Are we scary to med students?

[Planktonmd]

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I received a message from a medical student today stating the he/she felt intimidated by the aggressive nature of some of our regulars to the point of being afraid to ask a question or participate in the discussion.
I would like to know if this is a common perception of our forum and what can we do to improve it.
Please vote.

 

[QofQuimica]

I'm a regular lurker, but I don't feel intimidated by any of the posters here. This forum is just...kind of locker roomish sometimes. Put it this way: I wouldn't be surprised to see y'all snapping each other with your towels or stealing each other's jock straps. And since I haven't done my anesthesia rotation yet and I don't have use for a jock strap, well, I don't have much to contribute to the conversation most of the time. But it's always educational and/or entertaining to read the threads in here. 🙂

 

[militarymd]

If the student can't take the minor disputes that exist here in the fourm, then they shouldn't be reading it.....and MOST importantly....They shouldn't consider this specialty as an option for their careers.

I don't want pansies with weak wills and minds in my specialty.

 

[PharmD2MD]

I like this forum. I don't post here but I read it frequently. I suppose if I had a legit question, I would get a legit response. The discussions of guns, scotch, and fanny packs are entertaining. I like some of the pharmacological conundrums. Since I am considering anesthesia, I like the unvarnished view of the profession.

 

[Decepticon]

If the student can't take the minor disputes that exist here in the fourm, then they shouldn't be reading it.....and MOST importantly....They shouldn't consider this specialty as an option for their careers.

I don't want pansies with weak wills and minds in my specialty.

I almost bit. Almost.

These full-metal-jacket clowns can troll me any day.

 

[lvspro]

If the student can't take the minor disputes that exist here in the fourm, then they shouldn't be reading it.....and MOST importantly....They shouldn't consider this specialty as an option for their careers.

I don't want pansies with weak wills and minds in my specialty.

Feel intimidated by a forum... of strangers... in cyberspace!?!?!?

Someone gimme some ribs cuz I gotta extra helping of weaksauce over here.

 

[Kubed]

I think “intimidated” is a bit of a stretch, but I can certainly see how some people might perceive that. This forum is just more willing to point out stupid questions and lay the smack down than the other forums on SDN… and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. The amount of threads in other areas asking if it’s really like it is on gray’s anatomy, what high school classes to take, etc gets annoying fast. The anesthesia regulars do not have the desire or the tolerance to put up with those kinds of questions… and those of us who read this forum regularly appreciate it.

 

[deleted77919]

…

 

[Decepticon]

I think "intimidated" is a bit of a stretch, but I can certainly see how some people might perceive that. This forum is just more willing to point out stupid questions and lay the smack down than the other forums on SDN… and I don't think that's a bad thing. The amount of threads in other areas asking if it's really like it is on gray's anatomy, what high school classes to take, etc gets annoying fast. The anesthesia regulars do not have the desire or the tolerance to put up with those kinds of questions… and those of us who read this forum regularly appreciate it.

Translated into english: Anesthesiologists are the loser servants of the surgeons, they have to put up with their primadonna-colleagues every day, and take their minority complexes out on students entering the forum online to compensate.

When all other speciality forums can handle the stupid questions in a less snappy way, you gotta wonder what is up with this board.

 

[NUGasStud]

I am a long time lurker and only posted a few times. I think that the banter on this forum is hilarious. People need to lighten up.

Yes, you need to do your homework before you ask dumb questions, but for the most part questions are answered sarcastically, cynically, and appropriately (usually in that order).

I enjoy this forum completely and would not be afraid to ask questions if I had exhausted my usual resources.

 

[RxBoy]

I'm not sure if the student is a MS3 or MS4... If they are a MS3 I could see where they are coming from, but by MS4 I def. don't think its intimidating.

