Changing world of ObGyn training

Has the world changed and left me behind, or was it always so, and I never realized because I never looked at it properly? The current generation of residents and students have put me in a confused state over this issue. I was quite upset that in spite of my repeated explanation that the standard practice of putting a uterine sound into the uterine cavity was a safety precaution for preventing uterine or cervical perforation, my resident doctors just would not do so. It reached such a stage that the theater-nurses stopped keeping a uterine sound on the instruments' trolley, The residents ware changing our science! Finally I had had enough and decided to conduct an on the spot test to check their awareness level of this issue. Two of my senior residents (third year) had just performed first trimester pregnancy terminations without using a sound to check the direction of the cervical canal prior to cervical dilatation. I called all residents, gave each of them a piece of paper and asked them to write the need for a uterine sound while performing a first trimester pregnancy termination. Two of them wrote “neo need”. All others, including two fourth year residents (qualified to be consultants) gave wrong answers except one second year resident. Some of them measured utero-cervical length, which was inviting fundal perforation, since the gravid uterus is quite soft. Some of them measured the length of the cervical canal. One first year resident had been present when I had told the correct answer to one of the two erring third year residents. Even he gave a wrong answer. I gave him minus ten marks; minus five for giving a wrong answer, and minus five for inability to comprehend spoken English. I told the resident who had given the correct answer that I was quite happy with her, and she beamed. Then she washed up for the next case with me, and put a uterine manipulator into the uterine cavity without sounding it first. So I had a theory-master who would not practice what she knew was right. I have no clue why they behave in this way. I don't think they think they are more knowledgeable than me, because I keep asking them questions, and tell them the right answers when they cannot answer. I don't think they want to revolt against discipline, because they are otherwise quite decent people. I think it is their training, and someone else has been a more effective trainer than me, though unfortunately a wrong one. Habits don't die hard, habits don't ever die, period. To top this all, my undergraduate students entered the operation theater at that unfortunate moment. I gave them the test too. Out of four of them, one borrowed a pen from my first year resident. I laughed at this, As soon as I had finished my residents about this, another student asked me to lend her my pen. I was aghast. As students we never even thought of asking the Boss to lend us his pen or anything else. And none of the students answered the question correctly. My third third-year, resident said he knew the right answer and practiced it so, but did not take the test because he had heard the answer from me when I corrected the erring resident. He turned out to have taught the students this topic. To confirm that he had taught them the right thing, I asked the students to show me the notes they had taken that time. They just stood there hanging their heads. They had not taken any notes! I think the world has indeed changed, and probably for worse.