attending hates me! what do i do

[mcatsucksss]

so i just started a rotation at a new hospital and have been here for a few weeks. i have been getting along great with all the attendings and was having a fun time. the last 2 days i was on service i was working with the "big deal" attending for that service. and for some reason from the very first moment i worked with him i could tell he really does not like me. I am working with some other classmates and he acknowledges them but ignores me completely. When i talk to him he instantly puts on a mad face. Whenever i present he is extremely harsh on me and picks on small details of everything i say. During my first patient presentation for him he cut me off by yelling at me in front of the whole team telling me to "Shut your mouth" because he wanted to talk about it himself. he never had an outburst like this for anyone else. it was an absolutely traumatic experience. When i tried to help him out with a patient with family present he made a joke about me and everyone including the team laughed at me. we were asking for midterm evaluations and he basically pointed to all my colleagues and said to each one "you did good" but when it would have been my turn he just turned around and kept walking. the only time he even looks at me is when he asks how we are enjoying the rotation and ONLY looks at me, smiles and pats my back, then keeps walking (happened at least 3 times already). i can't think of anything i did to deserve this treatment. I was in such good spirits for this rotation too but now i am feeling CRUSHED. this attending really is a big shot and i can't tell if its a ego/personality thing and how i got singled out so quickly. I am terrified of him and don't know what to do. I really like the course material and dont want 1 attending to ruin my view about the whole field.

TLDR: been on service for a few weeks, having a great time, new attending shows up, takes a dump on me, i dont know how i got in to this situation, what do i do

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[auburnO5]

You probably just have "that look" to you

 

[mcatsucksss]

You probably just have "that look" to you

what do u mean...
i am an ethnic minority could that be the reason why?

 

[Functional]

so i just started a rotation at a new hospital and have been here for a few weeks. i have been getting along great with all the attendings and was having a fun time. the last 2 days i was on service i was working with the "big deal" attending for that service. and for some reason from the very first moment i worked with him i could tell he really does not like me. I am working with some other classmates and he acknowledges them but ignores me completely. When i talk to him he instantly puts on a mad face. Whenever i present he is extremely harsh on me and picks on small details of everything i say. During my first patient presentation for him he cut me off by yelling at me in front of the whole team telling me to "Shut your mouth" because he wanted to talk about it himself. he never had an outburst like this for anyone else. it was an absolutely traumatic experience. When i tried to help him out with a patient with family present he made a joke about me and everyone including the team laughed at me. we were asking for midterm evaluations and he basically pointed to all my colleagues and said to each one "you did good" but when it would have been my turn he just turned around and kept walking. the only time he even looks at me is when he asks how we are enjoying the rotation and ONLY looks at me, smiles and pats my back, then keeps walking (happened at least 3 times already). i can't think of anything i did to deserve this treatment. I was in such good spirits for this rotation too but now i am feeling CRUSHED. this attending really is a big shot and i can't tell if its a ego/personality thing and how i got singled out so quickly. I am terrified of him and don't know what to do. I really like the course material and dont want 1 attending to ruin my view about the whole field.

TLDR: been on service for a few weeks, having a great time, new attending shows up, takes a dump on me, i dont know how i got in to this situation, what do i do

Treat this as a learning experience. There are going to people in your professional life who will not like you for some unbeknownst reason. Successful people learn to how minimize the effect of this and be confident in who they are. Also, you should ask a "truth teller" in your life about any potential foibles in your personality that you may be able to correct..

 

[flatearth22]

