What about him was "zero value"? Why did you find the checks "meaningless"? You criticized him without explaining why you concluded the behaviour was unhelpful (and if you really did tell him to eff off, I'd say that was really unhelpful). As you say, they have to learn somehow.

I'm not sure if you've spent any serious time in the hospital, but most of the night shift seems to be glorified babysitting. The nighttime hospitalist isn't going to do shit, so if you don't have a diagnosis and treatment plan yet, you aren't going to get anything done. He want taking any notes in the exam, just disrupting sleep for nothing.