Residency is a right of passage (and requirement) in the development of anyone altruistic, sadistic, or narcissistic enough to pursue a career as a physician in America.
The progression of each individual, man and woman, from naïve undergraduate pre-medical student to naïve medical student to overwhelmed Resident to newly-minted Attending Physician is a long and tiring process; Residency represents the final and most taxing leg in this pursuit.
Depending on the field of medicine pursued, the training in Residency will span 3 to 5 years, potentially longer if one desires even more specialized training.
Each of these years brings with it new challenges, burdens, and failures; these are buttressed by the highlights, accolades, and patients who refer to you as “my doctor.”
None of these are equal or in proportion to the amount of time invested.
Not everyone who starts Residency finishes.
The product of each and every Residency is the Resident it transforms from medical school graduate into Attending Physician. This metamorphosis is akin to the sluggish caterpillar being reborn as the majestic butterfly.
Though each Residency has a “class of Residents” representing each year of training, the outcome for each of these members may not be the same; certainly the process will not be the same, as individuals have their medical knowledge and clinical skills carved out with every moment of their individual training.
Only on the very last day of Residency will every member of each Resident class have completed, in differing sequences, the requirements to achieve the status of Attending Physician.
They will have encountered different patients, performed a myriad of diverse procedures, and possess thousands of hours of clinical experiences.
The Residency program in which I find myself is no different. I am now a member of the PGY-3 (3rd year) class; the last year of our training.
At this juncture, I have cared for thousands of patients, spent nearly 7000 hours practicing my craft, and been bestowed with a persona I could have never imagined.
Amongst my peers, I have become Magneto; born from the cauldron of uncertainty brewed during Night Float; and then battling amongst the other aspects of my developing psyche, every day inching closer to becoming an Attending Physician.
But there are others like Magneto, each whom have been submerged in the icy depths of a Code Blue, roared into the uncertain waters of a Septic Shock, withstood the calamity of a bezerk office patient, and succumbed to the simultaneous terror and awe of newborn’s cry.
They are The Allies of Magneto.
In our program, The Allies of Magneto have the opportunity to train in all aspects of medicine: obstetrics, gerontology, surgery, trauma, cardiology, nephrology, critical care, gynecology, pediatrics, acute care, neurology, and chronic disease management.
We each develop strengths and weaknesses, preferences and avoidances, as a means to mold our calling as society’s guardians of health and wellness.
Red Panda, The Prince, Joker, Doc O, Big Red, Jane Grey, and BeastMode, amongst others, have shared moments of fear, trepidation, joy, anxiety, and solace with Magneto.
Each has toiled within the confines of a profession on the brink of meltdown and burnout. Each has contemplated a life outside of medicine. Each has longed for the ability to practice as they preach.
Each of them, now on the precipice of completing the journey to Attending Physician, having been taught to “Do No Harm”, have a host of decisions to make.
Who have they become amidst the countless hours of training?
How can they salvage their innate desire to do good, damn the barriers and obstacles placed in front of them?
Are they ready for what lay ahead?
For those who have joined Magneto on this winding journey, one chapter will soon come to an end.
But the author’s pen is patiently waiting, the next chapter slowly bubbling to the surface.
The Allies of Magneto, a group matured by the innumerable hours caring for those who seek their aid, hope to simultaneously shape their future and the future of those they serve.
No longer will the icy depths of a Code Blue, the uncertain waters of a Septic Shock, the calamity of a bezerk office patient, and the simultaneous terror and awe of newborn’s cry, cause them trepidation.
Instead, they will emerge from a 3-year-long cocoon to become the next generation of Family Physicians, forever remembered in my mind as The Allies of Magneto.
Elbrecht's Corpuscle 
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