Many of us were taught that we need to give up our seats on a bus or a subway to those who need them more. It can be older people, sick people, orpregnant women. But what if you need that seat just as much as they do?
More info:Reddit
Should you give up your seat to someone in need if you need that seat badly yourself?
Image credits:Ketut Subiyanto (not the actual photo)
A medical resident was on her way home from a sleepless 36-hour shift when a pregnant woman asked to take her seat on the subway
Image credits:Matheus Viana (not the actual photo)
Image credits:HeftyDrawer7334
Today’s OP is an internal medicine resident. Overall,medical residentsare already licensed medical doctors who are actively involved in the clinical care of patients. Yet, residency is still a form of training. Only it no longer happens in the classroom, as residents have already graduated. Instead, it is practical training, and the aim is to provide comprehensive practice andknowledgein a chosen specialty.Internalmedicine residents, like today’s original poster, focus on the acute and chronic medical care of adults.
Typically, internal medicine residency takes3 yearsto finish, and after that, residents can get a board certification in internal medicine. Yet, finishing these 3 years isn’t a very easy task, given the long hours of work residents have to put in. Theoretically, in the United States, medical residents can work up to80 hoursa week, with shifts going longer than 20 hours. Yet, there are talks that some residents work more than they clock in, for instance,95 hoursor even more. Well, that doesn’t sound like a piece of cake, does it?
While we can’t say how many hours in the week the OP worked, we surely know that one shift of hers took 36 sleepless hours. No wonder she was so tired after it — who wouldn’t be? And imaginedrivingwhile being this tired. Well, she couldn’t, so she decided to take the subway.
Image credits:Negative Space (not the actual photo)
When the woman got on the subway, it was packed, but she was lucky to get a seat. Unsurprisingly, during the trip, she dozed off a couple of times. But then, she noticed a pregnant lady standing right in front of her. She asked the OP if she would give up herseat. But the medical resident refused. Her justification was that she was so tired she could not stand.
This led to the pregnant woman calling the author inconsiderate, and an old person gave her a seat. Interestingly, later, the original poster’sroommatebasically called her the same thing. Since the woman wasn’t sure she was such a jerk here, she went to Reddit to see what people there thought.
The majority of the people decided that the author wasn’t a jerk. After all,workingsleeplessly for 36 hours straightmakes a personfatigued.In fact, some netizens pronounced the long working hours in the hospital as themain antagonist of the story.
Yet, a few people seemed to understand where the pregnant lady was coming from – pregnancy, especially in the 3rdtrimester,can behard. Still, it doesn’t changethe factthat a young person on the subway shouldn’t automatically give up her seat. Even if they aren’t tired from work like the OP, they might have someinvisible disability. These kinds of illnesses can make a person suffer from chronic pain, cognitive dysfunction, and many other symptoms.
Image credits:Pixabay (not the actual photo)
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