Being a chief resident?

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yaah

yaah

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Question for those among us:

What are the benefits of being a chief resident, and is it actually worth doing? To me, it seems like you get a ton of work to do, a lot of it being hassle (schedules, dealing with problem residents or problem issues, etc). Of course, some of it is nice, i.e. interactions with faculty and a bigger say in the runnings of the program.

However, it seems like "being chief resident" has become something that gunners have to do (I am on an anti-gunner rant lately, perhaps because med school admissions are starting up again, I dunno) in order to buff up their CV. Does it really matter though? Are gunners deluding themselves?

Our chief residents are elected during their 2nd year of residency (eek), and are assistant chief (called ass chief of course :laugh: )for a year before being chief 4th year. Which means this might come up soon for moi. I am half tempted to just say no thanks, and let someone else deal with everyone's ****. But the other half of me says it would be a cool experience. I don't give a crap how it makes my CV look. Of course, some other resident will probably campaign for it and people wouldn't vote for me anyway because I can come off as arrogant or aloof, depending on your point of view. So it may be moot anyway.

Can anyone think of any non-gunner motivations to be chief resident, other than learning about the workings of the department? That's about all I can come up with, other than the $0.30 extra you get per month or whatever it is.
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yaah said:
Question for those among us:

What are the benefits of being a chief resident, and is it actually worth doing? To me, it seems like you get a ton of work to do, a lot of it being hassle (schedules, dealing with problem residents or problem issues, etc). Of course, some of it is nice, i.e. interactions with faculty and a bigger say in the runnings of the program.

However, it seems like "being chief resident" has become something that gunners have to do (I am on an anti-gunner rant lately, perhaps because med school admissions are starting up again, I dunno) in order to buff up their CV. Does it really matter though? Are gunners deluding themselves?

Our chief residents are elected during their 2nd year of residency (eek), and are assistant chief (called ass chief of course :laugh: )for a year before being chief 4th year. Which means this might come up soon for moi. I am half tempted to just say no thanks, and let someone else deal with everyone's ****. But the other half of me says it would be a cool experience. I don't give a crap how it makes my CV look. Of course, some other resident will probably campaign for it and people wouldn't vote for me anyway because I can come off as arrogant or aloof, depending on your point of view. So it may be moot anyway.

Can anyone think of any non-gunner motivations to be chief resident, other than learning about the workings of the department? That's about all I can come up with, other than the $0.30 extra you get per month or whatever it is.
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Yeah, I can't think of too many good reasons, unless it actually consists of you staying an extra year, so you gain more experience, but you could do that in a fellowship (and then be certified).
 
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Yeah, being a chief resident is really tough. Here, we have 4 chief residents which carry out chief duties for 3 months each. Each chief is responsible for planning different things. For example, the first chief trains the first years on their first 3 autopsies in addition to planning some departmental events. Most importantly, the first chief makes the schedule which, lemme tell you, takes a sh*tload of f*cking effort (especially since the schedule revolves on week-to-week transitions rather than month-to-month transitions). So imagine planning 51 (most pain-free) transitions for 20 residents while trying to give people the electives and vacations of their choice.

I can imagine things really sucking being an ass chief for one year and then daddy chief the year after that. I vote "no." Don't do it yaah...or you may have to brace for THE PAIN!!!!!! BRING THE PAIN! BRING THE PAIN BITCHES! YAAAARRRRRRGH!!!!!!! BRING THE FIRE AND BRIMSTONE! BRING THE RAGE! BRING THE IRE! PAIN AND SUFFERING!!! SHOCK AND AWE!!! DUNNO WHAT HIT YA! PREPARE TO BEND OVER AND TAKE IT UP THE ASS LIKE A REAL MAN! RAAAAWWWRRRRRRR!
 
AndyMilonakis said:
BRING THE PAIN! BRING THE PAIN BITCHES! YAAAARRRRRRGH!!!!!!! BRING THE FIRE AND BRIMSTONE! BRING THE RAGE! BRING THE IRE! PAIN AND SUFFERING!!! SHOCK AND AWE!!! DUNNO WHAT HIT YA! PREPARE TO BEND OVER AND TAKE IT UP THE ASS LIKE A REAL MAN! RAAAAWWWRRRRRRR!
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dude wtf have you been smoking? :eek:
 
Dont you get paid a little more? Probably not enough to compensate you for all the pain and suffering you will endure listening to people whine, though. If you feel like you could do a good job, you should do it. There's nothing worse than some inept bastard running things.
 
UCSFbound said:
Dont you get paid a little more? Probably not enough to compensate you for all the pain and suffering you will endure listening to people whine, though. If you feel like you could do a good job, you should do it. There's nothing worse than some inept bastard running things.
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I agree with UCSF on this. Not that your program has any inept bastards, but I'm sure there are those with little to no leadership capabilities. Since you obviously have leadership qualities (lead on, Yaah!), you'd probably do a very good job.

