Before starting 3rd year, I heard all the stories about subjective grading and was naive enough to believe that it wouldn't happen to me. I have always done great on both objective and subjective evaluations but 3rd year is a different beast. Although my evaluations have been for the most part excellent, I have not done as well as I did 1st/2nd year (granted I did set the bar very high). The frustrating part is there really is no rhyme/reason to why I didn't do better. It's not like I can look back and say I should have done this/could have done that. I was at the whim of someone checking off a box and while there are strategies you can use to stack the cards in your favor (i.e. play the game), if you aren't dealt the right cards, there is not much that you can do.
Just to play devil's advocate here, since I'm sitting on the other side of the fence:
Is it possible that students are so convinced that they're doing a great job, because of their perceived inherent skills/talent, that they cannot comprehend that their performance was actually average?
In medical school, you're surrounded by people who are just as smart and successful as you are, which for most of us is a first, since we were high school valedictorians and set the curve on all our college tests. We're not used to being in the middle of the pack, but truthfully almost everyone here on SDN is middle of the pack (or lower), since only a small fraction of medical students can really be at the top of the class.
Everyone here, including me,
prefers a lot of feedback from those above us, which is sort of a Generation Y/neXt thing. However, hasn't most of this feedback that we've demanded been
positive over the years? How often have we gotten
negative feedback, and how well have we taken this "
constructive criticism?"
Is it possible that what we really want is feedback that specifically reinforces how awesome we think we are?
When we receive negative feedback, how often do we think the fault lies with us? How often do we assume that the evaluator is really the one with the problem?
When you receive a positive evaluation, you naturally assume that you deserve it because of your talent and hard work. However, when you receive a negative evaluation, or maybe just a lukewarm or average evaluation, how often do you think it's deserved? Now, look across the board at all your classmates, and decide if some of them deserve negative evaluations....do you think they feel that evaluation is justified, or do they feel just like you do?
Are we sure that our responses to negative evaluations aren't just coping mechanisms for our ego? Haven't our parents been telling us every day since we were little that we were the smartest and most talented person in the world? Aren't we unique little snowflakes, after all? How can SLUser possibly lump us all together? Doesn't he know that this situation doesn't apply to me because of how unique and talented I am?
I got a less-than-stellar evaluation because:
a. I didn't perform well, or perhaps I had an average performance in this field of extremely talented peers. I was in control of the evaluation, and my performance fits the grade. (almost nobody picks A)
b. The evaluator was a jerk (maybe a resident on a power trip whose lost touch, or an attending who never gives good evals).
c. Evaluations are totally random, and I was just unlucky.
d. Some sort of unfair occurrence out of my control led to this evaluation.
e. Evaluators are jealous of my knowledge and talent (this one comes up more often than it should)
f. The other students were total gunners and stabbed me in the back.
g. Multiple other excuses that could go to XYZ.
Like I said, this is just playing devil's advocate. I had some of the same feelings that you guys did when I got a lukewarm evaluation on neurology. I thought I did a great job, and the attending that gave me the average marks barely spent any time with me, and one of the residents was just punishing me because I wanted to do surgery.....this is so unfair!!!!
Food for thought....