being chief resident worth it?

[heathermed]

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I was offered the chief resident spot and have till next friday to decide whether to take it or not.
I hear its a lot of extra work and politics, but getting past being unable to fully embrace senioritis, is it worth it?

Thanks for the advice!

 

[gasp]

Usually is a program has 1 chief (depending on its size), you are appointed to the position by your peers/attendings. And if you were, then everyone must have thought you would be good and efficient at handling it. Congrats on the offer.

1) Is it a lot of work? yes but nothing that cant be handled if you are an efficient person. Your job will mostly consist of being a CA-3 resident, making yearly schedules, call schedules, vacation schedules, lectures to incoming classes, and spending time with you PD an chair organizing the program in general with tweaks and input.
2) Is there politics? yes. you will have to be good at listening to complaints from attendings about residents and from residents about attendings. You will be the middle man/woman who balances both sides. Give advice to both sides (yes you can give advice to attendings if you play it right). You will have to be FAIR in everything you do and that could be hard no matter how you handle it because tings dont always go as planned. You will have to gain the respect of your collegues and residents to the point that when things dont go as planned, they understand that you fought to make it fair but sometimes its impossible. You will be an advocate for your residents and for your attendings. The key is balance.
3) unable to fully embrace senioritis? depends on the type of person you are. You usually dont get offered these positions if they thought you were lazy, or maybe you were just the least lazy person in your group. Who knows. the fact is that you have some power and can make it easy for yourself but you will lose respect if that happens and I don't recommend it. If you really wanna slack off and enjoy "senioritis", give the position to someone else who will enhance the program.
4)Is it worth it? in my opinion yes. Aside from the fact that it looks good on your resume no matter what you are doing with your life after CA-3 year, it makes you a more efficient/responsible person at administrative duties. This comes in handy even if you are part of a group later on. You just understand how to better deal with schedules, schedule switches, backup, different personalities, general political correctness, and techniques to make things happen.

Hope this helps. Make sure you dont just do it for "respect" or "power". Only do it if you have a genuine interest in helping enhance the program.

 

[deleted9493]

Think of it as a growing opportunity that most residents will not have. You'll grow in efficiency over the course of the year so that the role doesn't feel so burdensome. You'll stop losing sleep over residents complaining that the call schedule is unfair, after you've put more hours into it than you probably need to. You'll grow in confidence as a decision-maker and a leader. You'll see changes that could be made to enhance your program and get excited about them after working out the kinks, only to have someone in the hierarchy tank the whole idea on a whim.

On the whole and in retrospect, I would do it again. It was an easy decision for me because I loved my training program and wanted to give back in some measure.

 

[Noyac]

Absolutely worth every minute for all the reasons mentioned. Don't let it slip by. You may find that it takes a few years to understand what the position taught you but those lessons will play out eventually. Most new grads come out with very little skills outside of the OR. Things like politics, sitting on committees, learning to listen rather than have an opinion on everything under the sun, dealing with conflicts, the list goes on and on. Any way to improve on this should be embraced.

 

[Stank811]

Agree with above posts...worth it in the long run. If you would have described your role as solely perfroming scheduling duties I would have said not worth it. But if you get to be a representative on committess that involve the anesthesia department, other departments, nurses, hospital administration it is worth your time because you will get a glimpse at how decisions are made which can be eye opening.

 

[periopdoc]

I would do it again. It sets you apart in a way that very little else can if you ever decide to go for a competitive job. If I am looking at a CV, I am more impressed by this than a fellowship anymore (unless I am looking for a specific skillset for my group). Think of how many of your classmates are doing fellowships vs how many make chief resident. Maybe if you only ever do B&B at an ASC for a AMC it won't be worth it, but why limit your options?

It only seems like a lot of extra work in comparison to what your classmates are doing, but it prepares you for all the out-of-OR administrative stuff that is vital to the survival of anesthesia groups (hospital committees etc)

- pod

 

[Planktonmd]

Agree with Noyac... You need to learn the other aspects of anesthesia practice (politics) as early as you can in your career... it's never too early!

 

[Machinery]

I was offered the chief resident spot and have till next friday to decide whether to take it or not.
I hear its a lot of extra work and politics, but getting past being unable to fully embrace senioritis, is it worth it?

Thanks for the advice!

Yes it is.

 

[OB1🤙]

Absolutely worth it.

 

[Noyac]

I would do it again. It sets you apart in a way that very little else can if you ever decide to go for a competitive job. If I am looking at a CV, I am more impressed by this than a fellowship anymore (unless I am looking for a specific skillset for my group). Think of how many of your classmates are doing fellowships vs how many make chief resident. Maybe if you only ever do B&B at an ASC for a AMC it won't be worth it, but why limit your options?