so i just started a rotation at a new hospital and have been here for a few weeks. i have been getting along great with all the attendings and was having a fun time. the last 2 days i was on service i was working with the "big deal" attending for that service. and for some reason from the very first moment i worked with him i could tell he really does not like me. I am working with some other classmates and he acknowledges them but ignores me completely. When i talk to him he instantly puts on a mad face. Whenever i present he is extremely harsh on me and picks on small details of everything i say. During my first patient presentation for him he cut me off by yelling at me in front of the whole team telling me to "Shut your mouth" because he wanted to talk about it himself. he never had an outburst like this for anyone else. it was an absolutely traumatic experience. When i tried to help him out with a patient with family present he made a joke about me and everyone including the team laughed at me. we were asking for midterm evaluations and he basically pointed to all my colleagues and said to each one "you did good" but when it would have been my turn he just turned around and kept walking. the only time he even looks at me is when he asks how we are enjoying the rotation and ONLY looks at me, smiles and pats my back, then keeps walking (happened at least 3 times already). i can't think of anything i did to deserve this treatment. I was in such good spirits for this rotation too but now i am feeling CRUSHED. this attending really is a big shot and i can't tell if its a ego/personality thing and how i got singled out so quickly. I am terrified of him and don't know what to do. I really like the course material and dont want 1 attending to ruin my view about the whole field.

TLDR: been on service for a few weeks, having a great time, new attending shows up, takes a dump on me, i dont know how i got in to this situation, what do i do

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullying_in_medicine#Bullying_of_medical_students

Does your school have a formal complaint system for the clinical years? File a complaint ASAP. That guy sounds like a total d-bag....who cares how big of a hot shot he is...man the f*** up and call him out on his BS.

 

[TheMan21]

.

 

[mcatsucksss]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullying_in_medicine#Bullying_of_medical_students

Does your school have a formal complaint system for the clinical years? File a complaint ASAP. That guy sounds like a total d-bag....who cares how big of a hot shot he is...man the f*** up and call him out on his BS.

this is something that i thought about but i dont want to make a big scene about it and risk making things worse. I was thinking about just keeping my head low and hoping the next rotation is better...

i have heard about abuse/bullying before but didnt connect that with what is happening to me now until u mentioned it... i just dont know what to do... i just feel awful.

i just know that this is the type of attending i never want to be like.

 

[flatearth22]

this is something that i thought about but i dont want to make a big scene about it and risk making things worse. I was thinking about just keeping my head low and hoping the next rotation is better...

i have heard about abuse/bullying before but didnt connect that with what is happening to me now until u mentioned it... i just dont know what to do... i just feel awful.

i just know that this is the type of attending i never want to be like.

Bullying on all levels is despicable. Even more-so when the bully is in a position of academic power and controls your grades/evaluations for the rotation. You're probably not the first guy who he's bullied and you probably won't be the last. You might help save many other poor souls down the road who will also be victimized by this d-bag attending if you file a complaint now. The system is there for a reason and if it's as bad as you say then it definitely warrants an official complaint with your school.

 

[CatFactorial]

Have you spoken to him in private about it?

 

[valkener]

Sucky situation and sucky person - what I would do if I were you is completely ignore him, shut him out. If this is a true post not a troll then you must emotionally and internally not need him whatsoever. He will notice it, and he might get upset about your coolness or complete independence from his approval/compliments.

This might escalate him but it could also make him wonder and he might try to earn your old self back by trying to make you feel intimidated etc. Either way, you're going to have to ignore him for the time-being until the rotation is over.

 

[dr zaius]

I think the appropriate thing to do is politely confront him.

 

[drizzt3117]

I'd just suck it up, take your pass, and live to fight another day. Some battles aren't worth fighting; you stand to lose a lot and gain nothing by raising a ruckus.

 

[tfc]

I'd just suck it up, take your pass, and live to fight another day. Some battles aren't worth fighting; you stand to lose a lot and gain nothing by raising a ruckus.

This quote is basically how most medical students feel about confrontation and standing up for what is right. They lack the balls to stand up for themselves (and others) and right what is clearly a wrong. The lack of spines in med students is so severe that I'm sure if an attending beat a loved one in front of them they would still elect to keep their heads down and not say a word.👎

No personal offense meant to drizzt. It is understandable why students act this way.

Politely and professionally confront this person. If you have a problem, state it clearly, and make sure both parties are on the same page. Often it is just a small misunderstanding that can be cleared up. You have to do this, the attending is not coming to look for you to have a chat. And this guy being a hot shot means nothing. People don't get to treat you like crap because they are "hot shots."

