What happens when two medical residents bond over their love of books and literature?
If you ask second-year internal medicine residents Elizabeth “Abby” Pierce, DO, and Shirley Gandhi, DO, they will say it may spark an idea for house staff around the UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville to connect through books, discover Jacksonville and bond over local brews.
“I feel like reading is an escape,” Gandhi said.
Healthy hobbies and positive outlets can make navigating residency a bit easier. After polling residents from various departments, Gandhi and Pierce soon discovered they weren’t the only ones who retreated to the pages of a novel outside of their shifts – there was quite a bit of interest.
“We realized a lot of residents do enjoy reading and talked about it often while on campus,” Gandhi said. “Then we thought it would be a good idea if we had a book club that allowed us to see everybody outside of the hospital and enjoy something nonmedical.”
Not long after, the two were elected as social chairs for UF’s Resident Graduate Medical Education Committee, or GMEC. They kept the book club top of mind.
“Our number one priority was setting up this book club,” Pierce said. “It gives residents something to look forward to knowing that their friends and colleagues are reading a book together and then having good discussions at our meetings.”
They named it Reading Rounds, a nod to their daily rounds in internal medicine. Meetings are held once a month at local coffee shops around the city. The first meeting, held in June, had 16 residents attend.
As interest grows, their hope is this outlet will be a better alternative to endless scrolling on social media after work or being home alone.
“Lots of us get home and go straight to sleep, doom scroll on social media, or tend to whatever chores and responsibilities we may have around our homes, Pierce said. “Preparing for this may break up their out-of-office time in the best way. Instead of their normal routine, they can take time and read 10 pages out of their book.”
Too busy to read? You are still welcome to come. Cliffnotes of the book are provided to those who register before each meeting. Those interested can also take advantage of audiobooks.
“The Spotify platform has an option to listen to 15 hours of audiobooks for free,” Gandhi said. “We also have resources to download most books for free as well. That link is sent out monthly.”
The next book club will be on July 25. Residents who would like to participate in Reading Rounds can join the WhatsApp group by clicking here.