House officers and Responsibility

Rank does not confer privilege or give power. It imposes responsibility.

~ Peter Drucker

Does this mean that House officers, being the lowest in the medical heirarchy, bear no responsibilty at all? I would have thought otherwise, but according to Pilocarpine, some HODs think so.

The way forward is to take responsibility for what we do. Extra care and attention will be automatic if one is acutely aware that one is responsible for one’s actions. If House officers are only there to be robotic clerks and observers, then they won’t learn anything.