One of the hardest adjustment for me in medical school was realizing i'm not a superstar. I came from straight A's and laughing at people who failed orgo to accepting the fact that there are a lot of intelligent people in the world and you're just a small fish in a big pond in medical school. By the end of MS2, I knew I wasn't the top of the class book smart, by the end of MS3 I knew that I wasn't the best clinician (how could a MS ever be a good clinican wihout experience?). It was a direct blow to my ego. SO why do I bring this up? because all this lead me to a point where criticism doesn't affect my ego. That ego's long gone. Seperating your ego from your confidence may be the best thing an anesthesilogist can do.

Suck it up, realize your not the best and if someone is going to constructively criticize you, make the best of it. I think this forum is actually really nice to students... there may be bickering between residents but honestly, would you ever expect less? Plus, anesthesiologist get no admiration from what I've seen on the floors, so you're going to need that personality trait sooner or later. Face the intimidation and post!

 

[Noyac]

If the student can't take the minor disputes that exist here in the fourm, then they shouldn't be reading it.....and MOST importantly....They shouldn't consider this specialty as an option for their careers.

I don't want pansies with weak wills and minds in my specialty.

Well, I can't argue but I might have put it a little differently.

Something like, if you are weak, shy, or timid then anesthesia is not for you. This forum may be the barometer for you.


Mil, like myself, doesn't like the current influx of lifestyle oriented students with little work ethic.

 

[scotchnwater]

Translated into english: Anesthesiologists are the loser servants of the surgeons, they have to put up with their primadonna-colleagues every day, and take their minority complexes out on students entering the forum online to compensate.

When all other speciality forums can handle the stupid questions in a less snappy way, you gotta wonder what is up with this board.

You seem to have it figured out pretty well. Seem like a cool person too. Hope you match at my program so I can be your loser servant.

 

[surrender903]

i said yes only because i have not been here that long and i dont know the posting styles of the regulars. other than that as long as you respect that im learning by asking questions regarding the specialty thats pretty much it.

 

[Decepticon]

You seem to have it figured out pretty well. Seem like a cool person too. Hope you match at my program so I can be your loser servant.

I'd love a servant, especially if I am gonna do anesthesiology, you could fetch me coffee.

 

[CanGas]

Can I say again that I love this forum?

3 posts from this guy and I am already searching the SDN FAQ on blocking posts from an annoying user. Find the answer, refresh this page and lo and behold the troll has been banned already.

SWEET!

Thanks, Mods.

CanGas

I'd love a servant, especially if I am gonna do anesthesiology, you could fetch me coffee.

 

[pseudoknot]

I read this forum pretty often, but rarely post because as an M2 I have little to say. I usually find the light moderation more entertaining than anything else.

The biggest negative for me about the forum is the obsession with CRNAs. It's funny how much doom and gloom about the future of anesthesiology there is on SDN compared to real life. Then again, it's important to hear all sides.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Can I say again that I love this forum?

3 posts from this guy and I am already searching the SDN FAQ on blocking posts from an annoying user. Find the answer, refresh this page and lo and behold the troll has been banned already.

SWEET!

Thanks, Mods.

CanGas

He'd been on a bit of a rampage today plus some offensive PMs, so consider your wish my command! 😉

 

[mille125]

I read this forum pretty often, but rarely post because as an M2 I have little to say. I usually find the light moderation more entertaining than anything else.

The biggest negative for me about the forum is the obsession with CRNAs. It's funny how much doom and gloom about the future of anesthesiology there is on SDN compared to real life. Then again, it's important to hear all sides.

Unfortunately, this is real world stuff especially in private practice. Most of the veterans here are in private practice and are in the "trenches". Even though this sentiment is reflected in this forum often, mid levels trying to practice outside of their scope is rampant in all fields of medicine. We all need to keep our eyes open and at the very least be aware of the situation.

 

[pseudoknot]

Unfortunately, this is real world stuff especially in private practice. Most of the veterans here are in private practice and are in the "trenches". Even though this sentiment is reflected in this forum often, mid levels trying to practice outside of their scope is rampant in all fields of medicine. We all need to keep our eyes open and at the very least be aware of the situation.

Yeah, and I really do appreciate that perspective. I think it sucks how out of touch most med students are with the real world of medicine, since very few of us will end up in academia. That's one of the great things about this forum in particular.

