Matt Morgan: Pods and wards—flipping through rotations

Some readers may remember Kathy. She filled my childhood Sunday afternoons as the main character in my favourite television show. She wasn’t a doctor; she wasn’t even a human. Kathy was an intelligent dolphin who helped solve local crimes like an underwater version of Lassie, in the 1960s series Flipper. But Kathy’s story had a difficult end because of the isolated, captive environment she lived and worked in.Dolphins, particularly bottlenose dolphins like Kathy, live in “fusion-fission” societies. These social structures have fluid group membership, with individuals frequently changing affiliation. Dolphins swim with one pod for a while before switching to a very different group, forming new alliances and relationships. This dynamic social structure allows them to adapt to changing environments, learn new skills, find mentors, and avoid predators.This week, as I struggled to learn the names of another large cohort of resident doctors joining my department, it struck me that…
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