More on that

As I mentioned before, most of my colleagues could stand a healthy dose of humility. In pediatrics, there's a fair amount of that already, which makes the discipline more appealing.
The residents and medical students are a special cohort of fellow health professional. Still young in their training, you're able to see the individual personalities as they've yet to be influenced by the system. A great deal remain close-minded and, through sheer obstinacy, soar through the career being mostly ridiculed by others and, occasionally, having their talents revered by their patients. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Narcissist.
The answer to why I would choose this as my career certainly doesn't dwell with these individuals. I put on the show of collegiality in their presence as best I can. They're too self-absorbed to realize.
Luckily, there are residents and medical students which give it all meaning. Being an attending physician, you have a lot of interaction with both. A great deal of what they do is provide the majority of the physician workforce, but they also learning (most at least) at an exponential rate.
Let me try to convey what I feel with my most recent encounter. I was in the emergency room seeing a young baby that was sick with the popular lung cold of winter. The medical student told me about the child, and together, we arrived at a plan that alleviated most of the parents fears and the child went home. Around that time, I received a call saying a child that was already in the hospital with the same infection was having a worse time. On the way to the room, I talked with the medical student about how this illness has the tendency to take a quick turn for the worst in a small number of cases. I also explained that it's the fear of most attendings that residents don't appreciate the gravity of this disease, as most never see just how bad it can get.
As we arrived to the room, I saw a cadre of residents and nurses around. The situation was turning out to be one of the difficult ones. I can't say that I was happy with how things turned out, but that's only because a child's health is at the core of it all. I do feel contentment. The residents, medical student, and myself all worked together, bonded with the family, collaborated with the nursing and additional staff, and ended up doing what was best. I like to assume that most of us grew with that experience. I'm most sure that I was able to.
I do this job because moments like that give my decision validity. Not being a religious person, but a spiritual one, it's hard for me to connect with other people on those levels metaphysics because of the schism of beliefs between us. But it's these experiences that allow me to be a part of something bigger. Residents and medical students urge me to engage in ways I would have difficulty doing on my own; and I appreciate that. I'm comfortable needing their help; and, although unaware, they are constantly lending me a hand. I feel like I belong.