Residency is filled with long hours, a lot of work, but it can also be full of surprises, meaningful downtime with colleagues and quirky stories. A picture is worth a thousand words, so CIR/SEIU Healthcare decided to hold their first-ever photo contest, asking for photos submissions taken by members representing what it's like to be a resident physician on any given day.

Photos were judged by a team that included CIR editorial staff, resident physicians, and professional photographers. Check out the winning submissions here.

"CIR Department Reps Welcome the New Skeleton"
1st place, Dr. Jared Toman of Boston Medical Center

The story behind the picture: "We were able to purchase this fantastic skeleton for the 25 residents in our department thanks to the generosity of the educational materials allowance provided by the CIR. The pictures residents are our departmental CIR reps, Adam Rana (taller left) and myself (shorter right). I hope this photo fits in with the lighter-hearted tone, but also helps demonstrate the real results that the CIR has on the everyday life of resident staff, especially at Boston Medical Center."

"Hanging Out in the Call Room"
2nd place, Dr. Sandra Mesliniene of St. Luke's Roosevelt

"Samurai Sword in Trauma"
3rd place, Dr. Wendy Ruggeri of Lincoln Medical Center

The story behind the picture: "A trauma night at Lincoln: A male patient came in stating he was sleeping with his sword and accidentally got it into his neck. The tip of the sword was inserted in a vertical plane, but did not violate the platysma. The patient made it without complications."

Congratulations to CIR's photo contest winners! Check out CIR's Flickr account for more shots of the residents in action at http://www.flickr.com/photos/cirseiu/

Special thanks to Tim Foley, CIR's New Media Director, for providing us with this information and winning photos.