I have been talking about how hard life is a resident and how to become a good resident in my previous entries, but I have not really explained to my precious reader what the heck a resident is? However, a lot of people might have heard of this word being mentioned on TV many many times!!!

Anyone who is a die hard fan of the famous "ER" or "Grey Anatomy", "House"or even "Scrub" (in which I am not!!) must know what I am talking about....  The word "resident" is probably mentioned every 2 t0 3 minutes in every episode and every season!!!! (Just exaggerating...hahaha!!!!)

A resident is someone not too junior nor too senior. YOU are kind of in the middle between an intern (the most junior of all) and the registar (which actually means a senior resident...a term only being used in the UK, Ireland, NZ and Australia..). The term "registrar" is never use in the US, but they used "senior resident"  instead.

Why do I always winge about the life of a resident is that tough and this hard?????

COZ

1. You are in the middle. Kind of on the fence. But obviously you have to make decision!!!

2. The junior staff (i.e interns) will come and approach you first if they have a problem!! Although this is not always.

3.  If you can solve their problem...that's no PROBLEM at all!! But if you can't solve their problem..and you yourself has your own PROBLEM...then you are really having SERIOUS SERIOUS PROBLEM!!!!

4. Your pay is shet!!!! Almost similar to an intern. And you work twice harder!!!!

5. You work longer hours..sometime even longer than the registrar!! COZ the hospital is SMART in calling you back to work as you are cheaper to be maintained, if you know what I meant!!

6. Everyone wants to have a go at you...even the b@#%&* ward clerk!!!!

6. It is harder to get things done...I mean the complicated things.... COZ nobody believes you..your word is not powerfullah..as simple as that!!!!

7. Nurses don't believe what you said. If they do, they do not have to clarify with the registrar!! DARN!!!

8.  Believe it or not...Even sometimes patients do not believe what you said

So...

Now...you must have a quite bad impression about being a resident..yeah...thanks to me!!!!

However.. the truth is.......

1. You are actually the most important group of doctors in a health care settings. You can pretty much called yourself a VIP (very interesting person, or very irresistable person)!!!! ..hehehe....everyone wants you!!!

2. You are the enforcers. You make sure things are done!!

3. You make the most phone calls (obviously not personal ones!!!) than anyone in the hospital!!! You also get the most pages!!!

4. You make sure the ward is under control when the "registrar" is away!!!

5. You are the first one to get called if there is an emergency!!

AND...Everyone...and I meant everyone has to go through this at a certain stage of their career!! So, am I!!!

PS: Remember when you first born, you did not even know how to crawl!!!

Being a resident has taught me a lot of things. Not just hard cold  facts that you can dig from any medical textbooks, how to overcome your own fear and failure, how to face others but I think the most important of all, is how to learn to learn in improving yourself and becoming better!!!!

As my friend, the Cruel Angel always says "tough time don't last, tough people do!!! "

He is right!! He is absolutely right!!!!!

Life is not always dark and hard.  Always look on the bright side!!!!!!