First Day as a Real (Fake) Doctor

As my young classmates like to say "today I felt like a BAMF"... (apparently ?) a bad ass mother fucker. Yes, folks, I got to wear my white coat for the first time today for a PBL (problem based learning session) and for clinical practice in the standardized patient clinic. The clinic is set up as a floor in one of our buildings which looks like a real clinic (it does, really). There are real clinic rooms and "standardized" patients (meaning actors that present with a set of symptoms for us to practice on). Once we complete our history, exam, etc. the actors break role and give us feedback on our performance. It is also videotaped for evaluation. It was fun. I had a woman with a "cold" so they started me out easy... but I'm sure it will get more involved over time.

For the PBL session, we get together in a small group with a professor who gives us a case. Then we review it, discuss it, and give a differential diagnosis.

Overall a pretty cool day... because getting back to the BAMF part... Now on my first day of school the faculty warned us that our community now (immediately, today) views us as doctors. The general community makes little distinction between short coats, long coats, students, residents, interns, attendings, whatever. For all intents and purposes YOU ARE A DOCTOR... SO ACT LIKE ONE. Yada yada we all laughed and nodded... but essentially blew it off.

But today. TODAY, I felt it. It's a weird thing. Something like a mix of respect, or power, or something rather indescribable. I got into an elevator with three gorgeous "put together" women in suits. I was wearing my white coat. And they were staring. And smiling. Normally a bunch of beautiful women wouldn't even look at me. Why would they? I'm just an "average" woman in an elevator. Odd. Then I drove downstairs and a female doctor in a white coat waved to me. Another anomaly that I'd never experienced before. Then (just for kicks and to continue my experiment) I wore my coat into a little store by my house. Ahead of me was an urban mom, who looked like one of those "power mom" kinda chicks. You know the well dressed flashy kind that always has somewhere to be, and speaks a little too loud when she talks to her children in public? So she was ahead of me in line with her three kids. And she was actually "flustered". At one point, she looked at me in the middle of her transaction and said "Do you want to just go ahead, I'm sure you are really busy and have to be somewhere". I almost fainted in front of the cupcake display, I swear. I politely told her to please take her time, I wasn't in a rush.

Now please don't misread why I am writing this. It isn't about power, or getting privileges, or being better. But these are three things that have NEVER happened to me before... and then all three occur on the first day I wore my coat.

This must be what the deans meant during the white coat ceremony, when they spent 2 hours discussing the great responsibility that occurs with wearing the white coat. Holy smokes, I'll take it.