It only seems like a lot of extra work in comparison to what your classmates are doing, but it prepares you for all the out-of-OR administrative stuff that is vital to the survival of anesthesia groups (hospital committees etc)

- pod

Well said. I totally agree with the statement "more impressed by this than a fellowship".

 

[seinfeld]

Throughout our schooling we are taught to study hard. Study for the test, compete the project, finish the semester with good grades. Graduate with high honors. My issue with all these statements is that they miss the point of life and a career in medicine.

We shouldn't study to get good grades and graduate but we should study because someday a person, a patient, will rely on our perceived knowledge. they will place their lives in our care, never knowing who we are, what we stand for or against, but they blindly believe with more faith than most religious persons, that the paper on our office walls is not the summation of a life's work but a mere portal to life itself. So I say to you, the journey to becoming a great doctor is more about where you choose to step than the mere fact you reached the destination.

I found that being Chief Resident sped the maturation process of a fledgling doctor. It forced me to become more confident in tense political situations, it taught me how to maneuver and be appropriately assertive to fellow physicians, and I learned quickly, with great mentoring, when to call b@llsh&t. I would always put a high price on a chief resident.

 

[Oggg]

+1 to all

 

[sevoflurane]

+2

 

[Yo GabbaPentin]

+3. It can be a pain in the butt at the time but well worth it. The politics learned and actual leadership skills gained are invaluable.

 

[anescheesia]

So as a PGY-1 prelim - I am psyching myself to embark on my anesthesia journey, what should I focus on to become chief in 2 years?

 

[HollATme]

So as a PGY-1 prelim - I am psyching myself to embark on my anesthesia journey, what should I focus on to become chief in 2 years?

be skilled in ass-kissing when it comes to key attendings and administration, proficiency in being a weasel is great too!!

if you're clinically okay that's good enough as long as you're skilled in the above.

rocking out on the ITE doesn't matter much unless you're skilled in the first. i dont think any of my chiefs had amazing ITE scores, heck neither did the OP last year (her post) and yet she's being recommended for this amazing position of being the administration's official bitch-monkey.

honestly, sure the chief position looks great on paper, but i'm finding some of these jokers gunning for chief mainly for the CV pad and nothing else. they don't care about their resident colleagues. they don't care to voice anything in these meetings. avoiding ripples with the key folks is how they got their position, and they sure as hell aint gonna change after getting the position. i have seen some go on a power-trip, etc.

i'm sure some of you above posters who were chief may have done a great job, who knows and i personally don't care one way or another, but i wouldn't say being chief necessarily means great things outside of the CV pad.

i think gasp's post sums it up well, and it's unfortunate when admins/key attendings select based on the 1st criteria rather than the whole picture, but then again, it's all politics!!!

 

[kazuma]

How are chiefs chosen at most programs? At my program, chiefs are elected by the residents and the staff have the ability to veto if the residents elect a complete knucklehead that wouldn't do a good job, but that rarely happens if ever. The Chiefs during my first and second year were cool, well liked by the residents and they did a great job. My co-chiefs are also great folks who get along with well with everybody. I certainly did not "gun" for a chief position. In my experience, the residents that gun and campaign for the job are the ones that don't get elected for obvious reasons. But perhaps things are different at other programs.

 

[IlDestriero]

It matters. Look at the attendings posts above. They interview, they hire. It sets you apart and you learn valuable leadership skills at a good time to be able to mess a few things up.

 

[IlDestriero]

Our shop had attendings and residents both vote secretly. Then the magic happened and the chair announced the chiefs a couple days later.

 

[Yo GabbaPentin]

be skilled in ass-kissing when it comes to key attendings and administration, proficiency in being a weasel is great too!!

if you're clinically okay that's good enough as long as you're skilled in the above.

rocking out on the ITE doesn't matter much unless you're skilled in the first. i dont think any of my chiefs had amazing ITE scores, heck neither did the OP last year (her post) and yet she's being recommended for this amazing position of being the administration's official bitch-monkey.

honestly, sure the chief position looks great on paper, but i'm finding some of these jokers gunning for chief mainly for the CV pad and nothing else. they don't care about their resident colleagues. they don't care to voice anything in these meetings. avoiding ripples with the key folks is how they got their position, and they sure as hell aint gonna change after getting the position. i have seen some go on a power-trip, etc.

i'm sure some of you above posters who were chief may have done a great job, who knows and i personally don't care one way or another, but i wouldn't say being chief necessarily means great things outside of the CV pad.

i think gasp's post sums it up well, and it's unfortunate when admins/key attendings select based on the 1st criteria rather than the whole picture, but then again, it's all politics!!!

