Chief resident - is it worth it?

[bioguy]

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Is it worth being a chief resident? Apart from a bullet point in the resume, what does being a chief add (or subtract) from your residency experience? The one thing it definitely subtracts is 'time'. Can you current and previous chiefs give some input, please?

 

[BU Pathology]

Is it worth being a chief resident? Apart from a bullet point in the resume, what does being a chief add (or subtract) from your residency experience? The one thing it definitely subtracts is 'time'. Can you current and previous chiefs give some input, please?

Not a current or former chief resident but will still comment.

We specifically note this when reviewing candidates for a faculty appointment. It is not the sole criteria that we use, but it does serve to differentiate applicants. The skills needed by a chief resident, time management, conflict resolution, communication etc. are good preparation for practicing as a pathologist.

 

[mlw03]

Is it worth being a chief resident? Apart from a bullet point in the resume, what does being a chief add (or subtract) from your residency experience? The one thing it definitely subtracts is 'time'. Can you current and previous chiefs give some input, please?

I did it with another resident. It was a pain in the butt, but in general am glad I did. It's something I can put on my CV the rest of my career. That said, it took a fair amount of time both before and during the year. And dealing with people who think their schedule is unfair is not pleasant. If you have specific questions, I'll try to answer them.

 

[TMZ2007]

Current chief here. The time aspect has not been too onerous just yet (but I haven't started the 2012-2013 schedule), but the conflict mediation/resolution aspect has been more difficult than I expected. I was quite surprised how many small fires need to be put out all the damn time. If you're offered the position, I'd still recommend that you do it, if only because it likely means the department thinks you are (among) the best in your class and it looks good on the CV.

 

[mlw03]

Current chief here. The time aspect has not been too onerous just yet (but I haven't started the 2012-2013 schedule), but the conflict mediation/resolution aspect has been more difficult than I expected. I was quite surprised how many small fires need to be put out all the damn time. If you're offered the position, I'd still recommend that you do it, if only because it likely means the department thinks you are (among) the best in your class and it looks good on the CV.

Concur. Strongly.

 

[malchik]

Not a current or former chief resident but will still comment.

We specifically note this when reviewing candidates for a faculty appointment. It is not the sole criteria that we use, but it does serve to differentiate applicants. The skills needed by a chief resident, time management, conflict resolution, communication etc. are good preparation for practicing as a pathologist.

Interesting. You should probably also consider whether they were a good chief or not. It's not a given that an erstwhile chief actually has those skills.

 

[Sulfinator]

Interesting. You should probably also consider whether they were a good chief or not. It's not a given that an erstwhile chief actually has those skills.

And there are some places that have a sort of "chief rotation" (i.e., where all the senior residents take a turn being chief for part of the year).

 

[Napoleon1801]

Current chief resident. Personally it is not worth it overall for the tiny blip that comes up on your CV. I would think that some case reports or research would be much more valuable on your resume. If you don't want to do it or have others more interested in your program, I would let them. The worst part is the departmental meetings which suck up all your time. It really takes away from your educational time, so definitely factor that in. Just my humble opinion. Experiences will vary with your program.

 

[BU Pathology]

And there are some places that have a sort of "chief rotation" (i.e., where all the senior residents take a turn being chief for part of the year).

These are all appropriate concerns and we take great care in recruiting new faculty. References are checked on all candidates, including asking questions about how they performed as chief. Many institutions have rotating chief residents so that there is no particular honor associated with the position. We also ask about how chief residents are selected.

 

[KeratinPearls]

I wouldnt do it. Use the time to study for boards. Study for boards, get certified and move on with life.

 

[veo1]

I wouldnt do it. Use the time to study for boards. Study for boards, get certified and move on with life.

Agreed. I still know of chief residents that can't find a job. Simply not worth the time commitment and added stress IMHO. I wasn't elected chief and am happy I wasn't put in a position to have to decide.

