MD & DO Attendings cursing like sailors

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Curse like a junior sailor, just know the room and understand that you are more vulnerable if someone gets mad
 
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I feel like there's such a range though--even though a lot of attendings swear, a lot of them also find swearing distasteful.
So, I guess, swear wisely?
 
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A lot of attendings tell you about contraindications to different meds and then proceed to give said meds anyway. They get to do stuff you’re not technically allowed to do.
 
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There's not much worse socially than an adult who refuses to acknowledge the power of saying "****" on occasion to get someone's attention or something done correctly and now.

- Plastic surgeon I worked with for years
 
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I swear to God some of these kids on SDN have nothing better to do than to eagerly try to come up with another new and inane thread title

if you really have to wonder how to act professionally around professionals....

I curse like a sailor in my private life and only ever really cursed around people who were straight up like my close friends in medicine. I wouldn't use a lot of curse words even at the bar events in med school or residency, or in the resident's work room with other residents, even those in my class.

Are you physician and a grown up and a professional to be taken seriously, or are you a ****ing child and a joke?

For what reason do you need to use that language? I'm all for attendings and residents breaking the rules at times. I *may* have sued the word hell or damn in front of a patient *gasp*. But if you have to ask than you probably don't know when those exceptions are and should probably err on the side of caution.

I know how I come off on SDN, but that's sorta the point. When I'm at work, I'd rather come off like I have a stick in my ass than be appropriate.

It's fine if your attendings want to curse. That is NOT an invitation for you to do so, there's really no reason for you to feel the need to join in, nor to make them feel judged about it either.
 
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Repeat after me, there is a difference between your personal behavior in your private life on your own time, and your conduct as a mature professional with a professional image to maintain. My image is me, but the it's me cultivating the parts of myself and conduct that belong at work.

We talk about work/life balance, but we need to talk also of work/life separation. I don't know why people feel the need to blur those lines.
 
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I swear to God some of these kids on SDN have nothing better to do than to eagerly try to come up with another new and inane thread title

if you really have to wonder how to act professionally around professionals....

I curse like a sailor in my private life and only ever really cursed around people who were straight up like my close friends in medicine. I wouldn't use a lot of curse words even at the bar events in med school or residency, or in the resident's work room with other residents, even those in my class.

Are you physician and a grown up and a professional to be taken seriously, or are you a ****ing child and a joke?

For what reason do you need to use that language? I'm all for attendings and residents breaking the rules at times. I *may* have sued the word hell or damn in front of a patient *gasp*. But if you have to ask than you probably don't know when those exceptions are and should probably err on the side of caution.

I know how I come off on SDN, but that's sorta the point. When I'm at work, I'd rather come off like I have a stick in my ass than be appropriate.

It's fine if your attendings want to curse. That is NOT an invitation for you to do so, there's really no reason for you to feel the need to join in, nor to make them feel judged about it either.

If you think it's inane, you don't have to read it. Acting like you're above the question or its stupid to ask it defeats the purpose of the forum and makes you look like an ass.

the answer to this will be intuitive for a lot of people, and they can probably read the social cues around a situation to determine when it's ok and when it's not. For others it won't be, and if this is the first "professional" job they've held it might be a hard thing to figure out.

For the op: if you swear around me, I won't care unless you're in front of 75-year-old mi mah who feels unsafe around the youths now. But as others have pointed out, it's probably an unnecessary risk if you have trouble reading the room.
 
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Can I join in the fun? y/n



itsatrap.jpg
 
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If you think it's inane, you don't have to read it. Acting like you're above the question or its stupid to ask it defeats the purpose of the forum and makes you look like an ass.

the answer to this will be intuitive for a lot of people, and they can probably read the social cues around a situation to determine when it's ok and when it's not. For others it won't be, and if this is the first "professional" job they've held it might be a hard thing to figure out.

For the op: if you swear around me, I won't care unless you're in front of 75-year-old mi mah who feels unsafe around the youths now. But as others have pointed out, it's probably an unnecessary risk if you have trouble reading the room.
what the **** ever dude, I took the time to write a detailed and considered post that addressed this for anyone really wondering. I might point out the inane so people know that it is.

However, reading the question and the OP, I wonder if they are truly confused on this or if they're just bored. We get a lot of trolling, I'm pretty certain this question has been asked if one were to use the search function. Some questions and responses are what makes someone look like an ass, not well considered advice. Telling people to use the search function is such advice, for example.

Perhaps this wasn't covered by OP's medical school on professional conduct, but I highly doubt it.
 
what the **** ever dude, I took the time to write a detailed and considered post that addressed this for anyone really wondering. I might point out the inane so people know that it is.

However, reading the question and the OP, I wonder if they are truly confused on this or if they're just bored. We get a lot of trolling, I'm pretty certain this question has been asked if one were to use the search function. Some questions and responses are what makes someone look like an ass, not well considered advice. Telling people to use the search function is such advice, for example.

