I’m concerned about our current generation of learners. Many have been raised in an atmosphere where false confidence is gained not through experiences of success and failure but through praise regardless of level of effort or degree of success. Many of these learners have never received a tough critical appraisal of their efforts, and when they do, they are surprised and hurt by the negative feedback.

I believe that people who are raised in an atmosphere where they are not allowed to fail are afraid to take risks or to venture outside of their comfort zone. These timid folks will not be the leaders of tomorrow. Helicopter parents who do their child’s term paper and make regular trips to do laundry for their college student are not doing anybody any favors.

Part of growing up is learning how to fail and then how to carry on. A big part of learning in residency and medical school is to know how to take criticism for errors or for gaps in knowledge. The professor does not need to be overly stern, but at the same time needs to get the point across.

When a second-year resident can’t identify an obvious fracture or wants to discharge an ill-appearing infant with a high fever, that resident needs to be corrected directly. “It’s okay, honey, you’ll do better next time” is for toddlers.

Learners who can’t take legitimate, even-handed criticism will not fare well in the often hostile hospital environment. They need to learn to take their knocks in a sheltered environment before someone who cares little about their self-esteem whacks them over the head.

I’m not one who thinks that the work-hour restrictions are making all the residents soft. Being up for 24 hours straight is hard enough. All that being up for 36 hours straight did for me was to reinforce how much I hate sleep deprivation. The residents work hard, but hard work alone will not create resilient doctors.

Residents need firm and constructive criticism on a regular basis. This builds a strong mind and a thick hide. It also creates confident physicians who are humble enough to know that they don’t know everything.

It is said that boundless energy is wasted on the young. I find that the longer I practice, the less I stumble. When I do stumble it seems to be easier to get up each year. I guess perseverance is wasted on us older docs.