ABSTRACT
Interns face the problem of participating in academic activities when the demands of providing patient care require almost all their time. They must therefore coordinate their academic activities with their work, and develop a perspective to guide their actions toward that end. This requires them to define their situation, set goals for themselves in it, and evolve a rationale that legitimizes their activities during the year. Interns have a great deal of work to do. The long hours on the wards and in the laboratory are recognized as part of the job. Even the physicians who select interns, concerned as they are with class standing, letters of recommendation, and the other evidence of academic success, acknowledge the almost exhausting amount of work interns have to do. Most interns give up all their leisure time. Though they are permitted, for example, to use the Harvard athletic facilities, few do so.