Another question: did you feel that your training with the chief was adequate, or could they have done something better? It may be a way for you to further improve the quality of resident teaching in the program.
 
Well see, our current chief is probably the best resident I have ever seen (or will ever see), so it would sort of be like replacing ted williams in LF for the red sox. Yaz did it, but he was Yaz, and even then, he wasn't Ted. The current ass chief will have a tough act to follow.

Chief residents in pathology are not there for an extra year, you do this during your normal training.

I don't think I have great leadership qualities. I don't have that much patience for laziness or slacking. I would probably start sending out emails telling people they should show up on time for conferences and they should start helping each other out more and people would start getting pissed because they enjoy being slackers. If the faculty voted I would probably be elected. :laugh: But like I say, I think sometimes other residents interpret my attitude as being aloof or cocky. But the thing is, I am not going to lie if I know how to do something, know a better way to do something, or know what a diagnosis is. Some people get stand offish when you try to help them out, they think you are talking down to them or proving you are better. While it is satisfying to know something a gunner does not, it causes problems because they hold it against you sometimes.
 
When you finish residency, do you want to be in a lead position, or are you most comfortable not being in charge? I know you don't care about the CV listing. But, if it'll make things easier later, then it may be a good opportunity to take up.

I don't think you come off as arrogant or aloof. Have you confirmed this with actual people, or do you just assume this? :p
 
yaah said:
Well see, our current chief is probably the best resident I have ever seen (or will ever see), so it would sort of be like replacing ted williams in LF for the red sox. Yaz did it, but he was Yaz, and even then, he wasn't Ted. The current ass chief will have a tough act to follow.

Chief residents in pathology are not there for an extra year, you do this during your normal training.

I don't think I have great leadership qualities. I don't have that much patience for laziness or slacking. I would probably start sending out emails telling people they should show up on time for conferences and they should start helping each other out more and people would start getting pissed because they enjoy being slackers. If the faculty voted I would probably be elected. :laugh: But like I say, I think sometimes other residents interpret my attitude as being aloof or cocky. But the thing is, I am not going to lie if I know how to do something, know a better way to do something, or know what a diagnosis is. Some people get stand offish when you try to help them out, they think you are talking down to them or proving you are better. While it is satisfying to know something a gunner does not, it causes problems because they hold it against you sometimes.
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I think the qualities you described would be perfect for a chief resident. And, since your chief was so good, you would obviously want to keep that tradition going.

Look at it this way: the current chief was once in the same position as you. I bet that, if/when you become a chief resident (or heck, even a 3rd or 4th year resident), there will be other first year residents who say the same thing about you. Think of all you've learned already, and it's only been 2 months or so?
 
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You've already voiced this in a way, but the question to answer is "why would you want to?". If you enjoy admin stuff, want to interact with the faculty, have some say in how things are run and possibly improve things within your limited sphere, go for it. I can't imagine it helping your CV that much, and the financial reward is a joke. If you have a thick skin (which it sounds like you have) and don't mind calling things as you see it, you can be a real asset to your fellow residents. Having walked the admin/clinical fence before, I don't care to revisit that terrain meself, but if you're open to it and your motivation is proper, sounds like you're the guy. Have fun.
 
Im in charge of new hiring for my group and I can precisely quantify the value of being chief: pretty much zero. The only plus side I give people who were chief is the fact they may know how to work AV equipment for tumor boards, but our conference set up is so simple I dont even really care about that. Basically if the choice was chief or doing a subspec fellowship, you would have to be completely clueless to pick chief from a career standpoint.
 
LADoc00 said:
Im in charge of new hiring for my group and I can precisely quantify the value of being chief: pretty much zero. The only plus side I give people who were chief is the fact they may know how to work AV equipment for tumor boards, but our conference set up is so simple I dont even really care about that. Basically if the choice was chief or doing a subspec fellowship, you would have to be completely clueless to pick chief from a career standpoint.
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:laugh: that's what I assumed. Poor gunners are going to be so sorely disappointed. ;)
 
LADoc00 said:
Im in charge of new hiring for my group and I can precisely quantify the value of being chief: pretty much zero. The only plus side I give people who were chief is the fact they may know how to work AV equipment for tumor boards, but our conference set up is so simple I dont even really care about that. Basically if the choice was chief or doing a subspec fellowship, you would have to be completely clueless to pick chief from a career standpoint.
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WHOA! :eek:

They just hired you and now they're looking for more people? What's up with the sudden surge in pathology hiring?
 
yaah said:
Can anyone think of any non-gunner motivations to be chief resident, other than learning about the workings of the department? That's about all I can come up with, other than the $0.30 extra you get per month or whatever it is.
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At my program, there is no monetary compensation for being chief resident.

