Classmate Pimping!!!!!

[WhatUpDoc!]

Ok, I have this dude in my anatomy lab group that, for some reason or another, loves to pimp everyone else in the group while we're doing our dissections. I don't know if this guy took anatomy in a past life or if he's just that d@mn smart, but he seems to know everything on whatever part of the body we're working on, even minute little trivia like "Oh yeah, the calcaneus tendon can withstand 1000 lbs... and by the way, what muscles insert into this tendon?" I swear it's one of the most annoying things I have ever dealt with in my life It's like having a mini-professor at our table each day quizzing us over material we just had 5 friggin minutes ago!!! It started off as simple questions related to the dissector, but now this dude is just out of control. Don't even get me started on how he acts when the REAL professor comes around our table. I know this is a taste of what's to come during 3rd and 4th years, but who does this dude think he is pimping people within his own class!?!? Ok I'm done ranting, but does anybody have some tips on how to shut this guy up without causing bad blood within the group?

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[BozoSparky]

A little bit of friendly quizzing can be fun, but your classmate sounds a little over the top...maybe it's a showoff thing. I would probably be annoyed, too.

You'll probably hit a class that he hasn't had very soon. I would let it go for now...let someone else blow up.

 

[WhatUpDoc!]

maybe it's a showoff thing

Oh, it's definitely a showoff thing... he gets this little smirk on his face every time he stumps us and it takes conscious control of every somatic neuron in my body to keep from hauling off and decking him clean across the room.

 

[Random]

One question: do the others at your table feel the same way?

Anyway, at some point you're going to have to cut your losses and be less worried about bad blood than being able to learn. For now, though, I just wouldn't answer; it's not like the professor's asking you these questions.

 

[colbgw02]

Ok, I have this dude in my anatomy lab group that, for some reason or another, loves to pimp everyone else in the group while we're doing our dissections. I don't know if this guy took anatomy in a past life or if he's just that d@mn smart, but he seems to know everything on whatever part of the body we're working on, even minute little trivia like "Oh yeah, the calcaneus tendon can withstand 1000 lbs... and by the way, what muscles insert into this tendon?" I swear it's one of the most annoying things I have ever dealt with in my life It's like having a mini-professor at our table each day quizzing us over material we just had 5 friggin minutes ago!!! It started off as simple questions related to the dissector, but now this dude is just out of control. Don't even get me started on how he acts when the REAL professor comes around our table. I know this is a taste of what's to come during 3rd and 4th years, but who does this dude think he is pimping people within his own class!?!? Ok I'm done ranting, but does anybody have some tips on how to shut this guy up without causing bad blood within the group?

pimping should be like **** - it always rolls downhill - never sideways or uphill. friendly quizzing to keep each other sharp is one thing, but if he keeps this up then he'll look like a real wank on wards and his grade(s) will reflect that.

 

[OnMyWayThere]

we have one of those in our class and he did the same thing to his anatomy group... my friend who was in his group finally told him it's not his place to ask and he'll answer those questions on exam day when he needs to... so he stopped asking him questions. He continues doing it in 2nd year to people who don't speak back to him.

 

[WhatUpDoc!]

One question: do the others at your table feel the same way?

Right now it's kind of like the elephant in a living room analogy. We never really discussed it out in the open, but an occassional eye roll and sighs from my other group members is more than enough body language to let me know that I'm not the only getting peeved off at his behavior.

 

[Mr. Freeze]

I think I'd tell him I didn't care and to STFU. Or just completely ignore him. Just get together with the sane people in your group and agree not to acknowledge his dumb ass. Even better, half way through one of his episodes just start talking about something completely unrelated to school, and just interrupt the **** outta him.

But if that doesn't work, resort to blunt trauma.

 

[DoctorFunk]

You could always play his game and pimp him back. Now, one should be careful when pimping the pimper however, as there is little chance that you know anything academically that they are not intimately familiar with.

Luckily, you have one question that will stump them every time, causing them massive humiliation and hopefully putting an end to their social interaction with you for good. That question: "Doing anything fun besides studying this weekend?" Watch 'em squirm.

 

[CaptainDave]

Doc, are you sure you're not in my lab group? ha. I'm thinking of a couple of people that could be.....

We have a chick in ours that does that too, only she doesn't know the answers. It's about to drive me crazy. She likes to ask questions that are next week's material too. We just started completely ignoring her.

Stop by table 34 sometime and say hello and I'll show you what I mean.

