I’m OK, but there’s no doubt that July is a hard month for doctor types. My biggest challenge these days is remembering what it is like to be new, and just figuring out a system. It’s hard not to just take over and do what needs done. And, oh yeah, the other challenge about teaching new interns that they do nutty things like accidentally stab their attending physicians with a dirty scalpel.
I would have thought this would be a pretty obvious one, but apparently it’s not- so let me give you a friendly piece of advice. If you are ever a new intern that has thrust a bloodied scalpel into your attending’s finger with enough force to make a "tink" noise as it bounces off the bone. The right response when she points out the bone/metal contact is NOT "Well, of course, the bone is pretty close to the skin in that location."
Nooooooo. If your attending is terrified of needles, and now has to have three blood draws and six months of worry about whether she has contracted hepatitis, and can make your life a living hell for the next three years, you might consider instead: Begging pardon. Offering to stab your own finger. Washing her car. Writing her sonnets even but an anatomy lesson may not go over so well. Because, oh silly silly intern, I’m a doctor. I’m already very aware just where the bones of my hand are in relation to my skin. And, in case YOU forgot, I was reminded when you STABBED me.
I’m not sure this particular intern and I are going to be friends.
