Dr. Joe’s Notes – December 2023 | Christmas or New Year’s?

I was raised in a family that celebrated Christmas. Not only did we celebrate Christmas, but we did it up big – Santa Claus, Christmas trees, carols, presents, and more cookies and food than you could imagine. Some of my fondest memories of childhood came from those Christmas celebrations. So, the fact that I’ve been a doctor for 38 years and never had to work even one Christmas day is truly a gift and something I still can’t believe I got away with.

During my residency, we all got a bonus vacation over the Christmas/New Year’s season. Half of us got a week off over Christmas and the other half got a week off over New Year’s. In return for this added benefit, we had to work every other night on-call when we weren’t on vacation. As it turned out, many residents didn’t celebrate Christmas or just wanted to work hard in the beginning and have a break afterwards. So, I always got my first choice of having vacation over Christmas every year!

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Joe Sherman, MD is a pediatrician, professional development coach, and consultant to individuals and healthcare organizations in the areas of cross-cultural medicine, leadership, and provider well-being. His mission is to help health professionals rediscover the joy of practicing medicine. Reach him at joe@joeshermanmd.com