tips for dealing with rotations you don't like

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Does anyone have any tips on how to get through when you are on a rotation you have no interest with, or are working with unpleasant residents/attendings?

Just remember, the rotation will be over soon. It won't hurt forever.

Suck it up and try to make the resident's lives easier instead of harder.

Don't let it show.

Originally Posted by Disinence2

Suck it up and try to make the resident's lives easier instead of harder.

Yeah, that's exactly the student's job....make the resident lives easier...it's not like the student's priority isn't to, you know, learn or anything....

Originally Posted by Rollo

Yeah, that's exactly the student's job....make the resident lives easier...it's not like the student's priority isn't to, you know, learn or anything....

If you actually do things to help them get their work done, they might have time to teach rather than just trying to slog through all the BS to get out of the Hosp w/o violating work hours.

Originally Posted by Rollo

Yeah, that's exactly the student's job....make the resident lives easier...it's not like the student's priority isn't to, you know, learn or anything....

If you are making the resident's life easier that probably means that you are taking some of the resident's work and doing it. Since ultimately the goal is to become a resident, learning to do that work is exactly the kind of learning you want to be doing. Plus it gives them time and another reason to teach you.

Uh what? Screw the resident. You want to help get through a rotation that blows? Figure out something you want to take away from it. What is it that you DO want to do? For instance, I want to do Medicine, so what do I care about Surgery? The answer is - everything! Everything is important for me to learn. You need to learn what is a surgical problem or understand the surgeries your patients had, etc. I'm on Neurology now and I have to listen to my own advice because it's miserable and I really dislike Neuro. So my goals? Learn how to assess a neurological complaint so I don't run and hide when the neuropathy ISN'T because of diabetes. And learn how to call an intelligent neurology consult! And try to relate everything back to something I've read about Neurology so it can actually stick - which is consequently what you should be doing for every rotation, not just the ones you dislike! But it's even more important here.

Originally Posted by drizzt3117

If you actually do things to help them get their work done, they might have time to teach rather than just trying to slog through all the BS to get out of the Hosp w/o violating work hours.

Originally Posted by mmmcdowe

If
you are making the resident's life easier that probably means that you are
taking some of the resident's work and doing it. Since ultimately the goal is to
become a resident, learning to do that work is exactly the kind of learning you
want to be doing. Plus it gives them time and another reason to teach you.

I feel like the amount that a medical student can save me by helping me is pretty negligable compared to the amount of time that they need to put in trying to help me. If I'm short of teaching time that will virtually never fixes the problem and will likely cost them more leaning in lost study time than I can possibly impart in a teaching session. Also the 'work' that medical students learn to do by helping residents is rarely useful to learn in a universal sense (doing consults, assessments and plans, placing orders). Instead its more secretarial (fax things, file things, fetch things) or specific to a single hospital system (please help with the 8 different steps we need to order a pediatric MRI, or TPN, or to order a non-formular med).

My advice: do your morning notes well, be pleasant, check up on pending labs (bonus points if you beat the me to it), and take as many patients as they will let you. However when that's over and done with just bring something to read so you don't waste time while we run around and get our work done. BTW I strongly recomend a book vs an Iphone so that everyone knows you're studying and not on SDN. Finally please be aware that as the Intern I don't really have the power to let you go when things are slow, so please stop staring at me mournfully when you are sitting around with nothing to do and stare mournfully at my senior instead.

Just try to learn what you can and move on. You have to know this stuff at least until step 2 is over depending on what field you choose and what the current rotation is. Also think about why you don't like it. Usually when I hated a rotation it was because my team sucked and the actual patient management and diseases weren't so bad (except surgery... the OR just blew). And take comfort in the fact that it will be over soon. Time passes by very quickly, I promise.

You may not like the rotation but don't hate them residents, attendings and the ilk. I came off an elective I didn't like with a stellar evaluation and having made many friends. It boils down to how you deal with people. So, I would pick the brains of residents and attendings on what got them into that specialty. See their point of view. Ask for advice on how to go about getting into the residency I want. Basically academic stuff that interested me, was specialty independent, but also showed that I was interested; just now in their rotation

at all the residents and "phyisicians" talking like they weren't med students 3 months ago, lol.

