[Keeriewof]

... done.

Holy crap do I feel inadequate.

I just used 2/3rds of my guaranteed 24 hours without clinical responsibilities for sleep.

Lame.

... and one of my good friends (who is a 3rd year surgery resident), just did her first ER thoracotomy. That takes balls.

[desmond001]

Where are you doing your Residency?

I bet you learned a lot though.

[jacknates]

... done.

Holy crap do I feel inadequate.

I just used 2/3rds of my guaranteed 24 hours without clinical responsibilities for sleep.

Lame.

... and one of my good friends (who is a 3rd year surgery resident), just did her first ER thoracotomy. That takes balls.

Hahahaha... welcome to Intern hell!

Thank God the wife has less than a year to go... it's been interesting supporting her through all of this!

[wheettebott]

Residency - this is the only profession where they deliberately have exhausted, inexperienced people making, often life critical, decisions for the welfare of other, innocent, people!

The whole damned thing should have been dropped decades ago - in the meantime, the hospitals' administrators that enforce it should be liable for any errors the residents' make!

[vNQmO2BF]

Residency - this is the only profession where they deliberately have exhausted, inexperienced people making, often life critical, decisions for the welfare of other, innocent, people!

The whole damned thing should have been dropped decades ago - in the meantime, the hospitals' administrators that enforce it should be liable for any errors the residents' make!

You don't need those ' marks.

[obHQNsY2]

Residency - this is the only profession where they deliberately have exhausted, inexperienced people making, often life critical, decisions for the welfare of other, innocent, people!

The whole damned thing should have been dropped decades ago - in the meantime, the hospitals' administrators that enforce it should be liable for any errors the residents' make!

It's a trial by fire but the resident doctors are usually supervised at first or assist an experienced doctor.

[JennaJJxoxoxo]

DM, the second was wrong, agreed.
Reactivator, agreed, but it's the patients that are at risk of being burned, possibly fataly!

[PymnImmen]

DM, the second was wrong, agreed.

Both were wrong I'm afraid.

Currently it says: The whole damned thing should have been dropped decades ago - in the meantime, the hospitals's administrators that enforce it should be liable for any errors the residents's make!

[eocavrWM]

DM, the second was wrong, agreed.
Reactivator, agreed, but it's the patients that are at risk of being burned, possibly fataly!

It's not like a shooting victim is going to come in and they're gonna drop him on the first 25 year old noob resident they find.

[grizolsemn]

It's not like a shooting victim is going to come in and they're gonna drop him on the first 25 year old noob resident they find.

Of course they will. Didn't you watch scrubs?

[smifatv]

Of course they will. Didn't you watch scrubs?

Nah, I preferred E.R. That Clooney boy was irresistible.

[cauddyVab]

Residency - this is the only profession where they deliberately have exhausted, inexperienced people making, often life critical, decisions for the welfare of other, innocent, people!

The whole damned thing should have been dropped decades ago - in the meantime, the hospitals' administrators that enforce it should be liable for any errors the residents' make!

Do you honestly think the residents are allowed to make decisions on their own? In most programs, they have to pass most of their work past attendings who precept before it is performed/presented on/to the patient. It's not like they're allowed to run amuck! Even as a 3rd year resident, my wife still has to pass most everything by preceptors... even though in less than 10 months she will (God willing, she hates exams) pass her boards and be out on her own.

Also, here in the US there are plenty of laws in place as far as duty hours, etc; much like truck drivers only being allowed to drive a certain number of hours per day.

The intensity of residency is pretty critical, otherwise they would not have anywhere near the level of experience they need in a reasonable time-frame.

Now my brother-in-law, on the other hand, when in surgical residency was constantly pushed to the brink... primarily because he was put through med school by the military and is currently serving.

Too many people watch shows like Greys, ER and the ilk and think that's how things really work in hospitals. To a SMALL degree, yes... but do you think that reality makes for good drama and ratings? My wife and most of her coworkers don't watch them due to the inaccuracies and gripes about the misconceptions they cause the public to have -- along with the internet MDs of the world!

[idobestbuyonlinepp]

Both were wrong I'm afraid.

Currently it says: The whole damned thing should have been dropped decades ago - in the meantime, the hospitals's administrators that enforce it should be liable for any errors the residents's make!

I think the first one was right, possesive for plural hospitals but the additional 's's certainly weren't - we both missed those

[toopyimport]

I have a small recent story about resident doctors.

Two months ago I had an issue with my stomach, immense pain like nothing I had ever felt before. I went to a clinic and a resident there checked me out, got x-rayed and blood tested. White blood cell count very high (alarm for infection.) I got sent home with nothing. The pain lasted three days, I thought it was over.

