Department of Pet Peeves

Fourth-year med students are frequently asked by interns, residents, and staff physicians, "what do you want to be when you grow up?" This is a way of asking "what medical specialty are you planning to enter?" Now, I would probably find this formulation slightly irritating in any case, but when it's posed by a 27-year-old intern to someone who, like myself, is of a certain age--well, let's just say it's a bit jarring.

As I've been preparing my applications to residency programs over the past month I've had plenty of time to ponder my CV, reminding me that while living in Boston in the 80s I was a teaching assistant for a music theory class at Harvard. And I must admit that it has crossed my mind to reply to that twentysomething intern, "kid, I was teaching at Harvard when you were in grade school." Wouldn't do much for my grade, but it would probably be satisfying enough to make it worth it.