Through a muddy tear-off on the front of your helmet, under bright Saturday night lights on a remote race track in Florida, you see a petite blonde girl in her 20s hustle up to the window and peek her head in, asking questions about your pain and injuries after a crash.
“Who is this girl?” is a question you might think to yourself, as racing safety crew are predominantly middle-aged males, often fire safety or EMS in their background.
Who is this new kid on the track?
I serve on weekends as part of the safety crew at a local dirt track, responding to wrecks and working to improve safety in motorsports. When I first began, there were occasionally questions about who I was, why I was there, and what my experience was with racing. When I would look at a driver sitting in a car on the track and tell them their axle was broken after a crash, they would occasionally look at the teenage male tow truck driver behind me for confirmation that I was correct. Over time, my attitude, demeanor, work ethic, and medical skill started to convince them that I knew a little bit about what I was talking about and could be trusted.
I probably don’t look like what some may picture as the typical emergency medicine physician. I definitely don’t look like what most race car drivers or pit crew may picture as a race track safety crew member or physician that they expect to come up to their car. I think that’s totally OK.
Many of you may have had similar experiences, when you don’t look like what others perceive you “should.” They may have asked you inappropriate questions about your education, training, age, culture, or other aspects. It can be difficult in those instances to have to be questioned about these things because of your appearance.
There may not be any malice in the question, but it still impacts you. It can make you feel like you need to convince someone of your position in the department and your competence. My take on the situation would be this: Your skill alone is the only thing that should be necessary to convince anyone of anything. You don’t need to look any specific way, certainly not to fit a cookie cutter image of an emergency medicine physician. I look like an emergency medicine physician, because I am one.
When I first began working as a tech in a small community emergency department, I learned quickly the camaraderie that exists between the team members in the emergency department. I often felt like I was the new kid at school early on. There was already a pre-determined culture between the nurses, techs, and physicians. Luckily, I happened to be in a department that was close-knit and tough but friendly. I felt similarly entering a new department for the first time as a resident. One of your main goals aside from patient care is to get the nurses and techs to like, trust, and enjoy working with you.
Whether you are the brand new medical student, first year intern, or newly minted attending entering a different ED for the first time this year, it can be intimidating to walk into the environment. It can be really difficult to infiltrate that environment, prove your skill, work ethic, and communication, and begin to be trusted and accepted by other staff.
It’s not easy to be the new kid on the track. Stick to what you know, and be confident in your education. These attributes will shine through and carry through by the way you take care of your patients. You look like an emergency physician, and you are one.