went from being one of them, to teaching them during residency and fellowship, to now having very little contact with them as a private practice doctor. So I don’t have a full picture anymore. But something I saw a while back has stuck with me, and I’d like to know if others have seen the same.
When I was training, my students were hardworking and careful. It didn’t matter where they came from — MD schools, DO schools, or foreign graduates. They were eager. They wanted to learn.
Then as a fellow, I was at a more well-known institution. And there, things felt very different. The students weren’t allowed to do much. The attendings, residents, and fellows barely spoke to them outside of lectures. No seeing patients alone. No writing notes. No tough questions. No closing in surgery.
So I asked why. And the answer honestly shocked me.
They said it wasn’t worth the risk. One question a student couldn’t answer could be called a microaggression. A joke, a tone of voice, a small comment taken the wrong way — and you’d get written up. So they did the minimum. They kept their distance to protect themselves.
Coming from community and hybrid hospitals, where my students were foreign grads, DOs, and lower-tier MDs, this was a completely different world.
So now I ask: is this still happening? Has it gotten worse? Better? More common? Or was that just one hospital, one bad culture?
I’d really like to hear from you.