Is it okay to look tired on rotations?

SDN Members don't see this ad. (About Ads)

I'm on surgery right now and it's tiring as you know what.

Should I get better at hiding how tired I am?

And half the time I feel like I don't know what I'm doing or what I'm supposed to be doing.

Should I get better at hiding that as well?

I feel like they're both good skills to master.

If you can hide these things, of course.

Your attendings probably expect some level of ignorance on your part, but no one will feel sorry for you if you complain you are tired or show a lack of interest.

Oh, I know never to complain. And at the very least, I'd feign interest. Just hard to do it with a smile sometimes.

at one of the medical student conferences one of the PDs stated one of the most important things a student can do on a rotation is act interested and enthusiastic about a rotation and therefore to do whatever you can (drink 5 cups of coffee prior to coming in) to not act disinterested.

Hell yeah, it's fine. You might not get an A but whatever.

Originally Posted by joeDO2

at one of the medical student conferences one of the PDs stated one of the most important things a student can do on a rotation is act interested and enthusiastic about a rotation and therefore to do whatever you can (drink 5 cups of coffee prior to coming in) to not act disinterested.

Also, if female, wake up an hour early to do your hair and makeup.

Honestly, I think the main things are to:

1. Not be lazy
2. Converse, whether it is about medicine or not


Everything else is in the periphery, including looking tired.

Thankfully by the time I had gotten through most of my surgery rotation, I no longer gave two ****s about whether I looked tired or not, given that the surgery residents themselves look ridiculously tired. If they fault you for also looking tired, then they have major self-esteem issues to be taking it out on the student.

People equate yawning and nodding off to being bored. If the people evaluating you think you find their job boring, they wont think highly of you. Plus in some cases residents are pulling longer hours than you, or lived under the 30 hour call system, and will have no pity. So no, it's not a good idea to look tired.