Score!

Yesterday a doctor asked me to recite my differential diagnosis for a patient who complained of bilateral leg pain. This particular doctor has achieved a lot in his career and tends to stress his own accomplishments ad nauseam while minimizing those of others. His vocabulary also seems to lack the words "please" and "thank you," so my day with him felt long.

After sharing my short list of potential diagnoses, I got a little more history from the patient. The doctor remained uncharacteristically silent as our conversation led to a detailed discussion of the patient's lifestyle, his other health questions, and some relevant recent research to support my recommendations.

"So you must be nearly done with school," he said. "Yes," I replied. "I have about a week and a half of this rotation left before I graduate." "Ah," he said. "You know a lot more than the other students I've met."

I try to keep my ego grounded, but I'm going take the liberty of calling this one a win.