The trip over has been a little adventurous... Starting with almost missing my connection flight in Paris because of delays due to snow (yes we got snow in Edinburgh at the end of March!) and my suitcase getting misplaced by the airline resulting in me having to frantically look late at night for something half professional (yet stylish!) to wear at the seminar today... Not like I'm complaining since Air France will be refunding the money spent!
This said I at least managed to arrive on time at the hospital this morning without getting lost at all (I'm getting good at this NYC living madness!) to register for the seminar and joined the line to get my name badge.
For those of you following my academic path, I am actually still a med-student and though I have been studying around medicine for a few years, I have only started at St Andrews in September and am 2 and a bit full years from getting any sort of a degree... basically I am nobody you should trust yet!
Apparently the American bunch doesn't think so as when I got handed my badge for the day my face almost dropped at the title "Junior Doctor - UK"
Junior WHAT?!?
Oh dear!!!
Taken completely by surprise I stood there wondering if it was the case to actually rectify the obvious mistake made... I so wish I was a junior doctor but well, I still have quite a way to go and certainly I don't deserve the title... though something at the back of my mind told me it would be really cool to walk around the hospital and have people looking at that badge and think "Wow, she's a doctor!" (like they would... ;-)) and what harm could it do since I'm not expected to talk to anybody or touch anything anyway today?!
So I decided to shut up and live in the illusion that for a day I actually knew a lot more than I do... Except it didn't last long... My incredibly honest conscience had the best of me and, 10 minutes and 4 curious people later, I headed to the registration desk to point out that I was not ALAS, a doctor yet!
The lady looked at me in complete bewilderment and said "Oh, but you are!"
"Erm, no..." I tried to explain "I wish I was but I am not..."
She gave me a big smile and kindly explained to me that a Junior Doctor here is actually a doctor in training, someone who has completed the first stage of training and passed their interview and been accepted into the program I'm following...
"Ah!" that was just about all I managed to say... So I found out that after all a "Junior doctor" here is the equivalent of what a "Baby doctor" would be in the UK
I always knew Americans have to do things bigger!!!
So I did spend the day proudly wearing my badge and for a few hours I felt a bit like Dr House, though he's an MD (but maybe here I'll be an MD next year and it will mean something completely different!!)
3 comments:
Ha ha. Congratulations! It's an American thing - if I, as a mere lecturer, were to move to America I'd instantly be called a Professor. I had an experience just like you, with my "Professor Scott" name badge, except I didn't say anything, because I already knew that I'd turn into a Professor as the wheels hit the tarmac but would revert to humble Dr Scott on takeoff. They do like to "big themselves up" a touch, in America, I feel
hahaha... yeah, totally!
It feels good though, don't you think? :-)
Yes, I think Professor Scott and Junior Doctor Dona can both agree on that.
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