 

[whatnot11]

Yeah, and I really do appreciate that perspective. I think it sucks how out of touch most med students are with the real world of medicine, since very few of us will end up in academia. That's one of the great things about this forum in particular.

Another long time lurker here and I second this wholeheartedly.

I look at this forum almost every day, it is that useful to me. In particular, every one of JPP's posts are pure gold. I love that I can find advice like this here because I probably wouldn't be able to get it at my medical school cause it just doesn't seem to be true to "academic culture" to even mention the real world issues of medicine.

Keep on dealing out the nuggets of wisdom everyone. Maybe one day when I'm a little more seasoned in med school I'll join the party.

 

[Planktonmd]

So is it fair to say that the majority of med students are actually happy with the way things are and don't think we need to change the tone?
How about the 30% that don't feel comfortable around here? are we going to just ignore them?

 

[QofQuimica]

So is it fair to say that the majority of med students are actually happy with the way things are and don't think we need to change the tone? How about the 30% that don't feel comfortable around here? are we going to just ignore them?

Maybe what you could do is offer a confidential consult type of thread. (There is a whole forum for threads like this, if you've never seen it. Scroll down to the bottom of the forum list.) The way it would work is that you would have people submit their questions to you or another mod by PM, and you would post them anonymously. That would help the long-time SDN members whose IDs are known by other people at their school. And that way, if it was a really stupid question, the anesthesia forum lynch mob would never know which one of us idiot students asked it. 😉

 

[OB1🤙]

It's true that some *ahem* spirited discussions on this forum may take place on the attending to attending level, and occasionally on the attending to resident level, I can't remember ever seeing a student get flamed for asking a legitimate question that isn't covered in the FAQ.

 

[Noyac]

Translated into english: Anesthesiologists are the loser servants of the surgeons, they have to put up with their primadonna-colleagues every day, and take their minority complexes out on students entering the forum online to compensate.

When all other speciality forums can handle the stupid questions in a less snappy way, you gotta wonder what is up with this board.

Maybe what you could do is offer a confidential consult type of thread. (There is a whole forum for threads like this, if you've never seen it. Scroll down to the bottom of the forum list.) The way it would work is that you would have people submit their questions to you or another mod by PM, and you would post them anonymously. That would help the long-time SDN members whose IDs are known by other people at their school. And that way, if it was a really stupid question, the anesthesia forum lynch mob would never know which one of us idiot students asked it. 😉

Not a bad idea. But I seem to think things work just fine like they are, since I am probably one of the anesthesia lynch mob members. But I would rather think of us mob members as ASSASSINS.

Remember, there are no stupid questions, just stupid _______. Honestly, as a med stud you should be able to research your question adequately b/4 asking and then you won't come off as an idiot, just an interested stud. Yeah, I said STUD and I mean it. You guys are in Med School not nursing school. You are smart enough and strong enough to handle this forum. There are only a few nurses that can handle this forum and that comes after many years of anesthesia practice. But notice how things still go over their heads with only a few exceptions. You studs are contributing from day one, or maybe day two. But you have the knowledge and the education to be here. Don't be intimidated. The more you interact the better you will become.

 

[Noyac]

So is it fair to say that the majority of med students are actually happy with the way things are and don't think we need to change the tone?
How about the 30% that don't feel comfortable around here? are we going to just ignore them?

Plank, 30% are intimidated but only 15% care. That's the same odds as a placebo effect.

 

[climbingdocs]

If the student can't take the minor disputes that exist here in the fourm, then they shouldn't be reading it.....and MOST importantly....They shouldn't consider this specialty as an option for their careers.

I don't want pansies with weak wills and minds in my specialty.

