Monday, April 29, 2013

What will you do for me?

There was a resident in my program who I will call Bob. Whenever you asked Bob for a favor, his immediate response was, "And what will you do for me?"

Bob was a good resident, honestly. He was diligent and responsible. But I found this attitude really annoying.

For example, one day I got four admissions and Bob only got one. I was asked to follow up on a consult I'd seen a week earlier, and I asked Bob if he could cover that for me, since I was completely swamped. Immediately: "And what will you do for me?"

I feel like there ought to be a camaraderie in residency. If you do a favor for someone, eventually they will end up doing a favor for you. It shouldn't have to be a direct one to one trade-off.

One day some orthotists came to adjust Bob's patient's neck brace. They needed a doctor to hold the guy's head. Bob wasn't on the floor and I wasn't that busy, so I told them not to bother him and I'd do it. I didn't even tell Bob I was doing it. I had the time to do it, so I did it.

I feel like that's the way it ought to be in residency.

5 comments:

  1. that's what i love about my residency. if i'm busy getting swamped with admits, somebody else always notices. and they don't ask if i need help - they just help. i'll see discharge summaries or sign-outs started, outside records scanned, etc. or somebody will just bring me food. i love my co-residents. (*sniff* graduating in a month.)

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  2. Heck Fizzy, why limit this to residency? Wouldn't the world be a much nicer place if what you're describing was how people operated in general?

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  3. Ditto that Ledgem - my first thought was - That's the way it ought to be everywhere.

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  4. What will I do? I will thank you profusely. --Queen Anne's Lace

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  5. What will I do for you, Bob? I won't kick you in the balls for being a jackass.

    You do things for other people because it's the right thing to do, not because you are trying to weasel things out of others.

    I mean, yeah, if someone is abusing the fact that you're willing to do things for them I can see putting a stop to things. But going in with everyone with the attitude of "I won't do for you unless you do for me?" Seek therapy, or a proctologist for that recto-cranial extraction.

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