ABSTRACT
Rotation throws residents and internes (and students) together in ever-varied combinations. This variability will quickly be comprehended if it be imagined that each of these three rotational cycles are intersectable by the other two at numerous points of contact. The chapter analyses what transpires when a mediocre American resident takes charge of a medical ward with the assistance of a competent interne. Schmeil, the resident, had been preceded on this service by an interne, who described him as staying well in the background for five or six days until he learned the ropes. The field worker had observed Schmeil some weeks before and concluded he was not overly competent, either in medical and administrative affairs or in his teaching. Like those procedures of other educational institutions that are designed to widen the scope of the student’s vision, the medical rotational system is based upon the assumption that the more varied the learning situations, the better education will be achieved.
