ok, count 'em up.

In response to my previous post---the gals on the heart failure service were right about the attending. On Tuesday he let his true colors SHIIIIINE. He consistently misinterpret's people's meanings, and turns it all around to somehow make you look and feel stupid. I'm not even sure if it's intentional or what. But he could try not be completely sarcastic. My amazing intern friend Tim was equally frustrated; he and I talked about how we're supposed to be here to learn, and how can you learn if you're shot down with every question you ask? This Attending's bedside manner also leaves something to be desired---one patient's family even requested that he not be their physician. Like to his face. This occurred when I wasn't there, over the weekend; but then on Monday Bad Attending says to us "So this family is on edge right now." Yeah, that's true, but also, your acting like a D isn't helping them any.

So Tuesday was not such a good day. Bad Attending's attitude made rounds, for lack of a better word, a shit show. Black clouds over everyone. My hot fellow from the Acute service came down the hallway of the acute heart care unit, leading his massive team behind him, and he sees our little Heart Failure black-cloud service in a knot and says, OUT LOUD, "Good morning! (insert some pleasantries I can't remember....pause...then he turns directly towards me and says) You don't look too happy to be here." All I could do was look at him wide-eyed, aware that Tim was trying not to die of laughter internally, and say: "Well..thanks Bob!" Yeah, thanks a LOT Bob! Right in front of the Attending! I wasn't going to deny it. He caught my eye later on and I gave him a cross between "I'd like to kill you now, Bob" and "That was perfect comedic timing and I also thought it was funny" look.

The day was so bad that the next day my Senior Resident, loveable geekazoid who likes to teach a little too much (ahem, drags the teaching point so far that you're like "ok, ok, I get it...you're an academic!), cryptically offered to buy me coffee and then led me outside to a bench. I was scared he was going to ask me out or something, honestly. Then he says "What's going on between us?" And I say, "Well..what do you mean, Burt?...Oh yesterday?! Sorry if I was kinda edgy, it was a bad day." We'd already established that the day of, but then a misunderstanding the next day led him to confront me on if "we were cool or not."

When a bunch of people get together and have to act like a team, its success is so dependent upon individual personalities that it leads to ridiculous results sometimes. And yet the work gets done.

Looseness.
(English just told me to write that)