ABSTRACT
Once an internship that provides satisfactory credentials without requiring an irrevocable commitment has been obtained, an intern's future aspirations become less important than the immediate job of successfully completing the work of an internship. The work consists almost entirely of attending patients in emergency rooms, clinics, and on the wards. This chapter discusses the processes by which interns learn to do what is required of them and the tactics they employ to accomplish their own purposes. It explores the differences between the purposes of serving an internship and the purpose of work that interns must do as employees of the Boston City Hospital. Like most hospitals, Boston City Hospital provides emergency services and operates an outpatient department. One of the busiest of these facilities is the accident floor, to which people come or are brought in off the streets.
