by Katie Myrick, MD
A compilation of ‘thank yous’ for a few of the things that got me through the last 3 years.
To my husband, Wood:
Thank you for everything you have done in and around our home. You worked hard in the background to keep our living space less cluttered than my brain, and you turned our first house into a home. I am so grateful for this. Thank you for doing the shopping and preparing dinners. Without you, I would have survived for 3 years on Amy’s frozen meals, trail mix, crackers, hummus, and chocolate. This would have left me with hypertension and many vitamin deficiencies. Thank you for loving me and being patient with me during some of the most difficult months of my life. I’m sure it has not been easy, but your dedication and stability have been essential to my successful completion of this stage in my career. Thank you for encouraging me to take care of myself, for keeping me honest, and for holding me accountable to myself and my loved ones. You have reminded me to keep perspective and to nurture the things that will enrich me beyond the end of training.
To my family:
Thank you for making me laugh. Your charm and goofiness are just what I need when I’m tired and burnt out. Thank you for always sounding awestruck and impressed by my stories about work. Sometimes I just wanted to feel like a superhero. Thank you for sympathizing with me when I complained about my crazy schedule. I appreciate you for letting me whine. Thank you for being proud of me, and telling me so.
To our new friends and my co-residents:
Thank you for helping us make a home in Salt Lake City. Moving to a new place in the middle of a global pandemic would have been so much harder without you. Thank you for joining our ‘chosen’ family and for welcoming us into yours. We appreciate that you let us support you through your ‘lows’ as much as we loved celebrating your ‘highs’ with you. Thank you for spending time with me. Our walks, runs, thrift shopping expeditions, and meals together helped make me happy and helped me stay grounded. Thank you for checking in on me. I know you had your own stuff going on. It meant the world to me when you’d set aside a little space in your brain and a little time in your day to reach out and make sure I was okay. Thank you for encouraging me and inspiring me to be a better doctor. You are all amazing people, and you motivate me to be great too.
To my old friends:
Thank you for sending me texts, cards, and flowers. You really are gold. Sometimes I was afraid that I had lost you because, throughout residency, I wasn’t very good at remembering birthdays and keeping in touch, but you stuck with me and made me feel special and loved. Thank you for reminding me of who I was before this journey. It’s easy to get lost in the ‘medicine hole’. You showed me that I have not always been and will not always be in that hole–that I have a life and personality outside of my job. Thank you for helping me stay connected to my roots and myself.
To the outdoors:
Thank you for creating a space for my brain to rest and for my body to exercise. With every minute spent in nature, I became less stressed, more clear-headed, and rejuvenated.
To our dog, Juno:
Thank you for being the most excited to see me come home from work. It’s impossible not to smile when I see you lose your mind with joy because you heard my car pull into the driveway. Thank you for the snuggles, the kisses, and the companionship. Thank you for getting me outside. When I was too tired to exercise for myself, I still had to exercise for you. You brought my cholesterol, my resting heart rate, and my cortisol levels down.
To mental health care and my therapist:
Enough said 🙂
To my patients:
Thank you for trusting me with your health. There were days when I felt like I could hardly care for myself, let alone 20+ other people. Your trust and belief in me not only helped me learn, but it also helped me believe in myself. Thank you for putting in the work to take care of yourselves. My role as your doctor is to facilitate your successes and cheer you on as you do the hard work. It felt so good to celebrate you when you cured yourself of your diabetes and your obesity, when you’d been sober for a year, and when we got to peel off a medication because your hypertension was better controlled with lifestyle. Thank you for your complimentary comments. I have them saved in a folder on my computer that I named ‘pick me ups’. While external validation can’t be the only thing that motivates a person, it definitely helps.
To my residency program:
Thank you for all the work you have done behind the scenes to keep the machine running and to graduate good doctors. I am grateful for all the hours that you poured into coordinating my schedule, helping me keep up with requirements, teaching me, and making sure I was on track for success. I really wouldn’t be here without all your dedication.
Dr. Katie Myrick was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina. She received both her undergraduate degree (B.S. in biology) and her medical doctorate from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her professional interests include full-spectrum care, public health, health services research, care for Spanish[1]speaking populations, care for the underserved, obstetrics, pediatrics, and reproductive health. In her time outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her husband Wood, running (for sport or pleasure), hiking, cooking, thrift shopping, and keeping up with her family and friends. Katie chose the University of Utah because of the thoughtful community of residents and faculty that she met when she visited. During residency, she wanted to nurture her interests in pediatrics, obstetrics, reproductive health care, and care for the underserved while continuing to improve her mastery of the Spanish language. She found that she could do all of that (without having to sacrifice natural beauty or access to the outdoors) at The U!
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