Practice

“That’s because, in the previous hospital, he was a specialist and doing only junior calls. And, you know, he’s kind of a slippery chap. Whenever there was a call for responsibility, he could always pass the task swiftly to someone else.”

“Yes…?”

“The advantage is his hands were clean and he hardly had any complication in the past. The down side is, unfortunately, in spite of his fellowship and certificates and impressive curriculum vitae, he never really masters the skill and sharpens his tools. When he was promoted to the new hospital, things changed. He is now the senior and has to shoulder the responsibility. Naturally, all his inadequacies come to the surface. After all, it doesn’t look good to be a third-call surgeon and cannot do a proper, say, right hemicolectomy. Unfortunately, forcing himself to do all these is too much a challenge to him.”

I nodded. That's the whole idea of training - ones should not just want to pass the examination, but to prepare confidently for the demanding task ahead.