 

[SteinUmStein]

This quote is basically how most medical students feel about confrontation and standing up for what is right. They lack the balls to stand up for themselves (and others) and right what is clearly a wrong. The lack of spines in med students is so severe that I'm sure if an attending beat a loved one in front of them they would still elect to keep their heads down and not say a word.👎

No personal offense meant to drizzt. It is understandable why students act this way.

Politely and professionally confront this person. If you have a problem, state it clearly, and make sure both parties are on the same page. Often it is just a small misunderstanding that can be cleared up. You have to do this, the attending is not coming to look for you to have a chat. And this guy being a hot shot means nothing. People don't get to treat you like crap because they are "hot shots."

We are trained and told from every possible source to act that way. Sure, we'll have an occasional token lecture on med student abuse, but everybody knows we're supposed to shut up and take it. I would suggest doing exactly as drizzt said, with one addendum - anonymously report the attending through your school's grievance policy, or go talk to someone in your med school's administration after your rotation is over so future students don't have to put up with it.

 

[Robot Skeleton]

Whether or not you choose to do something about it, I hope you don't feel alone in this. As was mentioned above, bullying seems to be an unfortunate part of the medical culture. If most other residents/attendings have been cool with you, chances are you didn't do anything to piss this guy off, and he has just decided to pick on you for whatever reason. Try to think if there was any small thing you did to give him a negative impression, but don't beat yourself up about it.

 

[tfc]

We are trained and told from every possible source to act that way. Sure, we'll have an occasional token lecture on med student abuse, but everybody knows we're supposed to shut up and take it. I would suggest doing exactly as drizzt said, with one addendum - anonymously report the attending through your school's grievance policy, or go talk to someone in your med school's administration after your rotation is over so future students don't have to put up with it.

This is true. We are trained to follow orders very well and take abuse. I guess it was just frustration and wishful thinking on my part.🙁 But when this happens to me I will have to say something about it. I can't control myself like that when I'm being wronged so blatantly.

 

[kautionwirez]

I'm wondering if this happens to be a rotation a med student really likes and wants to apply for residency in the same field, how do you deal with this and how is it going to affect your chances? I'm curious to know if this ever happened to others but ultimately chose the field/successfully matched with the horrible rotation experience in his/her past.

 

[FIREitUP]

We are trained and told from every possible source to act that way. Sure, we'll have an occasional token lecture on med student abuse, but everybody knows we're supposed to shut up and take it. I would suggest doing exactly as drizzt said, with one addendum - anonymously report the attending through your school's grievance policy, or go talk to someone in your med school's administration after your rotation is over so future students don't have to put up with it.

Report him anonymously after you get your grade and are done with the rotation. you will get nowhere by confronting a person who is innately an arrogant prick

 

[IlDestriero]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullying_in_medicine#Bullying_of_medical_students

Does your school have a formal complaint system for the clinical years? File a complaint ASAP. That guy sounds like a total d-bag....who cares how big of a hot shot he is...man the f*** up and call him out on his BS.

If I want to take a big dump on you on a daily basis and give your colleagues a pass, there's not much you can do about it. Especially if I give you a fair eval at the end of the rotation. There are faculty that sense weakness and insecurity like blood to a shark. You just grind it out and do your job. Though this guy seems like a real ass.

 

[NewAndImproved]

TLDR: been on service for a few weeks, having a great time, new attending shows up, takes a dump on me, i dont know how i got in to this situation, what do i do

Dr. Burke (grey's anatomy attending) regarding his technique to whip the new interns into shape:

"Terrorize one and the rest fall in line."

