Vanquished

When I thought about staying in Pittsburgh to do my fellowship, there was only one thing that truly scared me.
It was a person. A person with a reputation for an abrasive tongue, a short temper, and a long memory. This reputation was not only amongst the pother residents at my hospital, but also was made evident when I traveled across the country interviewing at other programs.
Outside of reputation, though, I had reason to be afraid. This person had attempted to get me kicked out of residency when I was an intern. I never was entirely clear on what I had done wrong, but it was clearly VERY wrong. Though I still don't know if they remember me and the incident, I know what it is like to be on the receiving end of that anger.
Still, I am no longer a scared to death intern quaking in my shoes when someone looked at me cross-eyed. I was the one in charge for a year. At this point, no one's expectations for me are higher than my own and I strive to live up to them. With all this in mind, I was very philosophical about coming back to fellowship and having to work with someone who probably didn't like me. Calm. Zen. In control.
And then I found out that on my second week as a fellow I was on an inpatient service with this person and my heart sunk. Bravery/bravado is one thing, but I really wanted to get off to a good start. I wanted to enjoy this bit at the beginning and suddenly I expected only to endure and try not to cry.

I am pleased to report that it went MUCH better than my expectations. We actually had a good time. There was teaching and learning and a little laughter. I was only snapped at once and while it did make my head spin, it was quickly followed by a sincere apology and a statement of appreciation for how hard I was working.

I actually am looking forward to working with this person again. I believe they have a lot to teach and realize I am motivated to learn.

All in all, I would say the first dragon has been vanquished.