Attending vs. Resident Training

[Careofme]

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Hopefully a third or fourth year student can help me with this dilemma:

We have an option of 1) going to a public/county teaching hospital that is affiliated with the university and has many residents training the rotating medical students or 2) a private hospital (with great milestones/reputation reached) however has very few residents and most training is done by the attendings. Both hospitals are very similar for most other variables.
I have heard that this might be good and that this might be bad.

Can someone please help me out with weighing out the advantages and disadvantages of having a resident vs. an attending as a primary instructor during third year rotations?

Thanks!

care

 

[DOtobe]

In my rotations so far, I have been with both.

Pros of just an attending: you are the only one demanding the attending's time, so there is plenty of time for him/her to teach you.

Cons of just an attending: the attending may not know how to be a "teacher." You may end up being a shadow for some of the rotation, as some doctors may prefer to see their own patients and have you just observe. Also, if the hospital is a non-teaching hospital, there isn't much procedure-wise that you will be allowed to do (at least this was the case for me).

Pros of resident-based: a teaching hospital will let you do more procedures. And the residents are usually willing to help you out with any questions.

Cons of resident-based: not as much teaching. Attendings are there to teach residents, and don't teach medical students as much.

I prefer the teaching hospital method, because I learn so much just by seeing patients on my own, and the teaching hospital offers more opportunities for that.

Just my two cents 🙂