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Congratulations! You’ve received your M.D. It’s been four years of stressful studying, hard lessons, and difficult patients. Yet you still made it to the other side and you’re about to start your residency. In some cases, you may be moving to a brand new city or state. The period after graduation and your residency start date is a stressful time. Here are some pointers for your first month as a new doctor.

• Do take some time off. This is your last extended vacation before some intense work weeks and call schedules– take advantage of this precious vacation time.
• Don’t get used to having so much time off.
• Do find a place to live and start getting settled ahead of time. You want as much time as possible to unpack and explore your new area.
• Do purchase textbooks, required reading, and medical journal or podcast subscriptions with any graduation money you receive.
• Do take time to practice your commute before your first day. Do it on a work day so you won’t be overwhelmed by rush hour traffic.
• Do send an email out to your fellow residents– if you’re moving alone, you might want to try and meet up with some of them before your official orientation starts.
• Don’t put off doing your paperwork. Start it early and send it in as soon as possible.
• Do follow up with your med school and make sure they sent in the necessary paperwork on their end.
• Do throw away or burn your old medical school white coat.
• Don’t force your friends and family to refer to you as Doctor. It gets old. Fast.