Imam Raghib Al-Asfahani described Barakah as the “attachment of divine goodness to a thing” so that when it is attached to the thing, it causes it to increase. 

So if you want to do more with the little time that you will have through residency then there’s no better habit to cultivate than to regularly engage the Qur’an even for a few minutes a day because Allah, the Most High, has attached Barakah to His Book.

Practical Tips To Integrate the Qur’an into Your Residency Routine

1. Make sincere intention to cultivate this habit (or improve the quality if you already have a relationship)

2. Decide on when you will engage the Qur’an

3. Consider stacking this habit on to a habit that is already on autopilot

Fajr time is a quintessential time to engage the Qur’an as it is often distraction-free but more so because Allah made it a prime time because the recitation of the Qur’an at this time is witnessed by the Angels. You can do the same with other Salah times.

Try this system to help you stack your Qur’an engagement to another habit such as the habit of Fajr Salah: “I will read the Qur’an for X minutes after Y Salah everyday no matter what.”

4. Listen to the recitation of the Qur’an during your commute or your walk from the car to the hospital or back to your car. It has a calming effect to set up for the day or help you wrap with ease.

5. Leverage the Qur’an applications. This may sound obvious but for some folks who prefer to recite from the physical copy of the Qur’an, that preference can get in the way of making meaningful progress hence the mention here. If you must then keep a hard copy on you or close by in the locations that you frequent.

6. Find a Qur’an buddy: colleagues locally or even remotely who can help hold you accountable to your commitment or even better recite alongside.

7. Reflect and/or journal about the Barakah effect in your day as you are increasingly able to do more with less with regular engagement with the Qur’am.  

Clayton M. Christensen, a renowned Harvard Business School professor wrote in his acclaimed essay, “How Will You Measure Your Life?”; “When I was a Rhodes scholar, I was in a very demanding academic program, trying to cram an extra year’s worth of work into my time at Oxford. I decided to spend an hour every night reading, thinking, and praying about why God put me on this earth. That was a very challenging commitment to keep, because every hour I spent doing that, I wasn’t studying applied econometrics. I was conflicted about whether I could really afford to take that time away from my studies, but I stuck with it - ultimately figured out the purpose of my life.” 

Like Professor Christensen’s experience in the Rhodes scholar program, residency will be intense and you will be pulled in many different directions as we have already alluded to. 

Making smart choices with your time to invest in your personal growth across the different dimensions will be essential to your longer term success. Investing in a relationship with the Qur’an so that you can tap into the Barakah is one of those choices you will have to make. Like your Salah, it’s at risk of being pushed to the wayside. Only you can guard against that with divine support.

May Allah, the Most High, make us all from among the people of the Qur’an and those who make smart choices in this life towards success in this life and the hereafter. Amin. 

Sincerely,

Sulyman

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