simple definitions

okay, folks.

i’m only going to explain this once.

interns are doctors.

residents are doctors.

and fellows are doctors.

none of us are “in school” any longer. we are not medical students. we have passed that level.

we are the ones who stay in the hospital caring for your loved ones. we’re the ones who work through the night so your loved one can have some continuity of care.

idiotic tv shows like grey’s anatomy make it seem like physicians-in-training don’t know anything. i assure you that this was never the case for many of us. those of us who were good students may have even made the transition into physicianhood prior to graduating. yes, we may be in training, but we are not necessarily ignorant. having medical degrees, chances are high that we just might know more than you do.

we don’t make lots of money, but have amassed lots of debt. we take lots of abuse. we work lots of hours.

so be nice to us. we are the present AND the future of medical care.

in case you're wondering about me in specific, i am a fully trained, fully licensed, fully boarded paediatrician. i have chosen to go back into training for a paediatric subspecialty. i am only a "student" in that i will be for the rest of my life learning more and more about God, life, and the human body. i hope that explains some things. and now i have to go, because i'm coming onservice, and i have to get up at 0430 to be at the hospital at 0600 to work a ~12 hour workday and an ~80 hour work week (still less than i used to), and in my off time at home tonight i'm going to read 1) about my patients and 2) about some other general knowledge type stuff so that i can a) take good care of my patients and b) teach the residents how to take good care of them. but first i'm going to the store to buy some frozen pizzas and diet mountain dew. just kidding. actually, no i'm not kidding.