I didn't kiss ass to get there and I didn't aim to be chief. At the time I was voted in by my co residents I was already assured of the fellowship I wanted... So I didn't care about CVpads.

Yes being chief involves politics. It taught me how to kiss the appropriate a$$ in the appropriate way. In other words, it taught me some of the art of politics. Trust me... Politics are very important. You can either learn the system and how to work it to your advantage or you can fight the system. The "damn the man" attitude won't get anyone too far in the real world where politics are all too prevalent.

Sounds like you had some DB chiefs!! Sorry to hear that.

 

[Yo GabbaPentin]

So as a PGY-1 prelim - I am psyching myself to embark on my anesthesia journey, what should I focus on to become chief in 2 years?

Don't gun to be a chief. Just be a good, reliable resident and the rest will work itself out.

 

[loveumms]

I am very glad I was chief resident. It taught me a lot about time management (maybe having a baby my chief year wasn't the best idea but I sure did become a ninja at time allotment).

It does look good on a resume but that shouldn't be the primary reason you do it. Really I think the most important thing is to be an advocate for your fellow residents. I really learned what was important to my fellow residents and I think it's helped me become a better attending in academics.

I've always said that if you want to be chief prior to being asked, you probably would't make a very good chief. Anyone who is campaigning for chief shouldn't be elected because there is usually ulterior motives. Just my two cents.

 

[IlDestriero]

It's interesting that they gave you a choice. We just elected people and they were volun-told that they were the chief. Nobody asked me if I wanted the job. Surprise, you're chief. "There's a transition meeting tomorrow at 4, see you there."

 

[Laryngophed]

It's interesting that they gave you a choice. We just elected people and they were volun-told that they were the chief. Nobody asked me if I wanted the job. Surprise, you're chief. "There's a transition meeting tomorrow at 4, see you there."

Volun-told.

I like that. I'm going to have to work that into my lexicon.

 

[Machinery]

be skilled in ass-kissing when it comes to key attendings and administration, proficiency in being a weasel is great too!!

if you're clinically okay that's good enough as long as you're skilled in the above.

rocking out on the ITE doesn't matter much unless you're skilled in the first. i dont think any of my chiefs had amazing ITE scores, heck neither did the OP last year (her post) and yet she's being recommended for this amazing position of being the administration's official bitch-monkey.

honestly, sure the chief position looks great on paper, but i'm finding some of these jokers gunning for chief mainly for the CV pad and nothing else. they don't care about their resident colleagues. they don't care to voice anything in these meetings. avoiding ripples with the key folks is how they got their position, and they sure as hell aint gonna change after getting the position. i have seen some go on a power-trip, etc.

i'm sure some of you above posters who were chief may have done a great job, who knows and i personally don't care one way or another, but i wouldn't say being chief necessarily means great things outside of the CV pad.

i think gasp's post sums it up well, and it's unfortunate when admins/key attendings select based on the 1st criteria rather than the whole picture, but then again, it's all politics!!!

Your story is not true for a lot of institutions. I would have been happy to be selected as chief at my residency. They picked the smartest and most respected of the group. We voted too, which meant the chiefs were respected by their peers. It looks good on their CV for those exact reasons.

 

[Random Anesthesiologist]

Your story is not true for a lot of institutions. I would have been happy to be selected as chief at my residency. They picked the smartest and most respected of the group. We voted too, which meant the chiefs were respected by their peers. It looks good on their CV for those exact reasons.

I'm not a gunner. I would like to be chief someday for the reasons outlined above: a great experience not many will get and the boost to cv.

I'm not going to feel bad for having the desire to be chief one day. I'm also not going to let it consume me to let me act like a jerk til then or if I don't get it.

 

[Gern Blansten]

Tips to increasing the likelihood of being chosen as chief:

-make sure you want it for the right reasons (not just because you want to buff your CV). It will be a lot of work and will often add hours to your day.
-don't be a trouble maker
-don't struggle academically. Chiefs will have more time consuming responsibilities, so they need to be solid academically
-don't campaign for it. People hate that.
-be an advocate for your colleagues, but pick your battles wisely and always approach things respectfully
-don't burn bridges
-don't talk behind the backs of your colleagues
-have a reputation of being someone who works hard and looks out for their colleagues.
-lead from the front. Never ask anyone to do something that you are not willing to do yourself
-effect positive change in your residency through your hard work and positive attitude
-establish excellent rapport with the nursing staff and surgeons. Be someone that people like having around because you are an excellent team player.
-be a problem solver, not a problem creator
-if you discover a problem, don't just bring the problem forward, bring the solution forward.
-establish yourself with your colleagues as someone they can trust (don't lie, cheat, steal etc). Always be fair and ethical.
-don't be a kiss ass (most kiss asses don't recognize that they are perceived as kiss asses)
-learn to let small problems go
-don't be easily offended. Learn to take a joke
-stand up for and assist the underdog (struggling residents). Speak up for those who need to be spoken up for, but do it with respect.
-be fun to be around when appropriate but serious when it is needed. Recognize the difference.
-respect others
-don't be boastful or full of pride
-be a good listener. Sometimes people don't need a problem solved, they just need to know they have been heard and that someone empathizes with them

