“I’ve done this thousands of times, if you do not intubate him he will die quickly. I’m a pro, but I don’t have all night: either decide to let me do my job or he dies. But remember, he could die while I do the procedure as well.” These were the words that echoed around a group of 5 siblings, a spouse, and 10 grandchildren, lost in the chaos of an abruptly ill grandfather. The children had medical questions, the spouse legitimate concerns, and all the resident could do was spill his ago and rigid agenda onto the scene. Each 10 minutes he would intrude on a sensitive family conversation with a blunt statement, “it’s getting late, I’ve done this 1,000 times, if you don’t do it he will die, but if I do it he may day also, it’s a grim scenario.” He then went back to laughing as he scrolled through his twitter feed, literally. Initially, I figured he was perhaps in his 4th year of residency, had proficient expertise, and was just ill-trained at proper bedside manner. Working in the healthcare field and having witnessed this scenario 100 times over, I pulled him aside to remind him: these people are in shock, have some sensitivity or get another resident on the case. He barked back with indignation. Within 5 minutes, I had looked up his credentials and experience: he was a PGY-1, and surely did not perform this procedure more than 200 times; he graduated medical school 15 months prior. I swiftly reminded him that his lies, attitude, and careless outlook do not suite an efficient physician. He exploded.
Working in biotech and healthcare analytics, I happen to know his boss’s boss, and began contemplating giving him a call about his rogue resident. I pondered, observed, and sat in introspection. My distaste for him as a physician evolved into mercy, as I became mindful of what this young man had endured, and probably goes through on a daily basis. My envisaged phone call to his boss’s boss changed from a complaint against this resident to a direct complain against one thing: the medical education system.
Working in biotech and healthcare analytics, I happen to know his boss’s boss, and began contemplating giving him a call about his rogue resident. I pondered, observed, and sat in introspection. My distaste for him as a physician evolved into mercy, as I became mindful of what this young man had endured, and probably goes through on a daily basis. My envisaged phone call to his boss’s boss changed from a complaint against this resident to a direct complain against one thing: the medical education system.
RSS Feed