 

[myhandsarecold]

so i just started a rotation at a new hospital and have been here for a few weeks. i have been getting along great with all the attendings and was having a fun time. the last 2 days i was on service i was working with the "big deal" attending for that service. and for some reason from the very first moment i worked with him i could tell he really does not like me. I am working with some other classmates and he acknowledges them but ignores me completely. When i talk to him he instantly puts on a mad face. Whenever i present he is extremely harsh on me and picks on small details of everything i say. During my first patient presentation for him he cut me off by yelling at me in front of the whole team telling me to "Shut your mouth" because he wanted to talk about it himself. he never had an outburst like this for anyone else. it was an absolutely traumatic experience. When i tried to help him out with a patient with family present he made a joke about me and everyone including the team laughed at me. we were asking for midterm evaluations and he basically pointed to all my colleagues and said to each one "you did good" but when it would have been my turn he just turned around and kept walking. the only time he even looks at me is when he asks how we are enjoying the rotation and ONLY looks at me, smiles and pats my back, then keeps walking (happened at least 3 times already). i can't think of anything i did to deserve this treatment. I was in such good spirits for this rotation too but now i am feeling CRUSHED. this attending really is a big shot and i can't tell if its a ego/personality thing and how i got singled out so quickly. I am terrified of him and don't know what to do. I really like the course material and dont want 1 attending to ruin my view about the whole field.

TLDR: been on service for a few weeks, having a great time, new attending shows up, takes a dump on me, i dont know how i got in to this situation, what do i do

you must be third year. i sympathize, had a couple like this. in the incoming months, you'll stop caring about this. i usually write a nasty eval about that attending and the rotation as a whole whenever something like that happens. and since this is potentially an ethics/professionalism violation on their part, I tend to recommend that such attending should never be allowed to teach again.

 

[physcigirl27]

.

 

[ZagDoc]

There are a couple possibilities here:
1. He actually thinks highly of you and picks on you because he holds you to higher standards. (A possibility)
2. He actually doesn't think one way or the other about you or any of the students and you are projecting your insecurities onto his actions giving them meaning beyond intended. (A possibility)
3. You really are struggling and you haven't been able to identify how. (A possibility)
4. He really does hate you. (A possibility, though remote)

The only things you DO have control over are:
a. Your actions. Be affable but courteous (some students get into trouble when they get chummy with attendings then come across an attending who prefers more conservative interactions). Be well read on your patients. Be punctual. Admit gaps in knowledge and mistake but always follow up with "I do not know, but I will look it up and present on it later." Be collaborate with other team members.

b. Feedback. Ask for explicit and objective feedback. Don't ask "how am I doing?". Ask "how can I improve my presentations?" (since that seems to be an issue with said attending). If the attending is unwilling to give you feedback, you should (without raising a stink) address it with the rotation coordinator or dean of student affairs. Giving students feedback is part of his job as an attending in a teaching hospital.

Unfortunately, you'll have these sort of interactions over the years, even as a resident. A lot of the times, you won't find out what they really thought of you until after the fact (or may never find out). Just focus on the things you can control.

 

[KnuxNole]

If I want to take a big dump on you on a daily basis and give your colleagues a pass, there's not much you can do about it. Especially if I give you a fair eval at the end of the rotation. There are faculty that sense weakness and insecurity like blood to a shark. You just grind it out and do your job. Though this guy seems like a real ass.

I'd probably spit in that attending's coffee, and trip them when I'm off service. And laugh everytime they say one word.
Similar to this annoying attending where everytime he walks by, the resident snicker since they are off-service 😀

 

[Phyozo]

you must be third year. i sympathize, had a couple like this. in the incoming months, you'll stop caring about this. i usually write a nasty eval about that attending and the rotation as a whole whenever something like that happens. and since this is potentially an ethics/professionalism violation on their part, I tend to recommend that such attending should never be allowed to teach again.

Be careful about this. If it's easy to link your eval to your name, this can really set you up for failure in the future.

I feel for the OP, I think we all do, and the best lesson to be learned from this is to put your head down, try your best anyway, report anonymously if you can, and learn what kind of doctor NOT to be in the future.

 

[Morsetlis]

Be careful about this. If it's easy to link your eval to your name, this can really set you up for failure in the future.

How's this?

 

[drizzt3117]

Ever wonder how people wind up posting threads like "dismissed from medical school, please help?????". That's how.

This quote is basically how most medical students feel about confrontation and standing up for what is right. They lack the balls to stand up for themselves (and others) and right what is clearly a wrong. The lack of spines in med students is so severe that I'm sure if an attending beat a loved one in front of them they would still elect to keep their heads down and not say a word.👎

No personal offense meant to drizzt. It is understandable why students act this way.