One month ago, the pain came back. 99-103 temps, threw up over 20 times for five days, the pain got worse and worse and worse. The same stomach pains, it was intensive, I wanted to die. I figured since it was the same pain as before and nothing was wrong (apparently) I dealt with it for five days. Never in my life (almost 30) have I experienced pain like this. Around 1AM I am at the ER, can barely walk or do any movements as that intensifies the pain. I get checked out, and like a month before that, a resident doctor, in the ER tells me I'm probably just backed up and have constipation.

There was no way, I took enema's, lax pills, nothing was coming out. It had to be more serious. My white blood cell count was very high again. Thankfully, a regular doctor came in to go over what the resident did, he ordered a ultrasound. Turns out I had a massive infection on my gul bladder and had immediate emergency surgery to remove it.

Basically, two resident doctors and if it was up to them I could be in some very serious trouble right now. All it would of took was a ultrasound, I told them exactly where the pain was and tried enemas, lax pills, etc for constipation but still they ignored me and said I was backed up. To think two months ago I could of had the pain gone.

I'm not mad at them for it, they have to learn, but thank god at the ER the resident there got his work checked. I can only imagine the mouthful he got, telling me to just go home, then a few hours later I'm in surgery.

Resident program is great, as long as they do get second opinions and their work checked before patient is released.

[GenManagerS]

LM, unless the supervising doctor is monitoring EVERYTHING, there is a good chance that some things will be missed, mis-interpreted and possible miss comunicated to the supervisor - I don't mean to say they're thrown in to sink or swim on their own resources but tiredness, stress and inexperience are breeding grounds for mistakes.

[prearpaccew]

LM

its like any tv show - CSI`s hate the tv show of the same name - since it doesnt work like that in the real world , and they go to court with everyone having watched the show asking `why didnt you find such and such information`, and things like raids? and arrests? then working the crime scene? doesnt happen - ever.... and dna tests dont come in an hour either....

[MP+4]

LM, unless the supervising doctor is monitoring EVERYTHING, there is a good chance that some things will be missed, mis-interpreted and possible miss comunicated to the supervisor - I don't mean to say they're thrown in to sink or swim on their own resources but tiredness, stress and inexperience are breeding grounds for mistakes.

Well - you are free to choose between having a resident, and not seeing a doctor at all, because the way large university hospitals work, residents are essential to patient care.

And they ARE supervised about commensurate with their average level of competence and experience. So the 1st year resident will generally be supervised by seniors, who are in turn supervised by attending physicians. By 3rd year, residents aren't supervised nearly as much.

Yet if you read the statistics, while you are marginally more likely to suffer a small error when under the care of a resident, you are FAR less likely to die. That's because you get much MORE attention, even if it isn't as experienced.

Also, you're talking about it like you're going to vote yourself doctors that come out of the medical school with 20 years of experience. Maybe a dose of reality would be nice. Oh and by the way, when you talk about competence, consider that we've all earned that MD with probably more sweat and tears than you can imagine.

[Fdhwzctl]

Well - you are free to choose between having a resident, and not seeing a doctor at all, because the way large university hospitals work, residents are essential to patient care.

And they ARE supervised about commensurate with their average level of competence and experience. So the 1st year resident will generally be supervised by seniors, who are in turn supervised by attending physicians. By 3rd year, residents aren't supervised nearly as much.

Yet if you read the statistics, while you are marginally more likely to suffer a small error when under the care of a resident, you are FAR less likely to die. That's because you get much MORE attention, even if it isn't as experienced.

Also, you're talking about it like you're going to vote yourself doctors that come out of the medical school with 20 years of experience. Maybe a dose of reality would be nice. Oh and by the way, when you talk about competence, consider that we've all earned that MD with probably more sweat and tears than you can imagine.

How does your salary work Gnius? From what I can remember from a friend who was in residency, you start off with a percentage of what your base pay is, and each year that percentage gets higher and higher until you are no longer in residency. Do you have to start paying malpractice insurance right out of the gate, or does the hopsital subsidize that for you?

[SkHukV3N]

How does your salary work Gnius? From what I can remember from a friend who was in residency, you start off with a percentage of what your base pay is, and each year that percentage gets higher and higher until you are no longer in residency. Do you have to start paying malpractice insurance right out of the gate, or does the hopsital subsidize that for you?

You start out at about $45-60k depending on the program. And it goes up about 3-5% per year throughout residency and fellowship. That's it. Basically tops out at about $75k for the last year of the longest programs (cardiology fellowship and neurosurgery).

As for malpractice insurance, the hospital covers it.

[meencegic]

As for malpractice insurance, the hospital covers it.

Wow that's awesome. I can only imagine the cost in certain circumstances. My fiancés father just suffered a major heart attack, and his surgeon saved his life without question . I have tremendous respect for the field. I commend you greatly for your hard work and effort, and wish you all the best.