Anyways, if its the people that you don't like just see this as an opportunity to hone your skills in working with them, because you'll always have someone you dont' like that you have to interact with.

If you don't like it because you're not interested in that medicine then try and find things that you can learn that will be applicable to the field you want to go into or that will be helpful as an intern/resident.

And, as has been mentioned, always remember that it won't last longer than a few weeks!

Not to hijack this thread, but you know what's making me miserable about my current rotation? My AI. Who seems to forget that she was a third year medical student, well, three months ago. I've had fantastic AIs on other rotations that were awesome, really helped us out, and made even a boring or slightly unpleasant rotation fine.

I just want my AI to spontaneously combust.

Treat it as practice for patients that you won't like

Originally Posted by Ok2Panic

Not to hijack this thread, but you know what's making me miserable about my current rotation? My AI. Who seems to forget that she was a third year medical student, well, three months ago. I've had fantastic AIs on other rotations that were awesome, really helped us out, and made even a boring or slightly unpleasant rotation fine.

I just want my AI to spontaneously combust.

What are 3rd years looking for in 4th year students? I tried to "teach" what I could which goes without saying is much less than an intern or resident. I try to help with notes/pertinent questions for the rotation. Plus, I try to keep a joyful environment because if I'm miserable I tend to outwardly show it, haha.

Originally Posted by Bacchus

What are 3rd years looking for in 4th year students? I tried to "teach" what I could which goes without saying is much less than an intern or resident. I try to help with notes/pertinent questions for the rotation. Plus, I try to keep a joyful environment because if I'm miserable I tend to outwardly show it, haha.

If you were my AI, I'd be well chuffed. I don't really expect much from you guys at all, in terms of you having a responsibility to my experience or anything. So if my AI only smiled politely and said hi to me, I'd be fine. I guess all I expect is that you won't be a douche, hijack the M3's presentations at rounds, order me around like a jerk, seemingly go out of your way to make me look bad, and then promptly switch back to med student buddy buddy mode when no one else is around.

The AIs that I described as fantastic were the ones that would realize we were lost and confused about what was going on and every now and then whisper tips to us, about what was going on, where to be, who to avoid, etc. But I don't even expect that much of anyone! I guess I just expect that you're going to act like a regular half decent human being, which, I fully admit, the majority of AIs I've encountered definitely do!

Anyway, I just needed to vent. Tomorrow is Monday and I have to see her horrible face again.

Originally Posted by Ok2Panic

If you were my AI, I'd be well chuffed. I don't really expect much from you guys at all, in terms of you having a responsibility to my experience or anything. So if my AI only smiled politely and said hi to me, I'd be fine. I guess all I expect is that you won't be a douche, hijack the M3's presentations at rounds, order me around like a jerk, seemingly go out of your way to make me look bad, and then promptly switch back to med student buddy buddy mode when no one else is around.

The AIs that I described as fantastic were the ones that would realize we were lost and confused about what was going on and every now and then whisper tips to us, about what was going on, where to be, who to avoid, etc. But I don't even expect that much of anyone! I guess I just expect that you're going to act like a regular half decent human being, which, I fully admit, the majority of AIs I've encountered definitely do!

Anyway, I just needed to vent. Tomorrow is Monday and I have to see her horrible face again.

Sounds like we could share a beer together. I gave the M3s procedures when I was asked if I wanted them on medicine. Mouthed things to them during pimp sessions. Explained what I could. I'm such a nice guy.

Originally Posted by Siverhideo1985

at all the residents and "phyisicians" talking like they weren't med students 3 months ago, lol.

Well, I wasn't. It's been almost 2.5 years, and it was over 4 years ago since I was an M3 in July.

Besides, Perrotfish and Disinence2 were both pretty clear that they're interns. You rapidly acquire a new perspective and set of job requirements as residency starts.