Staying educated is different before and after training
My specialty is Emergency Medicine but I think the following sentiment applies to all clinicians: doctors, PAs, NPs, nurses, techs… the whole team.
Do you remember, in school or in residency, when you made a great diagnosis, did some cool procedure, or saved the day in some way? What happened next? High fives all around, proud mentors, stories at rounds, teaching peers how you did it, drinks after work… good times.
Remember the first time you did the same cool thing after training?
You looked around for your high five… crickets.
Nobody really noticed or cared all that much. No mentors, nobody to teach to or learn anything deeper from. It’s a stark contrast and it is super hard to get used to. For me, it was depressing, and the introduction to some of the negative realities of being an attending (done with training) clinician in the real world.
