Monday, December 14, 2009

Do Nots

Spurred on by my observations at work, I have come up with a list of things to avoid as a doctor in a hospital setting (especially for interns and medical students):

1. Don't wear jeans under your white coat. Its unprofessional, even though it may be more comfortable and convenient.

2. Don't roll up the sleeves of your white coat. You're not a butcher.

3. Don't wear a customised operating theatre cap. You only earn that once you're the boss.

4. Don't drape a stethoscope over your shoulders as a medical student when its clear that you have no idea what to do with it.

5. For the ladies - don't put on lots of makeup and perfume. Especially medical students. I don't worry about the interns, because after a few on-calls they spontaneously eliminate that aspect of their morning routine.

6. Interns - don't spend all day long socialising over cups of coffee. Yes, your existence here is trivial and your job mostly mindless and routine, but that doesn't mean you should be flaunting the fact that you have no work to do. That will just get you into trouble.

7. Do not write short, incomprehensible patient notes. You haven't earned that right just yet. Only the boss can write something he or she only understands and not be criticised for it. Because its HIS/HER patient, not yours you little scoundrel.

8. Don't show up later than your seniors. That may sound like common sense but surprisingly still occurs, requiring a prompt kick up the arse on morning rounds.

9. Do not forget to show the proper respect to anyone who is more senior than you, be it Doctor, Nurse or even orderly. They have been around for much longer than you have, and have seen many junior doctors come and go. You're nothing special.

10. Don't give up on medicine. Even though you may take a lot of abuse, the money and hours are not that great, and the perceived public worth of the physician is ever-diminishing; it can still be a very rewarding profession. Nothing is more fulfilling than helping another human being out when they need it the most. A lot of people go out of their way to do stuff like that for free out of their own time. You get paid to do it, so count yourself lucky.

21 Comments:

At 9:50 AM , Blogger Unknown said...

Totally loved ur post ... looking forward to more
Shantanu Bhattacharyya

 
At 8:23 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

 
At 11:40 PM , Blogger Derek said...

LOL, I'm a Paramedic student and I've spent my fair share of time until now working in a Hospital setting.. I love it. I'll be back to read much more often! Looking forward to the next post!
www.thespinoflife.blogspot.com

 
At 11:50 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

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At 1:08 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

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At 6:08 PM , Blogger Nurul Vengeance said...

A few clicks will help @TWLOHA win $1 Million for suicide prevention. Please share this with others. Vote here: http://bit.ly/7si7Be

 
At 7:38 AM , Blogger misskris28 said...

I grow less passionate by the hour I sour
you know how it is
when your lips recoil from the acid of your own tongue like the way a persimmon or spinach or an unripe banana feels on your teeth
Unripe, not right, raw.

The juice is willing, the intention, right, the chemistry, wrong.
I wish for that the viscousness of the perfect pineapple, the sun ripe peach, the imported apricot, touched with honey...............and a raw almond in the middle.

I AM ASPARAGUS PEE.

 
At 4:02 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

 
At 10:49 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Very interesting!

 
At 7:45 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

 
At 9:04 AM , Blogger !Teq-uila Del Zapata said...

ha ha, good post. many of my friends are doctor(as in they are still studying).
Its a loads of hard work and loads of patience to become a doctor.

 
At 5:01 PM , Blogger Jovanna said...

they say pharmacy is a harder course than medicine
they say physiotherapy is a harder course than medicine
but i would prefer one of the other professions as to the label of a medical doctor
why?
-too much responsibility
-if someone else in the team makes a mistake, the patient/client automatically says it's your fault
-you have to tell families when their relative has died
-you have to tell patients/clients that they should set their house in order because they're going to die
-you have to bow and scrape to those above you so that they will allow you to tag along
-you have to know how to make friends with the nurses or your life as a doctor is not worth beginning
-you get on-call work and sometimes have to work 48 hour shifts
-people die on you


why do doctors write short unambiguous notes that no one else in the medical team can understand anyway?
why do doctors talk to people without looking at them?
why do doctors look down on the other health professions even though they help make life easier and less hectic for the doctors?
why do doctors blame some peole in the health profession for doing something they didn't want done if it wasn't clearly documented in the notes anyway?
honestly... sorry, my perspective is being clouded by my experiences as a student in the hospital
As you've probably guessed, i'm not a doctor... yet...

 
At 11:33 PM , Blogger Jerry said...

baloobabbybubbubgwackgwack to the dome

 
At 3:35 AM , Blogger Unknown said...

Please sign my petition to help get me out of this sickening house!

http://www.petitiononline.com/sm199613/petition.html

(Proof that I'm not a Spambot, title of the blog is: "Do Nots")

 
At 7:24 PM , Blogger Shelly said...

LOL this is cool.

 
At 7:40 PM , Blogger Izanrelur&Xesetarip said...

Been reading your blog for a while now and have finally decided to comment. I find everything you have to say is very interesting and I'm always waiting for the next one.

Izanrelur
http://aliensuperduo.blogspot.com/

 
At 1:35 AM , Blogger François Comeau Lapointe said...

"Don't show up later than your seniors. That may sound like common sense but surprisingly still occurs, requiring a prompt kick up the arse on morning rounds."

How so? I'm paid to work a certain number of hours. I won't go and try to work some more just because some seniors do so. If the job is done I see no problem!

-François Comeau-Lapointe

 
At 2:29 AM , Blogger J. Harris Speed said...

Loved the random posts. I have been checking out a few random post blogs. I just started one a couple of weeks ago and it is utterly random. Thanks letting me view.

 
At 12:29 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Exactly why I didn't go into medicine.

Random and

Insightful Blog

 
At 1:11 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have to disagree with the first comment; wearing the right jeans actually makes you look good.
umnotablogger.com

 
At 5:12 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

I absolutely adored this post. Thank you for sharing!

 

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