Politely and professionally confront this person. If you have a problem, state it clearly, and make sure both parties are on the same page. Often it is just a small misunderstanding that can be cleared up. You have to do this, the attending is not coming to look for you to have a chat. And this guy being a hot shot means nothing. People don't get to treat you like crap because they are "hot shots."

 

[572776]

Ever wonder how people wind up posting threads like "dismissed from medical school, please help?????". That's how.

If this ever happens to me to that extent, I'm going to be one of those people. I get pissed off real fast -->-->😡-->-->-->-->😱-->-->-->

 

[ucsfstudents]

You can either ignore it or fill out a scathing evaluation and talk to your course director about the abuse. It's not an easy situation.

 

[Alvarez13]

I'd probably spit in that attending's coffee, and trip them when I'm off service. And laugh everytime they say one word.
Similar to this annoying attending where everytime he walks by, the resident snicker since they are off-service 😀

 

[ayushman80]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullying_in_medicine#Bullying_of_medical_students

Does your school have a formal complaint system for the clinical years? File a complaint ASAP. That guy sounds like a total d-bag....who cares how big of a hot shot he is...man the f*** up and call him out on his BS.

I agree, this is totally unacceptable behavior. You don't want this guy writing your eval. You need to write a complaint and at the very least have him not evaluate you.

 

[Mr hawkings]

If this ever happens to me to that extent, I'm going to be one of those people. I get pissed off real fast -->-->😡-->-->-->-->😱-->-->-->

You might wanna be careful about expressing this sentiment out loud to any of your classmates. Someone might take it as a threat

 

[plauto]

I agree, this is totally unacceptable behavior. You don't want this guy writing your eval. You need to write a complaint and at the very least have him not evaluate you.

X2. You need to let the course director know right away. Be polite and concise. You do not want to get his eval. I would not play the race card.

 

[Phyozo]

How's this?

In general, people have fragile egos and medicine is a lot more political and militaristic than it first appears. Piss off someone in the upper echelon and you may find yourself with a target on your back. As a resident you may be forced to do remediation or dismissed. As an attending you may find yourself unable to move up the academic ladder or blackballed without being able to find a job in the area.

It's easy to be rash and say something out of emotion or anger (maybe even deservedly so), but things written on paper are permanent and pissing off the wrong person of authority can severely impair (or even end) your career.

It can be easy to blame medical students for failing to rock the boat or failing to call a spade a spade when there's abuse happening, and if there are anonymous ways to report these things it should be reported, but I'll sooner turn the other cheek before risking my career and subsequent financial support of my family.

 

[JackShephard MD]

I'd just suck it up, take your pass, and live to fight another day. Some battles aren't worth fighting; you stand to lose a lot and gain nothing by raising a ruckus.

👍

Escalating the issue will do no good. Just suck it up.

X2. You need to let the course director know right away. Be polite and concise. You do not want to get his eval. I would not play the race card.

Raising complaints in this situation will only put a target on your back. A single course grade will have little affect on a multi-decade career.

 

[Postal]

I'm only a first year but I think you should

Pick and choose your battles.
This is not a battle you should fight
Take the pass, and keep it moving

I'm sorry that the attending is such a d-bag though 🙁

 

[SteinUmStein]

It can be easy to blame medical students for failing to rock the boat or failing to call a spade a spade when there's abuse happening, and if there are anonymous ways to report these things it should be reported, but I'll sooner turn the other cheek before risking my career and subsequent financial support of my family.

This. Your career and financial well-being are worth so much more than getting back at one pissy attending. At your school there is probably an anonymous mechanism of reporting situations like this, just keep it impersonal enough that you can't be identified in the report. At my school you can delay the release of these reports until after the end of your sequence or after you graduate. If enough of these anonymous reports build up on an attending it can have serious consequences for them, and can make a difference for future students.

 

[gators21]

I cant believe how many report him suggestions their are. DUMBEST IDEA EVER.

