So Low The Sky's All I See

The lessons began from the very first sign-in session. We sat comfortably at the table of the conference room when we were told that the table is reserved for the residents, and that the students were supposed to take seats around the edge of the room. Ahhh, the hierarchy, the pecking order, the totem pole. Here’s how it works

At the bottom there’s us – the medical students. We wear the short coats. We know nothing. We smile, act polite, and do as we’re told.

Next up are the interns. These are the first year residents. They are directly responsible for patient care and also for assigning duties to the medical students. There are about 4-5 interns per floor, and each one is responsible for two medical students.

Next up is the second year, followed by the third year residents. There is one second year per floor and they are supervising the interns, rounding with their patients, checking on their work, and making sure the students are being taught properly.

The entire department of medicine is led by the chief resident, who is a third year responsible for all the residents. He arranges the schedules, assigns students, and generally makes sure the residents are doing their jobs. He is also responsible for presenting the core curriculum to residents and students by way of lectures and such.

The highest level in the hierarchy is the attending. These are the doctors who have long since finished their residencies and are basically practicing physicians in the hospital. Each floor is assigned an attending physician who is responsible for all residents and students on the floor.

My group is particularly lucky, because our attending is semi-retired, and mainly focuses on medical education rather than patient care, so we get his complete attention. He has a lot of experience and I think we stand to learn a lot from him.