Mainstream society seems to be particularly fascinated by the "glamorous" and "exciting" lives of America's young doctors...House, ER, Grey's Anatomy, and Scrubs are just a few of the more well-known shows that have capitalized on this obsession with brilliant, successful medical heroes who would sacrifice their own lives in some cases to cure a patient. Oh, yeah--and did I mention that they also happen to be some of the sexiest, best-looking people you've ever met??

These television characters do everything. They capture radiographs, run lab tests, and even perform surgeries (from cardiac catheterizations to partial lobotomies), all in ONE day! And they still have time to grab a nice sit-down lunch outside with all of their colleagues (taking advantage of the beautiful sunshine that is forever luminating the clear blue sky in Seattle/Providence/Connecticut/Chicago), go for a jog after work, attend a romantic dinner date, and spend the rest of the evening relaxing with friends at the local bar, waking up early enough the next morning to cook a pancake breakfast for their cool resident roommates. Amazing.

Needless to say, the lives of REAL medical residents don't quite measure up to these cleverly written TV episodes...and it definitely goes beyond not knowing where to find those cute Hollywood-tailored scrubs that accentuate Meredith's and Elliott's figures rather than the "common variety" that look more like a crumpled up pillowcase I pulled out of a pile of dirty laundry.

To set the record straight, I've dedicated this blog to sharing my personal experiences working as a resident at the Mayo Clinic, keeping the strictest patient confidentiality, of course, to give you guys an idea of just how glamorous and exciting the medical field is in real life.

Although the stranger who asked me in the elevator last week, "Is it just like Grey's Anatomy?" will unfortunately never read these entries, I hope to highlight in subsequent posts the striking similarities as well as the stark differences to the portrayal of young residents' lives on screen.

With the stage now set, let me share with you...Tales of a Resident!