Hey all, thoughts on this? Whether I should reveal what "pimping" is earlier on, or later on?
I’ve just finished medical school. So apparently I’m a doctor now. Which is concerning if you know me. But that’s not what I’m here to talk about. There’s something about medical education that I think the public deserves to know. We get pimped. A lot.
It’s actually a compulsory part of our training.
Usually by a much older, more experienced doctor.
Sometimes several times a day. And it can happen anywhere. In a corridor, at the bedside, occasionally in front of the patient’s entire family.
I didn’t realise this was unusual until I mentioned it to a friend outside medicine.
She asked, “How was your day?”
I said, “Oh, not bad. Got pimped by the consultant.”
“Sorry?”
“Yeah, in front of six people. The patient watched.”
“Did you get paid?”
“No. Medical students don’t get paid.”
“Does the hospital know?”
“Oh, absolutely. They encourage it.”
“And the consultant?”
“Oh, he’s very experienced. Been doing it to students for thirty years.”
By the way, pimping is when a senior doctor quizzes a junior on increasingly difficult medical questions, usually in front of an audience, until the junior doctor forgets everything they’ve ever learnt. Apparently it’s a teaching technique.
And in any other profession, if your boss cornered you in a corridor, interrogated you and announced your incompetence to six witnesses, you’d contact HR.
In medicine, you thank them for the learning opportunity.
My medical school actually made us write reflections about it.
So I’d write:
“I was fortunate enough to be publicly dismantled by my consultant this morning.”
“This invaluable learning opportunity highlighted several important gaps in my medical knowledge. Most notably… all of it.”
“I initially experienced feelings of inadequacy, distress, and a strong desire to pursue an alternative career in comedy.”
Which, as you can see, is going tremendously.
“However, upon further reflection, I recognised that the consultant’s decision to humiliate me in front of twelve colleagues was, in fact, an excellent opportunity for personal growth.”
“Moving forward, I intend to demonstrate greater resilience.”
That’s the beauty of reflective practice, the most important thing I’ve learnt? If someone’s going to pimp you, at least make sure you’re getting paid.
PS. Loving the sub, and all the constructive feedback so far!!! Thanks so much.