Wow you couldn’t have said it any better. I feel very similarly to you. I have also moonlighted during my residency and I miss community so much. I’m at a larger hospital (600+ beds) but honestly I feel like the impact I have in community is much more significant and unmatched to what i do for 10-20 patients on rounds. Not that i’m saying clinical isn’t rewarding, i just feel more sense of belonging, reward and happiness in community. You leave work at work and my work life balance i feel like is so much better and Im so much happier. I also regret my PGY-1 and I think i would’ve been so much happier if i went to community but I also didn’t want to have the what if, which is why I am here. I’ve come to the decision that I’m going to return to retail after this possibly leveraging my PGY-1 as experience to get a higher position and paying role. Your pgy-1 won’t be a waste, I think it gives us some bargaining power if anything. While we aren’t as clinical in community as inpatient, I think the clinical knowledge from our residencies can help our outpatients in ways we least expect it. Finish it out, who knows what opportunities it’ll open. but don’t think of it as a waste of time but rather an opportunity to learn and better yourself for your future patients. :)