Perhaps this wasn't covered by OP's medical school on professional conduct, but I highly doubt it.
I’d for one enjoy troll threads or threads like this.

At best op is being real and I can feel good for not being so socially incompetent. At worst op is trolling and there’s some banter/memes or the thread gets locked
 
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I’d for one enjoy troll threads or threads like this.

At best op is being real and I can feel good for not being so socially incompetent. At worst op is trolling and there’s some banter/memes or the thread gets locked
A four year member with over 1,000 posts likely isn't deliberately trolling for kicks.
 
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I’d for one enjoy troll threads or threads like this.

At best op is being real and I can feel good for not being so socially incompetent. At worst op is trolling and there’s some banter/memes or the thread gets locked
I enjoy these threads too which is why you find me in them. I might have some snark but you'll notice I give earnest advice, people might not like it, but it is earnest.
 
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A four year member with over 1,000 posts likely isn't deliberately trolling for kicks.
Trolling might not be the word for it, I don't doubt this person has honest and serious use of this forum potentially, for the most part.

Like I said, I wonder if some people are just bored when they make these threads. I make threads when I'm bored, but not the in the professional forums.
 
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Tread lightly. Definitely dont turn it into a Tarantino movie.
 
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Around my fellow students and SOME of the interns and junior residents I would speak how I normally do which is rather colorful. Around the senior residents and attendings I wouldn't drop so much as a "damn". There's literally nothing to gain and plenty to lose if you offend the wrong uptight person so it didn't make sense for me to do it.
 
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^^ that. The occasional "damn" or "sh**" is fine. I curse like a sailor around people I know, but generally not really around people I don't know personally or that hold my grades in their hands and I've only had a few weeks to only kinda know how they tick on the surface (I group attendings into this category).

Plus, even if they curse, never know who might hold a double standard or is two-faced (happens all the time with attendings you think loved you but end up giving you mediocre evals).
 
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what the **** ever dude, I took the time to write a detailed and considered post that addressed this for anyone really wondering. I might point out the inane so people know that it is.

However, reading the question and the OP, I wonder if they are truly confused on this or if they're just bored. We get a lot of trolling, I'm pretty certain this question has been asked if one were to use the search function. Some questions and responses are what makes someone look like an ass, not well considered advice. Telling people to use the search function is such advice, for example.

Perhaps this wasn't covered by OP's medical school on professional conduct, but I highly doubt it.

Edgy. Listen, if you look back at the post you wrote and think that it's well thought out advice as written, we don't have much to say to one another. There's a couple things worth saying in it but you covered it in a bunch of weirdness like "are you a professional or a ****ing child and a joke." It doesn't have a purpose, and it's kind of odd to criticize someone's sense of professionalism while writing that out.

Anyway, have a good one.
 
Edgy. Listen, if you look back at the post you wrote and think that it's well thought out advice as written, we don't have much to say to one another. There's a couple things worth saying in it but you covered it in a bunch of weirdness like "are you a professional or a ****ing child and a joke." It doesn't have a purpose, and it's kind of odd to criticize someone's sense of professionalism while writing that out.

Anyway, have a good one.
This is definitely one of those times to curse.

Let me break it down for you:
if you really have to wonder how to act professionally around professionals...
-The implication is that if you have to ask, then you have some homework ahead of you.

I curse like a sailor in my private life and only ever really cursed around people who were straight up like my close friends in medicine. I wouldn't use a lot of curse words even at the bar events in med school or residency, or in the resident's work room with other residents, even those in my class.

-only curse with close friends
-don't curse at even unofficial social events with your peers, be they fellow students or residents
-I would think this would suggest not cursing at official social events with such peers, either
-I explicitly state not to curse while present at work, even in a what seems is a private work space, even if it is with those equal to you on the hierarchy

Are you physician and a grown up and a professional to be taken seriously, or are you a ****ing child and a joke?

-I didn't make it clear that you was not specifically directed at any one person on the forum, however
-the point is to ask yourself, will cursing help you fit the image of a physician, namely someone who appears mature, somewhat serious, professional?
-will cursing make you look less mature?
-(here I use a curse word to create a juxtaposition with the first part of the statement about what the goal of a professional image is, with how cursing can come off, and yes, I will say that cursing at work can make one appear childish, more impulsive, less in control of themselves, their words, their image)
-net result of the above suggests you should ask, will people take you less seriously? does cursing carry with it the connotation of someone who doesn't consider their words carefully, itself a mark of professionalism?
-overall, does cursing make you appear more like someone to take seriously, or less seriously? even the way I phrase that is meant to illustrate this point example, as the first part of the sentence discussing professional behavior, is made using appropriate language, whereas the latter part discussing childish behavior itself demonstrates that

For what reason do you need to use that language? I'm all for attendings and residents breaking the rules at times. I *may* have sued the word hell or damn in front of a patient *gasp*. But if you have to ask than you probably don't know when those exceptions are and should probably err on the side of caution.

