What it means when medics say "I had a bad day"

Why bother

Well I suppose this means different things for different people. But because I spend most of my day in my head, processing everyone and everything (and sometimes over-processing things), it doesn't always mean that something bad has happened to me. I find it really draining talking all day to people I don't know very well or sitting in lectures for more than an hour or spending a morning studying a topic and still not understanding it (grr). But for a medical student, having a bad day has a significance all it's own. Below is an example of a 'bad' day based on true events.

6.30am: Wake up to travel an hour and a half on 2 buses to get to the hospital I am placed at. It is never a good idea to start the day sleep deprived. Cup of coffee #1.

8.30am: Ward round (WR). More than just an educational experience. This is an opportunity to look like a fool in front of not just 1, not just 2, but maybe up to 6 other healthcare professionals. Keep your iPhone close and bookmark Wikipedia.

9am: Consultant asks me to listen to a patient's chest on WR (while everyone watches of course). He asks a question I should know the answer to. I get it wrong. He laughs. He does not even give me the answer.

10.30am: Lecture on a topic I am not very confident about. Consultant asks me a question. I get it wrong. Perhaps forgivable if it was a difficult question no one else knew the answer to. But when she asks if anyone else knows the answer, the WHOLE class answers in unison. This obviously compounds the shame acquired earlier in the morning. I can feel everyone's eyes burning into my back. But maybe they'll forget by lunchtime?

12pm: Lunchtime. Forgot lunch. Enough said. Cup of coffee #2.

1pm: Practice taking a history from and examining a patient on a ward. (Realise I left my stethoscope on the previous ward I was on) Spend an hour talking to a chatty elderly lady who gives me her frustratingly convoluted version of events leading up to her current hospital stay. Present her history to registrar (senior doctor) on the ward with no clue as to what her diagnosis was. Only to find that what I wrote was all nonsense. She has dementia.

3pm: Observing a Consultant in clinic known for his biting sarcasm. (Consider cup of coffee #3?) He ignores me for 2 hours and belittles all the nurses and patients he sees. I tremble in a corner hoping he won't remember I'm there. At the end of the clinic, he says to the patient "Oh look at her over there. She has no idea what's going on." Definitely makes you question your self-worth.

5pm: Home time. One and a half hours home on 2 buses.

**Insert non-medic friend who asks how I'm doing** Fine I guess?

8pm: Cram the anatomy of the whole lower limb into a couple hours in preparation for the following morning to be spent in surgery. I question whether I should bother continuing with my course, but realise I spent too much time and money to get to where I am now. *Sets alarm for 6.30 tomorrow*