For the last few years when I have a inpatient medicine team with residents and students I take them all to lunch in the hospital cafeteria on weekend days.
1/

I forget how it started. There are usually 2-5 of us. We load up trays with food and drinks and snacks. 2/

The lady who usually runs the cash register knows this and says, “Having your weekend picnic again today Dr. Reid?” 3/

The bill is usually $20-30. 4/

It’s probably one of the most valuable things I do for learners. 5/

We get to pause from repleting all the potassium and talk about real stuff. Daughters, dogs, gardens, parents. Tell funny stories.

These days, we get to see each other without the mask. 6/

At some point, someone will thank me for buying the lunch. I take a few minutes to explain a pet peeve of mine. 7/

Doctors have always been notorious cheap asses. Ungenerous. I can count on one hand the number of attendings who bought me a (cheap ass hospital cafeteria or better) meal in my training. 8/

Maybe it’s because we are mostly $0.25-0.5M in debt by the end of training. I don’t know. 9/

All I know is that I’m worth at least $50 an hour and these guys are doing many hours of work for me every day. So $20-30 for lunch on a Saturday and Sunday is actually underpaying for the benefits I’m receiving. /10

Like the Awkward Introductions we do the first or second day, where we tell who we are, where we grew up, how we got in to medicine and what kind of dog we have or want, it’s a bonding thing. 11/

When I was a resident, I rarely get to eat as much as I wanted and I always had to worry about the budget with a new baby at home.

A free lunch would have really felt special to me. 12/

In summary, don’t be a cheap ass. Take your team to lunch on the weekend and buy them extra snacks and sodas to get them through 2pm nap time. 13/

Show appreciation for all the work they do and role model a professional who is doing well and has the luxury to be generous. 14/