-you will see instances where those higher on the hierarchy curse, even in front of patients
-I imply these are exceptions, which implies there are times where cursing may serve a purpose
-however, I would think this implies that one must consider if cursing would indeed serve a positive purpose
-if cursing does not seem to have clear benefit, than it should be avoided

I know how I come off on SDN, but that's sorta the point. When I'm at work, I'd rather come off like I have a stick in my ass than be appropriate.

-here I even address your point about coming off less than professional in the language I used to discuss the matter (despite it basically being 2 sentences you had issue with), because I'm making a point about how behavior in an anonymous forum might differ from actual attendance in a face to face professional arena
-there is work/life separation, how one acts in their personal private life should not necessarily be repeated at work
-it is better to come across more serious and professional rather than less

It's fine if your attendings want to curse. That is NOT an invitation for you to do so, there's really no reason for you to feel the need to join in, nor to make them feel judged about it either.

-one must consider one's own conduct, the standard is not necessarily measured against the behavior of those around who may be acting less professional
-that said it's best to govern your own behavior against a standard, and not necessarily try to police others, depending on the matter at hand

basically some people are just pricks
 
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**** the allo forum

when I was a premed/med student, I used to wonder why so much of the forum was high schoolers and med students trying to answer questions like "what's it like to kill a patient and get sued for malpractice", I thought we were pretty lucky whenever an actual physician would come in and tell us how it really is, even if they were snarky dickish aholes about it. Of course now I understand why they were so pissy.
 
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I do like how this thread went from a bit of banter to full blown autism
 
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I do like how this thread went from a bit of banter to full blown autism

You should check out the "does doing physical exams on classmates make you uncomfortable" thread. Went from that question to a convo about rectal exams and ischioanal releases. Fun stuff
 
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If you're ever going to swear around attendings as a student, use the level 1 swear words like damn and hell. I typically don't say more than that and I used them very sparingly. It's okay to relate but like others have mentioned, you have to be much more mindful than your attending.
 
You can't join in, unfortunately. I may swear a bit here and there, but medical students need to not if they want to avoid the few people that might end your career over it.
 
**** the allo forum

when I was a premed/med student, I used to wonder why so much of the forum was high schoolers and med students trying to answer questions like "what's it like to kill a patient and get sued for malpractice", I thought we were pretty lucky whenever an actual physician would come in and tell us how it really is, even if they were snarky dickish aholes about it. Of course now I understand why they were so pissy.
I very rarely venture here anymore precisely because of this. Not worth the headache.
 
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The **** happened here

Also, I went to the beach last weekend and got sand under my toenail. I'm pretty sure it's infected. Any advice would be appreciated
 
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The **** happened here

Also, I went to the beach last weekend and got sand under my toenail. I'm pretty sure it's infected. Any advice would be appreciated

Yeah you should stop going to the beach
 
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If you're ever going to swear around attendings as a student, use the level 1 swear words like damn and hell. I typically don't say more than that and I used them very sparingly. It's okay to relate but like others have mentioned, you have to be much more mindful than your attending.
Or curse in a different language:
Mierde!
Merde!
Scheissen!
 
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When I'm an attending I plan to present myself as a cursed sailor.

Arrrr welcome to the Black Floor mateys
 
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I love how this thread devolved. I think this is the kind of question that SDN is perfect for: that thing you feel too stupid to ask in real life.

My honest response is, don't engage too much and proceed with caution. There is always a line that each individual has about what is appropriate and what isn't. As a med student you are a visitor to the service you are on, and you might not appreciate the day to day things the people you are operating with do or deal with, and they might find some of your comments unprofessional even though you might think they are in line with what everyone else is saying. On top of that, you are often expected to be more professional because you are in a different phase of your career. For example, when I go to clinic, me and the other residents are probably wearing either scrubs or at most a button up without a tie, but many of our attendings feel the med students should wear ties, be clean shaven, etc. Is it a double standard? Yes, partly, but I have job already. My attending isn't going to fire me because I'm not wearing a tie or haven't shaved for the last 3 days when I've been on call and have slept 10 hours over the last 72 hours. We have different positions and different expectations.

But, for me personally, I curse like a sailor and I don't mind when students curse. Honestly, it puts me at ease that they aren't getting offended with the random F-bombs that come out of my mouth.
 
I actually am a Sailor, and I curse a lot at home and when around other Sailors of comparable rank. But just because we curse a lot doesn’t mean we don’t know when it’s time to lock it up. I wouldn’t curse around my department head or the command staff, and I wouldn’t curse around my attendings.
 
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