My first saul-pliment!

(Dr. Saul is my oh-so-lovable senior physican this month, described in this post.)

So a usual saulpliment goes something like this:

::peering over his glasses::

"Hmm . . . you seem to have quite a rapport with the family."

This is accompanied by a suspicious squint usually reserved for someone who's just drunk a gallon of milk and then thrown it back up. Kind of vaccilating between awe and disgust. You get that look for two seconds or so then he walks off.

(Yes, he leaves me behind just about every time I step into a patient's room or pause to have a conversation with a nurse. Occasionally he actually leaves for other wings of the hospital and then I get that look again when I find him againtwenty minutes later.)

So that's the closest to positive feedback that I've gotten so far this rotation. Then, this morning, it happened.

I showed up, late of course, as he'd told me to meet him on the third floor and then booked it to the sixth floor within the 50 seconds it took me to ascend on the elevator. When I arrived, as usual he looked me up and down, but instead of the usual extra-dissaproving version of the look, he actually smiled (yikes!) and choked out, "well don't you look professional today, Dr. Scopes," awkward pause, "and you have certainly performed adequately for an intern this rotation."

I was literally in shock. I was unaware that he knew my name as he has only referred to me as "the intern." (As in "well, the intern must have forgotten to write the vent settings this morning leading to patient F's respiratory alkalosis.)

After I managed to stutter out a 'thank you,' he turned to the NP:

"Laura, make sure you write down that I gave verbal feedback and commented on the intern's professionalism."

And off he went.