 

[AmoryBlaine]

You could always play his game and pimp him back. Now, one should be careful when pimping the pimper however, as there is little chance that you know anything academically that they are not intimately familiar with.

Luckily, you have one question that will stump them every time, causing them massive humiliation and hopefully putting an end to their social interaction with you for good. That question: "Doing anything fun besides studying this weekend?" Watch 'em squirm.

That. Is. Awesome.

Seriously, you should end this before it gets out of hand. Just take the bull by the horns and tell him to knock it off. Next time he asks you a question say, "dude, quit." After that just laugh at him if he keeps doing it.

Stuff like this just festers if you don't deal with it early. It will only make the class more painful if everyone is increasingly resentful.

by the way: student to student pimping in your third year is a way to bring universal hatred down upon your head quicker than almost anything else you can do short of spitting into a sterile field. The residents were all med students a few years ago and if they see a med student trying to pimp his peers they will write him off as a tool and a gunner. So he might have that to look forward to.

 

[WhatUpDoc!]

Doc, are you sure you're not in my lab group? ha. I'm thinking of a couple of people that could be.....

We have a chick in ours that does that too, only she doesn't know the answers. It's about to drive me crazy. She likes to ask questions that are next week's material too. We just started completely ignoring her.

Stop by table 34 sometime and say hello and I'll show you what I mean.

Wow... there's others!?!? I'm so glad this block is coming to a close. Between seeing obnoxious lab guy every other day and dealing with this boat load of testable information, my energy level has been stuck at

 

[jocg27]

Right now it's kind of like the elephant in a living room analogy. We never really discussed it out in the open, but an occassional eye roll and sighs from my other group members is more than enough body language to let me know that I'm not the only getting peeved off at his behavior.

Haha...We had a guy like this in our group...I couldn't stand him, didn't answer him, avoided the questions whenever possible, and if he directly asked me, more often than not I just let him think I was clueless...But I never said anything about it to the rest of the group...and they never said much either. After nearly the entire course was over, it randomly came out that one of the other three of us didn't like it, and we spent the rest of the semester bonding over how annoying and condescending he was...

I've realized that whatever it is that you're thinking, no matter how random or off the wall it seems to you, you are almost never the only one thinking it.

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

sounds like the guy has no social skills.

just say "dunno", and keep minding your business and getting the cuts done.

or you can say 'dunno, what is it?" and have him answer his own questions. you might remember a little anatomy that way. who knows..... his pimp questions may be "high yield".

 

[NEATOMD]

I had a gal in my class during first year that was always pimping people over histo stuff. Sad thing is she didn't do it on purpose. She'd even do it to the prof, who really enjoyed it, and sort of propelled the problem. I've never seen anyone get as excited about any form of science as she did.

As annoying as it was, no one wanted to say anything because they didn't want to hurt her. To make it worse for me, I didn't really want to say anything because she was dating one of my best friends...later in the year, they broke up, we got over our nice complex and pretty much let her know what was up.

It still happens with her from time to time. Only now it is other topics that she get excited about, so we just remind her every so often that we know where she lives, and then she wakes up one day with a horse head lying next to her...ok, so we don't really threaten her, or most of us don't anyway...

I'm just gonna stop now.

 

[Typhooner1]

I've got someone on my table who antagonizes me no matter what the discussion (academic or otherwise).

Just do your best to let it slide off, and if you must tell the person that they're trouble, do it in a way that doesn't put you in a position against the professionalism committee.

We're 1/3 of the way through with gross after next week, and obviously once we're done with gross, we're done with our partners (unless you make an attempt to study with them, or see them socially).

P.S. - Stay classy.

 

[Agent Splat]

Or take a line from Lethal Weapon (2?) and say....

"You know why I don't have an ulcer? Because I know when to say 'I don't give a f**k.'"

 

[Doctor Bagel]

One question: do the others at your table feel the same way?

Anyway, at some point you're going to have to cut your losses and be less worried about bad blood than being able to learn. For now, though, I just wouldn't answer; it's not like the professor's asking you these questions.

Yeah, just say "I don't know" dismissively and continue with the dissection.

 

[45408]

that's lame. when we got close to the exam, I'd quiz some people a little when I knew stuff, but not during the dissections. Besides, I don't know it yet anyways. I don't really like it when a lot of the profs come around, unless we're lost, but I do like it when they have specialists come through and tell us cool stuff. We had an ENT resident and attending come look at our dissection yesterday and tell us some relevant stuff.

 

[indo]

ask them "are you trying to pimp me?"

