Finishing my 38th year of internal medicine ward attending, I wish I knew then what I know now. Hopefully, these notes to myself will help some newly minted ward attendings. The job is quite difficult and multifaceted.

Understand the various responsibilities of the ward attending

Help your learners grow
Make certain the patients get top notch care
Be a good role model for the learners
Stay healthy, both mentally and physically
Never lose your humanity

What distinguishes ward attending from private practice is consistently combining teaching medical learners with patient care. While we have a great responsibility to our patients, we also have a great responsibility to our learners' future patients.

[WLL(1]One could argue that private practice teaches patients. :0)

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