THE FINAL CUT

Keeping in tone with Emarati Nickel & Dime's last post and in view of some recent occurrences at work, I decided to do a bit of my own venting.

As an intern, I learned early on that it's best to accept the fact that your workplace will depend on you to perform the menial tasks no one else wants to perform and all of it must be endured to earn the blood stains on your scrubs. But admittedly, when I first came on, I brought with me an innocence and nonchalance about the inner workings of the workplace and the hierarchical corporate culture, an attitude that took a massive blow only a few weeks into my internship.

Notwithstanding the unbearably long hours, interns more often than not receive no wage for the services they offer. But I like to think that sometimes the greatest perks aren't in the money or the requirement credits. Rather, they are in the experience. In mine, I have not only learned to put to use my sense of clinical judgment (or lack thereof) but have also been made aware of workplace culture, which is one of constant politicking and backstabbing. Our specie (of the unstipended intern) is no exception and we are known to take quite a few knocks along the road to "adulthood". Murphy's Law being what it is, combined with hospital bureaucracy, we get kicked where it counts, and then while we're down and out, we get kicked some more, just for good measure. I thought we were all equals. But it seems that some people are more equal than others.

I'm being harsh, but unapologetically truthful when I say that in losing sight of the line between being competent and streetwise, a lot of interns play Helen Keller to the blatant bias and bypass much of the abuse the system is designed to hurl at us by becoming bottom feeders in the ass-kissing stepladder. In medical terms, that makes me a complication because that sort of attitude only serves to send my neurotransmitters into disarray and I can't keep my mouth shut. That I have lasted as long as I have is nothing short of a miracle and I realize this as I choke back the Roger Waters line* which in essence states the same, if not in as much words.

An earthquake hits the theatre
But the operetta lingers
Then the piano lid comes down
And breaks his fucking fingers
*It's a miracle

Not wishing to end on a sour note, let me just mention that I can't wait for the highlight of my week to take the stage - Roger Waters. The gig is in two days and I'm biting my nails in anticipation as I listen to the soundtrack of my life - Amused to Death. How fitting.