First off, this sounds exactly like a little kid that gets in trouble. You know the "but i didnt do anything" even though they did it. Why is everyone telling people to report him off of a paragraph. We know absolutely nothing about the situation, only one persons side of the story. You say the attending tells you to shut up. Do you keep interrupting him? Are you as a med student contradicting his plan of care for the patient in front of the family? Do you try to correct the attending in front of the patients? If you do any of these then that attending is well within his right to tell you to shut up ( granted probably should not be done in front of families or the team).
You need to get some honest feedback about yourself. Not from family, good friends, ect. If your coming off as arrogant, lazy, or unprepared then it is something you need to work on.
If you honestly ( Really look into yourself and ask advice) cant think of any reason that this guy would resent you, then just finish the rotation and move on. Medicine is a lot smaller community than you think. If you keep your head down, chance are they will forget all about you and thats it. If you report him, piss him off, he may try to damage your career. Its a lot easier than you think to figure out evals. If what you say is true (big if), and your the only one he is "picking on" and you write about it in an eval, it will be pretty easy to match you to that eval.

 

[SirGecko]

Most likely your are projecting your insecurities onto the attending. I've had attending in the past that I was sure thought I was a ****bird when I started give me honors. As a third year medical student you are either a genius or you quickly become acutely aware of the limits of your medical knowledge. Insecurity is a natural impulse you need to learn to control. (and harness to fuel your academic drive)

Only thing you can do is ask for feedback (earlier rather than later), try to improve on whatever they identify as your weakness (remember they have only seen a small portion of your work, if they identify a weakness that you feel is merely coincidental you still should work to improve it) and remain positive. You can only change your own actions and it doesn't sound like the attending has done anything unambiguously mean spirited. Remember though you need to *ask* for feedback. (not the same thing as the "confront him" advice above) If you ask for feedback in a private forum and he doesn't tell you what is bothering him about your performance then and only then it is on him.

 

[plauto]

Well, of course we can only go by what he/she is telling us...assuming that is the truth, I still stand by my position to go to the course director and request to be put on a different team.
Chances are, he did this to other students in the past.
To all of you who say to suck it up and move on....is that what we pay thousands of $ for every year? To suck it up and move on? Is that how little you value your money?!

I agree that there is probably more to the story, but I also know that there are some d-bags like this attending at academic medical centers. And I also know that medical schools do not like to have such people teaching students. So speak up. Unlike what these fearful kids say, your career and financial future won't be compromised a bit...

 

[SteinUmStein]

Unlike what these fearful kids say, your career and financial future won't be compromised a bit...

Go for it. I guess it's true that everybody's gotta get burned once before they know that fire is hot...

 

[adaptation1]

I'd suck it up. What's the point of reporting him? So that he can reflect and change his ways? Impossible. Can't change a 60 year old man. So that other students won't undergo the same treatment? How altruistic of you, but will that benefit you in any way, like get a better grade? To get back at him? There are better battles to be fought.

Maybe I'm just a cowardly turtle. But I don't want to stir the pot if there is any chance that I'll pay for it, knowing what I experienced so far about medical hierarchy -- haven't I payed enough by being belittled by that guy? I'd take the bad grade--which you don't know you will get yet--and move on.

 

[Phyozo]

Well, of course we can only go by what he/she is telling us...assuming that is the truth, I still stand by my position to go to the course director and request to be put on a different team.
Chances are, he did this to other students in the past.
To all of you who say to suck it up and move on....is that what we pay thousands of $ for every year? To suck it up and move on? Is that how little you value your money?!

I agree that there is probably more to the story, but I also know that there are some d-bags like this attending at academic medical centers. And I also know that medical schools do not like to have such people teaching students. So speak up. Unlike what these fearful kids say, your career and financial future won't be compromised a bit...

Actually I pay thousands of dollars every year for a good undergraduate medical education that will allow me to enter into an excellent residency so I can become the kind of physician I want to be and support/raise my family in the process.

Despite what you may think, training third year medical students is one of the lowest things on the priority ladder for attendings. It's also quite low for residents. Academic medical centers are happy to keep d-bag attendings as long as they can bring in $$ to those centers (usually either through fame and/or publication/being an expert in the field).

