the underwear drawer

Medical Specialty Stereotype #6: Pediatrics



Do you ever have a specific attending who you're just certain thinks you're a complete idiot? I do. Look, I'm a third year anesthesia resident now, and I think I do a good job with even complicated patients, and that I'm a reasonably responsible doctor. Other attendings have also told me as much, so I don't think I'm being delusional on this point. But there's this one attending that, whenever I'm with him, something always goes wrong. Either its a stupid oversight on my part, the likes of which I have not made since first year, or just some freak thing, like equipment failure, unexpected difficult airways, struggling with access, what have you. Every time that I see I'm working with his attending, I show up to work extra early and try to make sure that this time, THIS TIME, I will do everything PERFECTLY, and then he will see that I'm GOOD. And yet something always goes awry. Not while working with anyone else, mind you, but always with him. Therefore, he understandably thinks I am a moron. Probably.

It's starting to get to the point of self-fulfilling prophecy, because I just get so nervous whenever I'm with him that maybe I'm just screwing myself up. Though I wasn't aware that my mood could somehow cause the computerized anesthetic record keeper in the OR to catch on fire. Maybe I'm like Carrie.