Mediocre evals

[NewPoster]

So I've had several rotations thus far and I've been squeaking by with mostly mediocre evals. This really surprised me because I consider myself a nice, normal person, and everyone told me prior to third year that I would have "no problem" getting good evals. I am not aggressive or outspoken and I think I am being overshadowed by my louder peers. I've been getting average marks for "fund of knowledge" even though I've aced all my shelf exams so far. But the eval that shocked me the most was someone who gave me "marginal" for "compassion" -- wtf??? I am a very compassionate person and I have gone above and beyond for every single patient I've taken care of. I don't know how to remediate this. Maybe my personality just sucks. Feeling low. Anyone have any advice for me. Is this a typical experience??

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[LUCPM]

So I've had several rotations thus far and I've been squeaking by with mostly mediocre evals. This really surprised me because I consider myself a nice, normal person, and everyone told me prior to third year that I would have "no problem" getting good evals. I am not aggressive or outspoken and I think I am being overshadowed by my louder peers. I've been getting average marks for "fund of knowledge" even though I've aced all my shelf exams so far. But the eval that shocked me the most was someone who gave me "marginal" for "compassion" -- wtf??? I am a very compassionate person and I have gone above and beyond for every single patient I've taken care of. I don't know how to remediate this. Maybe my personality just sucks. Feeling low. Anyone have any advice for me. Is this a typical experience??

This is quite common and the subjectivity of evaluation will continue throughout the remainder of your education.

Ask your attending if they can give you feedback at some point, what you can do to improve, what their expectations are, etc. Do let them know what you would like to learn. Always read about things you see in the clinic and ask good questions (not just random questions you can easily look up). More importantly, stay healthy so you can focus on learning and remain enthusiastic while you are in the clinic. But sometimes, it's hard to change how other people are judging you, especially when most clinicians are already used to diagnose and figure things out quickly.

 

[GoldenFish]

So I've had several rotations thus far and I've been squeaking by with mostly mediocre evals. This really surprised me because I consider myself a nice, normal person, and everyone told me prior to third year that I would have "no problem" getting good evals. I am not aggressive or outspoken and I think I am being overshadowed by my louder peers. I've been getting average marks for "fund of knowledge" even though I've aced all my shelf exams so far. But the eval that shocked me the most was someone who gave me "marginal" for "compassion" -- wtf??? I am a very compassionate person and I have gone above and beyond for every single patient I've taken care of. I don't know how to remediate this. Maybe my personality just sucks. Feeling low. Anyone have any advice for me. Is this a typical experience??

Nearly everybody goes through this bud.

The reality is that the clinical years tend not to reward those who are more quiet or reserved by nature. As good as you are, you have to show it. The disconnect between how evaluators perceive your knowledge and your shelf exam score is an all too common scenario. Sometimes all it takes is one instance where you demonstrate your medical knowledge or decision making to let people know you're legit. Get out of your comfort zone a little and try and be a little more showy with demonstrating your knowledge. Put yourself in their shoes - really busy, with many students following you (that switch out every few weeks) - how are they supposed to know you know your stuff if you never show it?

 

[URHere]

In my experience, 90% of evaluations from attendings are based on how well you present (are you concise without missing important information? Do you speak well/confidently? Do you use terms correctly? Do your assessments and plans make sense and show that you have considered alternatives instead of regurgitating your resident's plan?). Find a way to improve your presentations and you will improve your attending evals.

In contrast, residents tend to evaluate you based on how well you interact with the team and how enjoyable you are to spend time with in the team room. Doing things like being the first to follow-up on key labs/imaging/placement info for your patients (even if it means walking down to radiology or the case management office), flagging your resident when a key physical exam finding changes, calling consults, teaching MS3 students once you're a fourth year, and (in some cases, most importantly) being able to carry-on a medically-unrelated conversation about something your resident is interested in. Don't just sit there and be a random stranger for a few weeks (this is what quiet students tend to have trouble with). On the flip side, don't be annoying - learn how to tell when your resident is busy/stressed and do whatever you can to make that better, not worse.