new slang
I found this site where this lady who is doing an 'anesthesiology' residency has created some comic strips from her experiences as a medical student. It's based in New York, but it does so resonate. (Her journal is entertaining, too.) I guess it's kind of like Scrubs, in comic form, but based around her own Psych/Surgery etc. rotations. Locked psych wards have the same vibe across the Atlantic, evidently.
Also evident is that for some medical people in the States, the term 'scut' = jobs; paperwork-heavy, tedious, filling-in forms, calling people up, booking stuff, and chasing lab results kind of jobs, interspersed with potentially more exciting tasks such as drawing blood, as in The ward round is finally over and now I can look forward to two hours of mind-numbing scut. I would say 'jobs' because I am not American, but 'scutmonkey' is a good word, is it not? To describe a role, or job-description?
As in, Both the House Officers on my current firm are experienced and skilled scutmonkeys, or, Soon, I too will be a scutmonkey; but what kind of monkey will I be?, or perhaps, As one progresses further into one's medical career, one thankfully finds oneself monkeying less and less scut etc. Again, I wouldn't actually say that, because (unless you were familiar with scut and the monkeys thereof, or knew me and dismissed the statement as just me being transiently weird about simians), it sounds like an insult. It would require lots of explanation, and you would have to really articulate clearly because it could be mistaken for slutmonkey. Which is a shame, because scut and scutmonkey are both good and apt words. SCUTMONKEY. Even looks impressive in capitals, you see? It's a good name for a band, too, I reckon (so is Slutmonkey, though).
NB: I also have to acknowledge that while my two HO's are super-efficient at fulfilling that role, they are more than mere monkeys of scut; they've been really nice to us medical students all the way through and tried to teach us loads [thereby terrifying us, because the age difference is not much but the knowledge gap - let's just say that I hope the learning curve steeps up pretty soon, and is asymptotically vertical].
So yeah, God bless monkeys. And certain* American usages. And asymptotes.
*certain does not include anesthesiology; surely anaesthetics is enough of a mouthful. Nor is epinephrine included, because surely it is adrenaline that is secreted by the adrenal glands. So God has the option not to bless those two usages for sure.
Also evident is that for some medical people in the States, the term 'scut' = jobs; paperwork-heavy, tedious, filling-in forms, calling people up, booking stuff, and chasing lab results kind of jobs, interspersed with potentially more exciting tasks such as drawing blood, as in The ward round is finally over and now I can look forward to two hours of mind-numbing scut. I would say 'jobs' because I am not American, but 'scutmonkey' is a good word, is it not? To describe a role, or job-description?
As in, Both the House Officers on my current firm are experienced and skilled scutmonkeys, or, Soon, I too will be a scutmonkey; but what kind of monkey will I be?, or perhaps, As one progresses further into one's medical career, one thankfully finds oneself monkeying less and less scut etc. Again, I wouldn't actually say that, because (unless you were familiar with scut and the monkeys thereof, or knew me and dismissed the statement as just me being transiently weird about simians), it sounds like an insult. It would require lots of explanation, and you would have to really articulate clearly because it could be mistaken for slutmonkey. Which is a shame, because scut and scutmonkey are both good and apt words. SCUTMONKEY. Even looks impressive in capitals, you see? It's a good name for a band, too, I reckon (so is Slutmonkey, though).
NB: I also have to acknowledge that while my two HO's are super-efficient at fulfilling that role, they are more than mere monkeys of scut; they've been really nice to us medical students all the way through and tried to teach us loads [thereby terrifying us, because the age difference is not much but the knowledge gap - let's just say that I hope the learning curve steeps up pretty soon, and is asymptotically vertical].
So yeah, God bless monkeys. And certain* American usages. And asymptotes.
*certain does not include anesthesiology; surely anaesthetics is enough of a mouthful. Nor is epinephrine included, because surely it is adrenaline that is secreted by the adrenal glands. So God has the option not to bless those two usages for sure.