There's a time and a place to stand your ground, but the power differential here is too great. You really want to play the game? Work hard, become more famous than your attending, become his boss, and then fire him. Not really realistic, is it? Just let it go. Improve what you can, report anonymously where you can, ask for feedback if you want, but ultimately let it go.

 

[plauto]

Exactly how do your career and financial future get compromised for asking to be on a different team? Do you guys really live in this much fear?! Maybe my medical school is unique in that the administration actually cares about medical students getting a good education and not just a piece of paper. Attendings have been removed from teaching students when things were not working. These same attendings also have a much harder time climbing the academic ladder. If you do not want to teach, get out of teaching hospitals.

 

[tfc]

In general, people have fragile egos and medicine is a lot more political and militaristic than it first appears. Piss off someone in the upper echelon and you may find yourself with a target on your back. As a resident you may be forced to do remediation or dismissed. As an attending you may find yourself unable to move up the academic ladder or blackballed without being able to find a job in the area.

You are basically saying we have to keep our heads down our whole life until we become the boss man.

In another post you say there is a time/place for battle. When and where? After we become the boss and the other guy is either an even bigger hot shot or retired? Unrealistic... and so that leaves us with just being silent about wrongs our whole life. And people wonder why obvious mistakes aren't caught in medicine.

 

[tfc]

If you do not want to teach, get out of teaching hospitals.

👍

 

[Phyozo]

You are basically saying we have to keep our heads down our whole life until we become the boss man.

In another post you say there is a time/place for battle. When and where? After we become the boss and the other guy is either an even bigger hot shot or retired? Unrealistic... and so that leaves us with just being silent about wrongs our whole life. And people wonder why obvious mistakes aren't caught in medicine.

I'm saying don't pick fights you can't win or will wish later you didn't win because of the state that your career may be in.

 

[link2swim06]

Exactly how do your career and financial future get compromised for asking to be on a different team? Do you guys really live in this much fear?! Maybe my medical school is unique in that the administration actually cares about medical students getting a good education and not just a piece of paper. Attendings have been removed from teaching students when things were not working. These same attendings also have a much harder time climbing the academic ladder. If you do not want to teach, get out of teaching hospitals.

I mean zero offense to you (although you might interpret it that way).

This is the point of view before you have had a significant work experience. I have had a million jobs in everything from painting housing to in an office settings. One common theme is the people who played the politics right ran into the least number of problems. Unless changing teams is commonplace it seems like that is just creating a situation you dont want to be involved in.

OP only fight battles that are going to benefit you and are worth your time. You didnt go into med school to "right the wrongs" of medical educations. Your goal is to become a physician, there is no point to trying to fight this attending...its not helping your goal. It has a huge permanent downside with only a slight short-term upside. I could name a half of dozen bosses I had that were everything from verbally abusive on a daily basis to being completely unfair. I learned to use mature defense mechanisms like humor which allowed me to succeed in my original goal (obtain a paycheck). There are three times I would "report" this physician:
1. He is doing something illegal
2. He is compromising pt safety
3. His treatment is affecting your emotional well being outside the hospital.

Otherwise, suck it up, might as well learn now, bc it is going to happen again and again.


Even when you are a physician, pts are going to come in acting like this...its impossible to ever get above it. You need to understand appropriate defense mechanisms and minimizing contact with him when you don't have to.

 

[tfc]

I'm saying don't pick fights you can't win or will wish later you didn't win because of the state that your career may be in.

OK this is a very practical way of looking at this situation. It appears my approach is too idealistic and will not accomplish anything of tangible value for myself.

 

[michaelrack]

There are a couple possibilities here:
1. He actually thinks highly of you and picks on you because he holds you to higher standards. (A possibility)
2. He actually doesn't think one way or the other about you or any of the students and you are projecting your insecurities onto his actions giving them meaning beyond intended. (A possibility)
3. You really are struggling and you haven't been able to identify how. (A possibility)
4. He really does hate you. (A possibility, though remote)
.

👍

The OP should ask a resident on the team which of these applies to him/her.