Part 1 | Part 3 | Conclusion

     Posted January 24, 2002. I haven't really thought about writing this topic until a phone call one day. Doctor B got a 6-month tour of some of the medical facilities in the United States and was gracious enough to give me a phone call a few days after he stepped on American soil. A couple of months later, I gave him a call to ask what he's been up to, what his impressions were so far, or if he has visited places other than a strip club.

     Doctor B is one of the more dedicated men of Medicine I know. He'll take every fellowship or sub-specialty or sub-specialty to that sub-specialty, just to further his studies. That's why I always value his opinion when he talks about Medicine. When he starts talking about other things, I tell him right away to shut up.

     Doctor B talked about his one-month rotation at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and, at that time, his ongoing rotation at a hospital in New York. Doctor B's first impression was "The doctors and nurses are all very nice...If you are confused with something, they take their time to explain it to you. They don't tell you to go back to first year, or ask how did you pass Physiology?..." (of course, Dr. B did not speak in English, so I hope he'll pardon me if something got lost in the translation). This perception was not totally unexpected. I told Doctor B that they may have behaved so nicely to him because he was a visitor, a consultant from another country, and not just a mere Intern. He did not think so.

     My conversation with Doctor B made me recall Junior Intership and I asked myself: Is it more effective to be a teacher and behave like mob boss Tony Soprano at the same time? Is it the Interns' fate to be exposed to over-aggressive and obnoxious behavior?

     Before you turn into a werewolf in anger over what I have written so far, let me reiterate what I have said previously: This is not a general observation and may concern only a few. If you feel I have the wrong notion here, shoot me an e-mail. I don't bear grudges against anybody. If I write everything here about what I've been through as an Intern, I'd be writing a book. Still, I will forever be grateful to ALL my consultants and residents. And to the nurses? I married a nurse. That makes me one of the luckiest persons in the world. Who knows, what I write here may be the norm and it makes no sense to make a big fuss about it. Well, it is up to you to tell me that.

     The question was begging for an answer. As I've said in Part 1, I called up three acquaintances, Peter, Paul, and Mary (they'd talk only If I don't mention their real names) to get their opinion. I won't sit here and pretend that we met and talked together in person because we didn't. I talked to each one over the phone about a week apart. What came out were not only interesting but frank and honest discussion and observation.

     I planned to share my phone chat with you this week but I will postpone it to next week. The reason is a feedback I got from another colleague who wrote, "What you have said are very familiar to all doctors, not just WVSU doctors. In every place, there are bullies and good guys. You reminded me of my first month of Junior Internship, which was the most trying. It was like undergoing a fraternity initiation ritual."

     The good doctor gave her name or nickname but I won't mention it here. I'd just like to thank her for taking time to write and I hope she won't mind if I share her e-mail with you. I presume she belonged to one of the earlier batches because the setting was Iloilo Doctor's Hospital. Of course, it is important to mention what she qualified in her e-mail, "most nurses are warm and peaceful and consultants are generally good teachers."

     Let's listen (or read) what she has to say.

     "The rule then at Iloilo Doctors' Hospital was to be in by 7:30 am. There was a notebook that kept a log of sign-ins. If you were late, you got punished by demerits which would eventually translate to extra days or weeks of internship. That was okey with me until I found out one day that I thought I was on time only to realize that I was 15 minutes late. So, I was 15 minutes late, I was ready to accept the consequences.

     "My watch which was a Seiko automatic (quartz watches were still rare at that time) was 15 minutes off. Many of my peers got late, too. So, hindi ako nag-iisa. But that's beside the point. Soon my smart classmates found out that a nurse at the ER adjusted the wall clock 15 minutes forward. What's the motive? I don't know. But this event was anxiety-provoking.

     "Christmas day, that nurse got a very nice christmas present. A present that she'll remember for a long long time - 'a boxful of sandpapers' - so she could sand her pimple-riddled face to make her face less unpleasant to the naked eyes."

     Our letter-writer said it was not her who sent the 'sandpaper' gift. This is getting interesting. Let's continue...

     "Most of the nurses were warm and peaceful. A few were really nasty that even the cockroaches would run for their lives. I tried very much to avoid them. But by so doing, I got sighted for not being available in my work station. Looking back, I don't really know the reasons for the negative attitude exhibited by "some" nurses. In fairness, I have met many ward nurses who were very respectful and mature. Nurses in general are good human beings. My two sisters are nurses. Only a few are really BAD and would take pride in terrorizing the jr interns."

     "My first day at the O.R., I probably did not scrub well enough. When I entered the O.R. I heard a thundering noise that sounded like a sonic boom! It said "get the f*** out of here and scrub some more". So, I scrubbed some more. I did not know what was enough at that time, so I didn't know when to stop. Nobody told me or showed me how. By the time I re-entered the O.R. the surgical procedure was 50% done. I was totally left out! It hurt me so much. But I just swallowed those things just like what everybody else did."

     "The post-graduate interns are supposed to be your senior colleagues. From my experience, the majority were not helpful. They asked questions that you could not answer correctly. It gave them pleasure when you show your ignorance. A few of them were very helpful and kind enough to "show me the way" such as inserting IV needle to an infant (which I became darn good at).

     The consultants, generally, are excellent....in finding faults in you. It's frustrating! They thought that they are infallible. They are right and you are wrong. I felt so bad that I thought of quitting. No, I just continued the task. Quitters are losers. These words are probably familiar to all of you: "you don't know what you're talking about", "how did you pass physiology?", "you better go back to second year", "godamnit, you cut at the knot!", "who taught you how to suction?", "nurse, please replace this intern - he doesn't know what he is doing". Some consultants are good teachers. These are the kind of consultants the college should have!"

     The letter-writer gave one consultant five stars for giving her the most insults. And she would like to thank "Drs. Carmona, Casenias, Arthur Muyco (wherever you are), and Manny Posecion who are good teachers, who showed me that Junior Internship can be fun experience." She ended her letter with this thought, "We should open our eyes and make a resolution that learning should be an uplifting (not dehumanizing) experience."

     I hope our letter-writer feels a lot better now. Sometimes it just takes a little time and effort to get something out of your chest. Indiscretions, most of the time, go unnoticed and unreported because we are quick to forgive and forget. Your heroes, and mine, have clay feet too. When they are exposed, it is your choice to meet them with indifference. Or with just a wink and a nod.

     Or you can write me.

     to be continued...

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