One thing about being a student of medicine, a doctor anyway, I suppose others in my profession (nurses, pharmacists, etc) are similarly afflicted, you are subjected to rigourous testing...and more testing...and more testing. I think now they are requiring that we docs retest every 10 years, after initial certification by our boards. It's a pain, but I think it's appropriate, I've seen far to many "old farts" already who prescribe outdated treatments and in some cases I've seen some who have no right to practice anymore...maybe they never did...I'm speaking of the doctors whose methods were NEVER accepted. Luckily of the latter group I've only seen one doc practicing like that, I was new to the profession, but I still turned his butt in to the medical board...in some cases he was ignorant, which I can understand, in other cases he was purposefully unethical and harmful, which I can't. Not to put myself on a pedestool, I'm not perfect and never will be, and that's why I think repeatedly testing us is a good thing even if it is a huge pain in the neck. I've been studying for this test for two months now, on average 2-3 hours a day on top of what I do for work has been punishing. I don't feel like I see my family much and I feel like I'm stressing them in leaning on them to take care of my son. I'm four days away and the anticipated relief of stress is so sweet I can taste it. As a side note, I remember writing on here in a fairly depressed attitude about doing sub-par on my introduction test to the residency program. I just got the results of my second test (they have us repeat it yearly until the actual exam at the end of our third year). This time I did much better and passed with flying colors, it's really tempting to stop studying now that I feel I've "caught up", but I'll try to keep it up and make my chances of failing the test miniscule (if I do, then I won't have to pay 5 grand to a test-prep program like many of my peers do before taking that bear of a test)...I guess we'll see how that works out. Well time to go to work, my ED shift will be starting in 30. I'm working the 4p-2a shift (as I have been for the past week), it's a fun time, but all things considered it's all starting to weigh on me. It's funny that I used to fear the ED, now some of the things I used to reel away from are some of the things I look foreward to (trauma's, laceration repairs, difficulty breathing, etc.) It's crazy how a year of residency can change things.
Newbie Doc
