Blood, vomit, and communication: the days and nights of an intern on call

Internship year is the first year of a medical residency, and often the hardest due to an intern's amount of work and lack of experience. This research provides an evocative account of the internship context based on observations of an intern, who was shadowed during 2 of his nights on call. The author describes the fragmented, chaotic, and exhausting experiences of an intern. This descriptive account contrasts with current health communication literature, in that it recognizes a specific context rather than assuming a nondescript clinical setting. Conclusions suggest that the experiences of internship year offer little opportunity to develop the communication skills necessary for a physician's later clinical career. In addition, health communication researchers must strive to better understand medical training by more frequently entering the trenches in which interns work. Such research will serve to advance interpersonal communication within specific health care contexts.