This is a shout out to a group of docs that I have the pleasure to work with: “My Residents.”
Who are they? These guys are the up-and-coming face of emergency care in UAE.
I enjoy being front and center, watching their development from timid little creatures, to confident docs. These guys are still learning, but they have already started to prove their worth. Don’t underestimate them; they have an eager appetite for knowledge and skill, none less than that of residents back home.
Should you ever have the “misfortune” to meet one (this is not new to them, but rather the fact that you have found yourself in the ED), please don’t judge and/or be rude or skeptical because they are “Residents”. They still know more than you ever will. They are not bums off the street. They are qualified doctors, and they are in an advanced stage of medical training.
The public seems to have this misguided idea when they meet Residents that they are akin to medical students on their first day of school. Ok fine, I have met all sorts of residents in my career, total stars, and a few mad ones. (It happens in any form of training). But in a hypercompetitive specialty such as Emergency Medicine it’s really really rare to meet slackers. These guys work long hours, in a stressful job, and are expected to study for tests, prepare and give lectures…….. Then do it all over again the next day, ad nauseum . Residents have a sense of pride in what they do and in their accomplishments. They inherently want to do a good job, which is a lot more than can be said of a lot of folks in the general workforce. They are a competitive bunch, and they push standards and each other.These are the crème de la crème of applicants. They are constantly being scrutinized and expected to meet our expectations and if they don’t measure up, they risk getting “the boot”.
And one more key thing (if I may say so)….they are learning from the best on the block.
By Dr. DMS
