learning curve.....

so in the past 3 weeks i've been taking 3rd year medical students, helping out with some of their clinical skills assessments and giving short tutorials here and there. it wasnt until today that I truly experienced what my previosu tutors must have felt, the frustration that one gets when students (while enthusiastic and eager) do not appear to grasp the importance of certain aspects of the teachings that Im trying to pass on. " Guys, please go home and read up on the following......." in the near future, " guys, can you tell me the following.....". 1st time, you give them soem leeway, 2nd time, you get frustrated, and 3rd time, you start to think that maybe, there was just something in the message that you are trying to put across is not CLEAR enough. its pretty damn frustrating, when 3rd year medical students still behave like they are in pre-clinical years; expecting to be lectured on and doing minimal self-directed learning. The learning curve when one gets to clinical years of medical training is a steep one. I'm very thankful I had someone to direct me when I was in 3rd year. Im jsut trying to do the same for other that come after me, to the best of my ability, and sometimes its just frustrating.

update 1 - needle-stick patient is HCV positive. so now I have to do blood tests for the next 6 months. damn.