Finishing my 38th year of internal medicine ward attending, I wish I knew then what I know now. Hopefully, these notes to myself will help some newly minted ward attendings. The job is quite difficult and multifaceted.

Understand the various responsibilities of the ward attending

• Help your learners grow
• Make certain the patients get top notch care
• Be a good role model for the learners
• Stay healthy, both mentally and physically
• Never lose your humanity

What distinguishes ward attending from private practice is consistently combining teaching medical learners with patient care. While we have a great responsibility to our patients, we also have a great responsibility to our learners' future patients.

[WLL(1]One could argue that private practice teaches patients. :0)