Pride

Final year examination of our medical students is around the corner. Easy? I don't think so. Tension? Absolutely.

Ask most teachers the first rule to pass oral examination and they'll likely cite the credo "not to argue with your examiners." I told my students the same advice. "Follow the cue or you'll be killed."

That's one of the reasons most doctors tend to lionise senior during ward round. As a senior myself, I have a confession to make. Even if we don't realise it, we often mix up our authority as the almighty examiner and that of a doctor. My junior, for instance, didn't agree with my diagnosis the other day, and I could sense the way I get offended when an examination candidate sets out to defend his own diagnosis. Arguing with an examiner equipped with a model answer is tantamount to suicide. Sounds like a dictator, right? And, of course, the line between defending the truth and confronting the boss is blurry. But one thing is clear, I may not know better than a junior doctor when there isn't model answer at hand in real patient care.

So yes, it's much more difficult for a senior to be humble than a junior to speak up. This is especially true in hierarchical animals' case. Which doctors are, in a way that magnifies the pecking order. Whether we like to admit it or not, we need younger doctors to tell us we're wrong at times.

"Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience." That's a quote I wish my junior won't say behind my back.