Just discovered this thread, and it blew my mind. Thanks, OP, for introducing me to your amazing story and to the stories of S.B. Lee and other quadriplegic doctors whom I'd never heard of before. And congrats on your achievements thus far.
I just wanted to put in my two cents. I'm a PGY-1 resident who's nearing the end of a transitional-year program before embarking on a radiology residency at another hospital. For the sake of context, my current hospital is a small, suburban-ish, reputedly "cush" place to work: e.g., there isn't a large amount of codes, and, when there is a code, half-a-dozen doctors (not to mention all the nurses) immediately come pouring into the patient's room; thus, if one particular doctor couldn't make it, I don't think they would really be missed. So, it's a bit hard for me to relate to the posters who portray internship as a time when you'll be running one code after another.
Anyway, there were definitely times this year when colleagues of mine didn't pull their own weight, and yes, it pissed me off at the time, but I'm sorta over it already, and next year, when I've moved on to my chosen specialty, I'll definitely be over it. By the time I'm an attending, I think I'll barely remember what it was like. I do understand where the other resident posters like Blaine and Law2Doc are coming from, but as someone wisely said earlier in this thread, "Medicine is for the patients, not the doctors." I.e., the question of whether a quadriplegic doctor's co-interns will be transiently miffed at him pales in comparison to the question of whether his patients will be benefited by unique perspective and skills. A survey group of PM&R patients would probably be more supportive of the OP than a survey group of disgruntled residents, and arguably the patients are the ones whose opinions on this topic matter the most.
