How has it come to this?

I have just had a very stupid argument with one of my work colleagues, let's call him John Smith. He is someone I regularly go out drinking with, and I enjoy his company. He has three MTAS interviews to my zero, but apart from a good-natured 'let's throw things at John because he got interviews' session, we've haven't let this fact come between us.

I haven't got much on this afternoon for a change, so I thought I'd make a start on a case report my previous Consultant asked me to write up for a well-known American medical journal. He asked me to write it up about six weeks ago, just before I changed onto another medical firm. I got the patient's notes and was reading through them when I found a consent form, from said American medical journal, signed by the patient and witnessed by my friend Dr Smith. 'How odd,' I thought. 'I'll just bleep John and find out what's going on.'

The conversation started fine - it transpired that my Consultant had also asked John to write up the case report. Unfortunately, this journal only allows two authors and our Consultant would have to be one of them. What followed was a rather prickly, unpleasant exchange. Examples as follows:

'I was on the firm when she was in.'
'So was I - we changed over halfway through her admission.'
'Well I clerked her in.'
'No you didn't - you only reviewed her after the F2 clerked her in.'
'I saw her on the ward.'
'So did I.'
'To be honest, if I get a job I might not bother.'
'Well I don't have a job. What do you want me to do, wait until you know if you have one or not?'

It was just stupid. I am annoyed at the Consultant for asking us both - surely he knew there might have been some disagreement? Apparently he also asked my previous registrar, but she couldn't be bothered. So one less person for silly arguments I suppose. And yes, I feel bad for bringing up the interview/job thing. I just felt provoked by the 'if I get a job I won't bother' line - I mean, who needs this more?!

It's ridiculous, fighting over scraps from the Boss' table. Desperate for anything that might give you extra points on your CV. Falling out with friends over a few lines in a journal.

Anyway, we decided to ask the Consultant who he wants to do it. John said, 'I'm sure he'll say to let you do it.' Let me do it? What am I, a charity case? I suppose I am really.