Most of this has to start on day one. First impressions are tough to get past. Certain people are out of consideration early when they call in sick when they are not really sick, slack off on an intern rotation and get a bad eval, show up consistently late, take advantage of their fellow resident, or have a consistently poor attitude. Most of these items are things you should have learned from your parents and in kindergarten. It is surprising how many people did not.

Remember that you are likely one of several residents in your program that have excellent qualities that would make them a good chief resident. Don't be offended if you are not chosen.

 

[24858]

people aren't going to vote for a gunner. of course you have to be smart and well liked to be chief, hence why being chief is such a cv plus. your future partners look at your cv and see chief, and think "smart and well liked as a resident, probably will be an asset and not a trouble maker for our group, lets hire this one"
when i was on the interview trail, a number of groups i looked at told me that my having been chief meant i was likely missing any personality issues.
when i interview candidates for my group, i would look at someone having been chief as a plus, it means they will do more than just punch in and punch out, they are more likely to help me carry some of the administrative burden of the group.
i was chief and i loved it. would definitely do it again. where i was there was only one chief. it helped me deal with people, as i tend to be non confrontational

 

[deleted171991]

It would be interesting to find out how many non-ex-chiefs would hire ex-chiefs. Because it's obvious that ex-chiefs tend to think highly of other ex-chiefs.

 

[BobBarker]

In my program we have a vote but it is always clear there is someone being groomed to be chief most years. My program pays the chief resident a bonus and they get lots of non clinical time (monthly ad day, get to go to entire asa conference, interviews prospective residents). You would be crazy not to want to do it.

 

[pgg]

I'm not in a position to hire anyone but if I was, I'd absolutely give weight to chiefness in a pool of new-grad applicants. I'd assume that, absent any red flags, every applicant is clinically competent. But having been a chief is a somewhat objective positive; it's not a participation trophy that everyone gets. It suggests academic non-mediocrity, at least a passing ability to get along with other people, and perhaps some useful management and OR-running experience.

For someone who's been out of residency for a while ... well, I'd hope that there's something more impressive than chief on your resume when you go hunting for your 2nd or 3rd or 4th gig.


Regardless, as a general rule for anything in life, the right answer is usually to choose to do hard things and challenge yourself and be all that you can be. You should want to be a chief for the same reasons you wanted to be a doctor and not a nurse.

It would be interesting to find out how many non-ex-chiefs would hire ex-chiefs. Because it's obvious that ex-chiefs tend to think highly of other ex-chiefs.

I was not a chief, and I thought highly of the two chiefs in my class. I would hire them.

 

[deleted171991]

I think highly of about 50% of the chiefs I had to deal with, both during internship and residency. So, from my limited experience, there is a 50-50% chance to either win the lottery or score some world-class passive-aggressive selfish brown-nosers.

 

[Noyac]

It would be interesting to find out how many non-ex-chiefs would hire ex-chiefs. Because it's obvious that ex-chiefs tend to think highly of other ex-chiefs.

Your right, ex-chiefs like ex-chiefs.
Of the people in my group the ones that are ex-chiefs are obvious.
But the ones that are non-chiefs are still very good.
There's just something special about chiefs "sometimes". If you can get thru a residency and be highly regarded by your co-residents and attendings then there is something special there.

 

[periopdoc]

It would be interesting to find out how many non-ex-chiefs would hire ex-chiefs. Because it's obvious that ex-chiefs tend to think highly of other ex-chiefs.

Excellent point.

Of course, it is also possible that ex-chiefs are more likely to be the ones seeking administrative positions in a group and are therefore over represented in the group of physicians making the hiring decisions.


-pod

 

[heathermed]

After reading all the arguments made, the answer was clear. I accepted. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Yo GabbaPentin]

After reading all the arguments made, the answer was clear. I accepted. Thanks for the advice.

I knew you would. You're such a sellout power hungry a$$kisser. 🙂

Welcome to the club.