 

[anaphylactoid]

I agree. I was asked but turned it down. I have no regrets. I was able to complete several papers over the year using the time that would otherwise have been consumed with trivia.

Current chief resident. Personally it is not worth it overall for the tiny blip that comes up on your CV. I would think that some case reports or research would be much more valuable on your resume. If you don't want to do it or have others more interested in your program, I would let them. The worst part is the departmental meetings which suck up all your time. It really takes away from your educational time, so definitely factor that in. Just my humble opinion. Experiences will vary with your program.

 

[Sulfinator]

Does anyone do a chief year as a PGY3?

 

[Euchromatin]

Our program has PGY3 chiefs, which I think is a good idea. It allows the chief(s) (we often have 2 co-chiefs to share the work) to have it on their CV in time for fellowship applications that go out in the fall of 3rd year and takes the pressure off of fourth years so they have more time to study for boards.

 

[pathstudent]

Is it worth being a chief resident? Apart from a bullet point in the resume, what does being a chief add (or subtract) from your residency experience? The one thing it definitely subtracts is 'time'. Can you current and previous chiefs give some input, please?

If you need to ask, the answer is probably 'no'.

 

[deleted314957]

i never looked at it when hiring. but i was not in academia.

 

[Ntzach]

i never looked at it when hiring. but i was not in academia.

I have known of 3 or 4 IMG pathology residents (in different programs) that currently are or were chief residents to increase their chances to be hired (specifically in academic centers).
Is it true?

 

[KCShaw]

One chief at the smaller place I was at, two co-chiefs at the larger place. At the larger place occasionally someone would chief in PGY3, just depended on the people. Generally faculty & current chiefs would feel out who might be suitable, considering the 2 years to follow, so "good" people would most likely be available and doing the job. I did it as PGY4 alongside a PGY3. No regrets. We split the duties, based in part on what rotations we were on at certain times, and left me relatively free to study at the end of the year -- plus the next year's chief(s) started taking over in the spring.

Yeah, it does take some more time, but to me it was a good trade of time for experience. Some people just don't want that experience (admin, time management, scheduling, people-management, learning more about departmental/faculty issues, both protecting and beating your residents, communication, how to pick your battles, etc. etc. etc.) -- but realize it's all a part of future practice, to one extent or other. At the very least, even if you hate it and stay out of admin in the future, you learn how to help, or avoid the eye of, or simply better understand the tribulations of, the next person up the chain.

 

[deleted314957]

i can't speak to academia. my perception of the position was that of a senior resident who had extra "crap" administrative hassles like making out the call schedule and act as a "liason" between staff and residents. i could not understand why someone would want it.

 

[KeratinPearls]

i can't speak to academia. my perception of the position was that of a senior resident who had extra "crap" administrative hassles like making out the call schedule and act as a "liason" between staff and residents. i could not understand why someone would want it.

Yes. Just focus on your diagnostic skills and studying. Graduate and pass your boards and get a job. As a chief, you deal with administrative work and if something goes wrong you are the one to blame. Stay low on the radar and graduate.

 

[Torsed]

I absolutely hated being chief resident. Might as well be called chief secretary to PD or chief bucket for the whole department to shovel elephant dung in. Total waste of my time. If you come this far in life and still don't have management skills there probably is no hope (just a fool's hope). I would strongly recommend studying for boards instead of this. As far as fellowship, one would probably already have a fellowship by this point so there is not brownie points for that usually. As far as employment goes no one seemed to give a flying crap if one was chief resident or not, it was a chuckling point though. IMO...avoid like the plague.

 

[superkeith]

if you're going to do it, be sure to commit the time the position deserves. hosing your classmates may make you likable to staff but it won't win you friends in the long run.

 

[mlw03]

Does anyone do a chief year as a PGY3?

My program did a pgy3 ap chief and a pgy4 cp chief, who worked as a team as co-chiefs.