Most anesthesiologists that I met in real life are not exactly like the ones I meet here = on anonymous forum you can be whoever you want. There are few alfa dogs on this forum and although I post all the time I think twice what to write. I don't wanna get a bad comment from the alfa dog. I bet most students feel same way even if they don't want to admit it (I am a girl so I can admit it)

 

[coprolalia]

Most anesthesiologists that I met in real life are not exactly like the ones I meet here = on anonymous forum you can be whoever you want. There are few alfa dogs on this forum and although I post all the time I think twice what to write. I don't wanna get a bad comment from the alfa dog. I bet most students feel same way even if they don't want to admit it (I am a girl so I can admit it)

Post a bikini shot to prove it. Please. 😍

-copro

 

[militarymd]

Post a bikini shot to prove it. Please. 😍

-copro

yes..yes...

 

[QofQuimica]

Most anesthesiologists that I met in real life are not exactly like the ones I meet here = on anonymous forum you can be whoever you want. There are few alfa dogs on this forum and although I post all the time I think twice what to write. I don't wanna get a bad comment from the alfa dog. I bet most students feel same way even if they don't want to admit it (I am a girl so I can admit it)

I'm a girl too, but I don't care about getting bad comments from anyone on this forum. Unlike in real life, even the nastiest evals from these "alpha dogs" won't affect my rotation grade. Plus, where else but here could I, the peon MS3, feel free to tell a jerky attending to go try to procreate with himself? 😀

 

[climbingdocs]

Post a bikini shot to prove it. Please. 😍

-copro

I already did in other thread but you never pay attention to me 🙁, I get no love...

 

[climbingdocs]

I'm a girl too, but I don't care about getting bad comments from anyone on this forum. Unlike in real life, even the nastiest evals from these "alpha dogs" won't affect my rotation grade. Plus, where else but here could I, the peon MS3, feel free to tell a jerky attending to go try to procreate with himself? 😀

really? You would tell mil or noyac to go to procreate with himself??? I wouldn't dare...

 

[QofQuimica]

really? You would tell mil or noyac to go to procreate with himself??? I wouldn't dare...

Only if they were jerks. 😉

So seriously, I don't think most of the regulars here are jerks. Like I said in my first post, there is a lot of locker room humor in this forum (witness them asking you to post a bikini pic!), but it's not like they're being hostile or malicious just for the sake of being mean. No one is telling med students not to ask questions or otherwise discouraging us from participating in this forum. Telling new people to read the stickies or do a search isn't being a jerk. I mod two other forums on SDN, and it really *is* annoying when you go to the trouble of making stickies to help the noobs, and they don't bother reading them or searching for the thread exactly like theirs that someone else just posted last week. It's also annoying when people get upset and take something you say as a personal insult because they asked for honest advice but don't like the answer they got. I can't blame the residents and attendings in here for feeling the same way about med students who do these things as I do about premeds who do them. No one wants to feel like their time is being wasted and their efforts are not appreciated. None of us is getting paid to answer other people's questions or guide them through this whole process. If the wrapping around the advice and help on this forum isn't always quite as pretty as some would want it to be, that doesn't change the value of what's inside.

In a nutshell, I don't feel like I can't walk through this forum alone after dark, though of course I do carry my pepper spray with me, just in case.

 

[Noyac]

really? You would tell mil or noyac to go to procreate with himself??? I wouldn't dare...

Hey, don't put me in the same category as Mil. I have much to learn from his snide comments still.

 

[militarymd]

Hey, don't put me in the same category as Mil. I have much to learn from his snide comments still.

I declined an offer from the great winged one to be an assistant mod just so I can continue with my snide comments🙂

 

[coprolalia]

I already did in other thread but you never pay attention to me 🙁, I get no love...

Hey, all this previous talk about "free boobin'" under your scrubs and post naked pics of yourself to prove you're a female... you can always PM me. I promise that if you cut the mustard you don't have to worry about getting no love. 😀 😉 👍

-copro

 

[Planktonmd]

I declined an offer from the great winged one to be an assistant mod just so I can continue with my snide comments🙂

I was wondering when you were going to bring this up.

