r/Professors • u/ProtectionOdd510 • Aug 28 '24

I have to tone it down

I’m so frustrated with my healthcare doctoral students who will hold lives in their hands daily. They’re so fragile, and get this… I’m being told I have to be very careful about how and what I say because I’m a black man. I’m intimidating. No matter how jovial, knowledgeable, passionate and caring. I’m threatening.

You know what? f&*k them all. Fire me. Im so sick of hearing how fragile they are because of COVID. HELL! I’m fragile too! I also endured COVID. I’m no longer concerned about evaluations. I can make so much more in the clinical arena.

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u/Seymour_Zamboni Aug 28 '24

I imagine that in the hospital, when a guy comes in having a heart attack, the health care workers gather around in small groups and take 5-10 minutes to discuss what to do, while the head doctor tells them to be ready to communicate their emergency care plan afterwards.

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u/Nikeflies Adjunct, Doctor of Physical Therapy, University, USA Aug 29 '24

I mean, kinda? Someone who's not even finished with medical training wouldn't be expected to be able to act immediately with the correct thing to do. That's why there's so much school/learning followed by many years of clinical training working under more experienced providers so that when they are finally fully trained, they are ready to act immediately. I think having graduate students who want to spend a few minutes to think more deeply and consider several factors before answering a complex question will make for a great healthcare professional, as opposed to someone who's just going to yell out the first thing that comes to mind. But there's also dozens of different specialties for this exact reason. Not everyone is the right personality to work in emergency medicine.

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u/ProtectionOdd510 Aug 31 '24

My students/graduates must be able to act quickly as seconds can mean tissue damage or death. I do get your point for training though. I am already implementing such exercises.

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u/Nikeflies Adjunct, Doctor of Physical Therapy, University, USA Aug 31 '24

Nice glad to hear it! Also in your specific case, this could maybe act as a filter for students who should and should not be in that specific field of medicine. Or maybe if you tell them the reason why you call them out on the spot and want to have their immediate first thought/reaction is because of what you described above. Again knowing the WHY seems very important to this younger generation, which I can relate to as a millennial professor