Monday, March 1, 2010

A DOCTOR SHIFTING FROM HOSPITAL TO HOME

While thinking about my story below, it reminded me of a "Medical Marriage Night" with our Medical School Alliance (MSA) during MS2.

One of the physicians said that when he was at his office, he could just hire someone to do the things that he either didn't want to do or he didn't have time to do, even for very menial jobs, like getting him a Kleenex. Obviously, he said, this approach and attitude did not work well at home when a baby needed a diaper changed or the toys needed to be picked up. He said it was a huge shift for him and he found it difficult to avoid suggesting to his wife that they just hire someone to change the diaper.

I thought this was hilarious at the time, but now I have to admit that sometimes I wonder if this attitude carries over a bit from my husband's work. Even during intern year, maybe he is getting used to giving orders to nurses or others. Usually I attribute it to exhaustion, but could it be this too?

1 comment:

Timani said...

Yeah, early on Dan, another resident and nurse were sharing stories and joking around when he told the nurse to "call a translator" she immediately picked up the phone and called. The other resident said, "I'm just not that comfortable telling people what to do yet." Dan told the nurse he had been joking, he could easily do it himself. BUT he told me, "I really liked telling someone to do something and they just do it. You should try it sometime." To which I responded with, "For years I've told people AAAALLLLLLLLLL the time what to do and they NEVER listen!" He thinks I should tell people besides kids. :) He doesn't listen well either.