Electrophysiology isn't a technique you add to your CV; it's a state of being!

Neuropharma's comment on my last post contained something that stuck in the craw of this old electrophysiologist. Some grad student she knew thought he could waltz over and learn some electrophysiology right quick, and include it in his thesis.

Then reality struck this student, rapidly disabusing them of this conceit:
"He was shocked to discover that it would take him such a long time to learn the technique (he's starting from level 0) and said that it seemed so easy when reading it from some published paper!"

Every newb thinks that a technique they haven't mastered is easy, until they actually try it. And in fact, the bare bones mechanics of patching are pretty straightforward. I've taught a lot of novices how to patch, and by and large they can get to the point of gigaohm seals in a week or two (ok, we're talking transfected HEK cells here). Hell, I'm thinking any primate above lemurs could learn to get seals. (Not a bad idea actually; screw those automated patch systems, gimme an army of squirrel monkeys and an old warehouse, and I'll screen your chemical library right quick! It'd be like the nut shelling squirrels in Willy Wonka. And they'd literally be DrugMonkeys! LOLZ.)

But there's a huge distinction between the currents you're recording at that point, and 'good' currents. These first currents are crap, e.g. the leak is terrible, the series resistance is awful, the throughput stinks, the solution applications kill cells or generate huge noise, you've got visible 60 Hz pickup. At best they're barely interpretable. But Electophysiologicus will dole out a decent cell here, a nice recording there. That'll be just enough to keep you coming back for more, and to keep the image of good recordings in your mind's eye.

The transition between the crappy recordings of the apprentice and the regular good recordings of the master takes a long, long time, on the order of a year I'd say.
These are the dark times, where the progress is non-existent, perhaps to a greater extent than an analogous part of the curve for other technical subspecialties. Most electrophysiologists I've talked with had this time in their training, typically falling into the 2nd year of graduate school.

And yet, there's very little useful advice the masters can give their apprentices during this time, other than "keep at it". Sure, there are suggestions to try this, or don't do that. In the end though, everyone just has to put in their time, slowly perfecting each requisite skill, and evolving their own personal technique. It sucks, for sure, but it does end.

It's just not gonna end before your rotation or your last few months before you finish your thesis.