King of the idiots

As I'm fond of saying, I am no longer one of the idiots. Now that I'm a senior resident, I'm king of the idiots. My particular group of idiots are a nice group of folks, but wow, I have a hard time believing that I was that green when I started residency. Contrary to that, I hit the ground running as best as I could.

It's taken me a little while, but I actually feel like a senior resident now, and that's pretty funny. I mean, the difference a couple of days makes. Now the patients are sicker and I'm doing a whole lot more worrying. Still, I'm happy to say that my 'terns haven't killed anyone yet (not for lack of trying).

But the one thing I've realized as I've taken on my new role of senior idiot is that I really enjoy the teaching involved. I mean, it never occurred to me before, but I really do enjoy passing on knowledge, even if it's simple stuff. You know, doctor comes from docere which is Latin for teaching. Strange to say, it's the teaching and not the patient care that I really enjoy.

Oh, there's some stuff I like about patient care, but it's silly stuff. It's seeing my 49 year old hypertensive and managing his cholesterol and blood pressure medications. It's improving the exercise regimen of my 60 yr old diabetic. The thrill of seeing my name on a piece of paper has long since worn off. Now, what I really enjoy is seeing my patients and just talking to them and getting to know them.

I feel like I'm doing a pretty poor job as senior, but I'm trying my best. I hope that my interns are learning something.