A benefit I see is having a say in the selection of incoming residents. Sure, other residents can share their opinions, but the opinion of the chief would have the biggest impact.
 
AndyMilonakis said:
I'm just sayin'. That's all.
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I love how just sayin' will get you out of anything...

Like when when you accidentally insult someone, "dude, I'm just sayin"
and then they're like "oh, well, as long as your just sayin".
Nice.
 
drPLUM said:
I love how just sayin' will get you out of anything...

Like when when you accidentally insult someone, "dude, I'm just sayin"
and then they're like "oh, well, as long as your just sayin".
Nice.
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:laugh:
either that, or saying "oh I just kiddin'...it's all good."
 
I don't know about any other perks but i know the chief resident at UCSF gets paid extra and it's a decent increase. I won't say how much because some UCSF residents visit this forum and I don't know how the selection process goes (i.e., whether or not everything is transparent including compensation) but the money isn't bad.
 
CameronFrye said:
WHOA! :eek:

They just hired you and now they're looking for more people? What's up with the sudden surge in pathology hiring?
Click to expand...

I think the youngest person in the group always ends up as the recruiting go to person with the assumption they have the most connections with people still in training and academics etc. Of course Im a mere screener, the head honchos actually do the hiring. But, Im in shock at the turn over rate in real world pathology. When they hired me they immediately began a new job search, there are alot of pathologists who are on the verge of retirement, far more than I ever expected. I feel like Im trapped in an old folks home sometimes...
 
LADoc00 said:
I think the youngest person in the group always ends up as the recruiting go to person with the assumption they have the most connections with people still in training and academics etc. Of course Im a mere screener, the head honchos actually do the hiring. But, Im in shock at the turn over rate in real world pathology. When they hired me they immediately began a new job search, there are alot of pathologists who are on the verge of retirement, far more than I ever expected. I feel like Im trapped in an old folks home sometimes...
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So, are you happy with this job or will you be using this as a springboard to your "dream job"?
 
CameronFrye said:
So, are you happy with this job or will you be using this as a springboard to your "dream job"?
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Dude, Im always springboarding to the next great opportunity.

Until I get the 500K/yr with 12 weeks of vacation gig, Ill nevah rest...nevahhh
 
It depends on the institution, but chief residents receive an extra stipend. I would say the average extra stipend is around $10,000, but I have seen stipends up to $20,000 in some programs.

Also, at some programs, Chief Residents get moonlighting opportunities and can bring in some serious cash. I know of a Chief Resident who was bringing in around $100,000 all things considered.
 
fedor said:
It depends on the institution, but chief residents receive an extra stipend. I would say the average extra stipend is around $10,000, but I have seen stipends up to $20,000 in some programs.

Also, at some programs, Chief Residents get moonlighting opportunities and can bring in some serious cash. I know of a Chief Resident who was bringing in around $100,000 all things considered.
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$10,000??? Ha! i get an extra $600. Per year. Bleh. I can go out to dinner twice a month on that sweet, sweet extra $50/month (before taxes).

And, I get the added benefit that everyone complains to me about everything.

But seriously, being chief is great.
 
See yaah...there is not much incentive for you to be chief resident. Let vagpath-bitch take the job.
 
Yeah well in a sense it really isn't up to me anyway. The only things I could do are

1) Tell them not to consider me at all (which I doubt I would do because it kind of gives a bad impression, IMHO)

and 2) Actively campaign for it. :laugh: yeah right. Vote for Pedro!
 
LADoc00 said:
Im in charge of new hiring for my group and I can precisely quantify the value of being chief: pretty much zero. The only plus side I give people who were chief is the fact they may know how to work AV equipment for tumor boards, but our conference set up is so simple I dont even really care about that. Basically if the choice was chief or doing a subspec fellowship, you would have to be completely clueless to pick chief from a career standpoint.
Click to expand...


So true. The chief residents always seem to know which projectors use two-prong plugs and which ones are three-prong. So, they have that going for them.

Being chief is only good for a cv filler. Its otherwise hella-stupid.
 
yaah said:
Question for those among us:

What are the benefits of being a chief resident?
Click to expand...

More ass than you can shake a stick at.

yaah said:
Question for those among us:

and is it actually worth doing?
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Definitely.
 
yaah said:
Our chief residents are elected during their 2nd year of residency (eek), and are assistant chief (called ass chief of course :laugh: )for a year before being chief 4th year. Which means this might come up soon for moi.
Click to expand...

So does that mean that no AP only residents can be chief. How lame.
 
Well, the chief resident here has responsibilities in both AP and CP, so being responsible for CP while never having done any CP wouldn't make much sense. I guess there could be co-chiefs, but whatever.
 
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