ABSTRACT
Mr. Bulfinch made a mistake. Close attention to the south stairways leading from the lawn into the first floor of the Bulfinch building will reveal that the height of the top step is one-and-a-half inches greater than the lower dozen steps. In the 1960s, anxious interns with clean, pressed, white uniforms hurried up the stairs each week on their way to teaching conferences. Early in the academic year, some of them would misjudge the top step and trip, scattering charts, papers and stethoscopes everywhere. All occurred within the view and the sound of the house staff and faculty who were gathered inside the nearby conference room. Dr. Dwight Robinson gave me lots of useful advice and one bit of it saved me from the embarrassment of tripping on the "Intern's Step." Dr. Robinson explained that it had been called the "Intern's Step" because of the mishaps it had caused. Experienced residents never tripped on it. It is now painted red.
