Thank you for putting this together--lots of obvious though sometimes forgotten advice--but it has a lot of odd advice too. I've trained in Australia just like you, so it seems even odder in that context (where student evaluations mean
so little, individual relationships matter
much more, etc.).
A 15-second template on asking somebody for an obs chart? With multiple examples including various
tones of voice? With
explanations for eye contact? Why not, "Pardon, where's X? Got it. Thank you"!
You may be trying very hard to convey an impression, but people are busy trying to
get things done. At some point, you gotta stop calling attention to yourself. Be kind, be polite, but
be efficient.
Buying coffee
twice a week for your intern? You're an international student attending medical school on high-interest loans with no guarantee of a job when you graduate. It's not even close to fair.
Everyone knows this, and it probably makes them feel incredibly uncomfortable. I bought a
very good registrar an ice cream cone. Once. And I've received outstanding evaluations on all my rotations both in Australia and the US. (I do send thank you emails though--when genuinely deserved.)
"The answer is always: why of course you do." Really? I'm at the point where I'll kindly
refuse scut work from an intern that's puts
zero effort in teaching.
They're getting paid to do it (including overtime in Australia)
. You're paying for the privilege.
I'll do anything and everything for my team (even happily transporting patients or changing sheets when we were short on staff), but if some random intern asks for bloods on patient X, I'll very politely say "Sorry, I'm already doing A, B, and C" (unless they look well and truly desperate). Part of being a doctor is learning how to develop
healthy boundaries. Otherwise, you're setting yourself up for misery down the road.
"Do not ever, by the pain of death, no matter how subtly, answer up the hierarchy or one-up anyone." Completely agree. But the corollary is this: "
Always blame your success on your seniors." This gesture accomplishes three things: 1) it's humble and collegial and gets noticed as being such (it's also probably true), 2) it makes your senior look good, and 3) it makes your seniors more willing to teach you. I'll never forget a US Sub-I where I was assigned a 3rd year to teach. I 8/8 guessed what the attending's pimp questions were going to be and prepped the student accordingly. The attending was
thoroughly impressed with the student, but the student said, "Thank you, but it's lymphocyte's fault. He/she taught me all about it." My jaw dropped. It was an
incredibly kind thing to say; it resulted in very positive comments on
both of our evaluations; and I would do
anything for him after that.
I took this lesson to heart when I returned to Australia, and I made a habit of CC'ing the consultants all my thank you emails to my JMO's (for whom evaluations matter
a lot more). I now have a strong network of grateful contacts.
Make your colleagues look good. Not to convey an
impression, not to
appear that you're X, Y, and Z, but because it's a
genuinely kind thing to do. Hell, it's even mentioned in the Hippocratic Oath. (Somewhere in the back.)
And then there's this:
"The reg then asked me. My answer was, “Well you know I’m not allowed to answer up the hierarchy.” And they both were like, “Hah, what do you mean?” And I said, “You know, I’m not supposed to do that.” And this was done in such a way where it came off as conscientious, rather than supercilious, because it was in concord with the rest of my behavior. I know that both the reg and JHO saw it as a good move."
This actually sounds like a very
bizarre move. Again, you're trying very hard to convey an
impression, but people are busy trying to
get things done. Why not say, "I think Dr JHO said before that it was X. Isn't that right"? Done. Face-saving for all involved.
Don't take this the wrong way, but I know you're taking time off after medical school, and I feel like you'll end up like Michael J. Burry or someone similar. That's meant as a massive compliment and also as an intimation for psychological evaluation. I wish you the best of luck.
