It’s July.

It’s that time of year again.

Those involved in medical education — or just those that work at academic medical centers — know that this is the time of the year when brand new interns step into their roles as doctors.

Cue all the jokes about July being the worst time to be sick in a hospital.

During my chief resident year I was in charge of the first Journal Club session of the academic year. I assigned the residents an article about the July effect. You can find that article by here: Annals of Internal Medicine.

Jokes aside, I think the month of July is an exciting month to be involved in medical education. It’s a time of very new beginnings. As an attending physician supervising learners it is a time of heightened stress. However, I think it’s also a time of when you get to see new baby doc spread their wings for the very first time. This is the first time they are addressed as “Doctor.” These are the first orders they will write as a physician. This is the beginning of the rest of their professional careers.

The transition is defintely not always smooth-sailing. But it is definitely worth the trip.