 

[climbingdocs]

Hey, all this previous talk about "free boobin'" under your scrubs and post naked pics of yourself to prove you're a female... you can always PM me. I promise that if you cut the mustard you don't have to worry about getting no love. 😀 😉 👍

-copro

Hey, the pic was not naked 😡! And PMing you after reading the story of the fanny pack girl, and story how chicks call you god😱, is little intimidating. 😛

 

[climbingdocs]

Hey, don't put me in the same category as Mil. I have much to learn from his snide comments still.

well you both are in my catogory of "stud attendings", 😀 I mean where else can I call attending studs??

 

[climbingdocs]

Only if they were jerks. 😉

So seriously, I don't think most of the regulars here are jerks. Like I said in my first post, there is a lot of locker room humor in this forum (witness them asking you to post a bikini pic!), but it's not like they're being hostile or malicious just for the sake of being mean. No one is telling med students not to ask questions or otherwise discouraging us from participating in this forum. Telling new people to read the stickies or do a search isn't being a jerk. I mod two other forums on SDN, and it really *is* annoying when you go to the trouble of making stickies to help the noobs, and they don't bother reading them or searching for the thread exactly like theirs that someone else just posted last week. It's also annoying when people get upset and take something you say as a personal insult because they asked for honest advice but don't like the answer they got. I can't blame the residents and attendings in here for feeling the same way about med students who do these things as I do about premeds who do them. No one wants to feel like their time is being wasted and their efforts are not appreciated. None of us is getting paid to answer other people's questions or guide them through this whole process. If the wrapping around the advice and help on this forum isn't always quite as pretty as some would want it to be, that doesn't change the value of what's inside.

In a nutshell, I don't feel like I can't walk through this forum alone after dark, though of course I do carry my pepper spray with me, just in case.

I would not change that humor for anything 😍

 

[SkylineMD]

Just by quickly glancing at some of the posts on this forum, I can see why some medical students may be apprehensive about posting. In fact, there is a current post where an individual posted a link to information they found at a government website regarding salaries. Rather than engaging in an intellectual conversation stating the errors in the study, you get sarcastic and fairly confrontational remarks. Though most of the regulars are helpful, other times I feel that their seniority, along with them having seen many threads with the same topic, gets them to become too aggressive with their comments. Does it add some flavor and excitement? sure. But i don't see how that allows for others to be welcomed when asking what may be a stupid question but one which they would like answered without getting slammed.

 

[Planktonmd]

So far it seems that 42% of the responders are intimidated but only 25 % are intimidated to the point of not participating.
Interesting.

 

[jetproppilot]

Just by quickly glancing at some of the posts on this forum, I can see why some medical students may be apprehensive about posting. In fact, there is a current post where an individual posted a link to information they found at a government website regarding salaries. Rather than engaging in an intellectual conversation stating the errors in the study, you get sarcastic and fairly confrontational remarks. Though most of the regulars are helpful, other times I feel that their seniority, along with them having seen many threads with the same topic, gets them to become too aggressive with their comments. Does it add some flavor and excitement? sure. But i don't see how that allows for others to be welcomed when asking what may be a stupid question but one which they would like answered without getting slammed.

I see your point.

The problem with the salary issue is that

1)It has been covered relentlessly

2)That same study was posted here not long ago, I think by the same dude, and kinda the same exchange ensued. We've pointed to the fact that the study was way off in a previous exchange so its hard to refrain from sarcasm.

Thanks for your input.

 

[coprolalia]

Hey, the pic was not naked 😡! And PMing you after reading the story of the fanny pack girl, and story how chicks call you god😱, is little intimidating. 😛

Awwwwe. I'm really a teddy bear. No need to be intimidated.

-copro

 

[Raydeus]

👍👍

I received a message from a medical student today stating the he/she felt intimidated by the aggressive nature of some of our regulars to the point of being afraid to ask a question or participate in the discussion.
I would like to know if this is a common perception of our forum and what can we do to improve it.
Please vote.

I was thinking of becoming an anesthesiologist before I even knew this forum existed. I never really post questions because most of what I have wanted to ask has usually been covered at one time or another. I do appreciate the honest responses and the good advice that these discussions provide. If anything, the anesthesiologists on this forum have made me want to go into the specialty more, not less. Keep up the good work everyone.👍