 

[indo]

that's lame. when we got close to the exam, I'd quiz some people a little when I knew stuff, but not during the dissections. Besides, I don't know it yet anyways. I don't really like it when a lot of the profs come around, unless we're lost, but I do like it when they have specialists come through and tell us cool stuff. We had an ENT resident and attending come look at our dissection yesterday and tell us some relevant stuff.

Dude, the hand surgeons were killer on the upper limb anatomy!

 

[njbmd]

Ok, I have this dude in my anatomy lab group that, for some reason or another, loves to pimp everyone else in the group while we're doing our dissections. I don't know if this guy took anatomy in a past life or if he's just that d@mn smart, but he seems to know everything on whatever part of the body we're working on, even minute little trivia like "Oh yeah, the calcaneus tendon can withstand 1000 lbs... and by the way, what muscles insert into this tendon?" I swear it's one of the most annoying things I have ever dealt with in my life It's like having a mini-professor at our table each day quizzing us over material we just had 5 friggin minutes ago!!! It started off as simple questions related to the dissector, but now this dude is just out of control. Don't even get me started on how he acts when the REAL professor comes around our table. I know this is a taste of what's to come during 3rd and 4th years, but who does this dude think he is pimping people within his own class!?!? Ok I'm done ranting, but does anybody have some tips on how to shut this guy up without causing bad blood within the group?

Tell him that you appreciate that he has the knowledge and that this is your recognition of his superiority but now you need to study this material and his "pre-med syndrome" is lame and getting out of hand. Tell him that the tank group took a poll and he has used up all of his word quota for the rest of the semester. When he opens his mouth, put up your hand and do a "zip" motion. When he shuts up, send him the OK sign.

 

[samenewme]

It is possible to take a gentler approach first, which MIGHT work. Simply say, "I know you're probably trying to help, but you're driving me crazy with all these questions. Could you please stop? I need time to think first."

And if that doesn't do it, then he's insensitive and it's time to whip out the word "lame" and the "zip" motion and possibly one of the mallets from the tool table.

 

[notsittinpretty]

last year during anatomy. He was notorious for pimping classmates, and not just the people at his cadaver. Somehow our anatomy instructor got wind of his actions, and decided to pimp him in the middle of one of our dissections. Long story short, the kid had clearly only memorized certain obscure facts with which to impress his classmates. Needless to say he lookelike an idiot when the professor was drilling him. Such satisfaction seeing a peer go up in flames...i almost felt bad about it.

 

[gschl1234]

I didn't read thru all the replies so maybe someone's arleady brought this up but if the guy's pimping is actually helplful and makes it easier for you to remember stuff, use him! I have a super-smart classmate (we're friends, by the way) and she's a great resource! I joke that she's my medical encyclopedia. I'm really grateful that she saves me a bunch of time.

 

[Gut Shot]

Ok I'm done ranting, but does anybody have some tips on how to shut this guy up without causing bad blood within the group?

Simple. Every time he asks you a question make the answer involve his anus. Example:

"And what is this structure here?"

"You're anus."

"Uhhh, no, it's the adductor longus. What innervates it?"

"It's innervated by your dingus, dude."

"Uh, okay, no. Anybody know the origin and insertion?"

"It originates in your ass and inserts in the same place: right up your butthole. Got any more questions, smart guy?"

Keep this up long enough and I promise he will stop asking you anything.

 

[cfdavid]

I'm sure that would get annoying. But, it could also be helpful. Maybe tell the guy to keep it to relevant info if he's going to "quiz". (i.e. not the tensile strength of small ligaments or tendons)

The next time he asks a ridiculous question just say "dunno, but somehow i feel like you're gonna tell us..."

But, again, people like that can be helpful in that it could make slow dissections more productive. Set the ego aside and try to learn from the dude. Yet, make sure you guide him more into teaching mode than show off mode.

 

[Paws]

by the way: student to student pimping in your third year is a way to bring universal hatred down upon your head quicker than almost anything else you can do short of spitting into a sterile field. The residents were all med students a few years ago and if they see a med student trying to pimp his peers they will write him off as a tool and a gunner. So he might have that to look forward to.

Hey Armory,

I hope this is true because I have the most anoying fourth year who has decided that it is her job to pimp me on the most patheitc sh&t you can imagine. Mostly, she only does this in front of the residents and attendings. I assume it is her misguided way of trying to look like she is 'in charge' or something. I am a third year and I feel confident in my knowledge base, but I have no intention of letting her try and "test" me. Usually I try and act like I have no idea what she's on about, or if she is particularly patronizing about ridiculously simplistic things ("Do you know how to read a chest x-ray? Why don't you explain to me how you do it.") I just cut her off and let her know that I already know the diagnosis on the xray and I don't need her input or her 'helpful' questions. That usually shuts her up - but how incredbly irritating and such a waste of valuable energy!

I think she looks like a complete tool ... . If this was someone in my own class I would right away tell them to stop with the irritating comments, it's not their place and they're annoying the cr@p out of everyone. It could actually be doing them a favor, since it would teach them how to better get along within their class.

 

[deleted109597]

Just repeat after every question.

"I.DON'T.CARE."

Or use any of the other suggestions. Kicking him in the nuts would work too. If it is a girl, nipple twisters work just as well.

 

[thelonius]

That is so funny! I have a friend in your class and I think I know the guy you are talking about. I had an undergrad class with this know-it-all guy and I can tell you he has a swollen ego the size of Texas. He ran all around campus telling everyone-I mean EVERYONE how high his gpa was, like a 3.9 yet his MCAT was very average. Sounds like he's overcompensating for something maybe???

 

[AmoryBlaine]

Hey Armory,

I hope this is true because I have the most anoying fourth year who has decided that it is her job to pimp me on the most patheitc sh&t you can imagine. Mostly, she only does this in front of the residents and attendings. I assume it is her misguided way of trying to look like she is 'in charge' or something. I am a third year and I feel confident in my knowledge base, but I have no intention of letting her try and "test" me. Usually I try and act like I have no idea what she's on about, or if she is particularly patronizing about ridiculously simplistic things ("Do you know how to read a chest x-ray? Why don't you explain to me how you do it.") I just cut her off and let her know that I already know the diagnosis on the xray and I don't need her input or her 'helpful' questions. That usually shuts her up - but how incredbly irritating and such a waste of valuable energy!

I think she looks like a complete tool ... . If this was someone in my own class I would right away tell them to stop with the irritating comments, it's not their place and they're annoying the cr@p out of everyone. It could actually be doing them a favor, since it would teach them how to better get along within their class.

I don't see why you can't do this if she's only one year ahead of you. I am constantly amazed by how patronizing people can be. This girl is ONE YEAR ahead of you in her medical education. What these people usually do is also let you know how much harder they worked when THEY were M3s and how it's all so much easier now and how YOU never could have made it back then when it was so tough. Give me a break.

Now that I've got over that initial trepidation all M3s feel when they start in the hospital I just laugh at people. If an M4 tries to pimp you it's time to start laughing in their face, even if residents are there.

 

[Paws]

Hey Armory,

Well, I would like to tell her to stuff it but this is my first rotation and I guess I am still trying to figure out how I fit into this picture. I admit I am still sort of scared of the residents and attendings and am wondering what sort of evaluation I am going to get as it is. I wouldn't want it to also include: "does not get along well with peers," or some such BS.

As it is, I will probably get some ridiculous comments that have no reflection on who I am or what I know, I just don't want to add to any more weirdness. But I expect that I will learn better ways of dealing with asshats like this as the year goes on and I find my place and my confidence. At least, that is my goal.

 

[AmoryBlaine]

Hey Armory,

Well, I would like to tell her to stuff it but this is my first rotation and I guess I am still trying to figure out how I fit into this picture. I admit I am still sort of scared of the residents and attendings and am wondering what sort of evaluation I am going to get as it is. I wouldn't want it to also include: "does not get along well with peers," or some such BS.

As it is, I will probably get some ridiculous comments that have no reflection on who I am or what I know, I just don't want to add to any more weirdness. But I expect that I will learn better ways of dealing with asshats like this as the year goes on and I find my place and my confidence. At least, that is my goal.

Call it like you see it. My guess is that if she is really that annoying the residents all hate her too. You do have to be careful b/c behind your back people can portray a situation however they want.

It's pretty common to have been 3rd party to a situation in the hospital and then see someone else describe it completely untruthfully...

 

[vincikai]

You could always play his game and pimp him back. Now, one should be careful when pimping the pimper however, as there is little chance that you know anything academically that they are not intimately familiar with.

Luckily, you have one question that will stump them every time, causing them massive humiliation and hopefully putting an end to their social interaction with you for good. That question: "Doing anything fun besides studying this weekend?" Watch 'em squirm.

"Doing anything fun besides studying this weekend?"
Mahahahaaaaaaa
lol, Oh man I love that one!