generic remarks, ask evaluator to re-evaluate?

[oreosandsake]

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Recently, I was able to see the evaluation from my first clinical rotation.

this was a FM rotation where both physicians were on vacation for 1 week of the 4, and the physician I was assigned to was there only for 2 of the 4 weeks.

the verbal feedback from the physician that I spent more time with was very positive.

the problem is that the physician that I was assigned to, and consequently filled out my eval, was gone 1/2 of the rotation (the second half nonetheless, after I had stumbled around the first 1/2) *part of this is my fault, we worked with both physicians, and although I was assigned to one of them, I spent about 70% of those 2 weeks with the other doc*

At the end, she gave me a very very generic evaluation. "student shows basic competency in xyz..." all of her comments were generic, 1-liners.

which irked me at first, but I accepted it.

then, I found out that my friend who rotated w/ me at the same place, who was evaluated by the other doctor, received many personalized comments including something like, "I highly recommend this student for any residency program in the future..."

We all worked equally hard during this rotation, and showed similar depth of knowledge (he was my step 1 study partner)

should I go back and ask for explanation, or possibly, "can you re-evaluate?" I know it sounds like i'm asking for trouble, but at the same time I am thinking how these comments (or lack thereof) will show up on my mspe...

 

[surrender903]

suck it up and move on. its your first rotation EVER. you have at least 10 more to show off your 'leet skills.

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

Welcome to 3rd year. As long as it's not negative, let it go.

Plus it's FP. Who cares!

 

[Droopy Snoopy]

Welcome to 3rd year. As long as it's not negative, let it go.

Plus it's FP. Who cares!

Exactly. Depending on the way your school sets up the year, you might have dozens of evals. Some will be great, some will be meh, and almost everyone gets a lukewarm or even bad eval despite best efforts. The overall pattern students establish will shine through eventually and separate the men from the boys.

 

[FutureInternist]

Best thing might be to hand them the eval 3 weeks in and say that you need it back by next week, which gives them a whole week to think of personalised comments rather than writing something generic.

 

[Law2Doc]

Best thing might be to hand them the eval 3 weeks in and say that you need it back by next week, which gives them a whole week to think of personalised comments rather than writing something generic.

I don't think at most schools the student ever handles the evals -- they go from the school to the attending and back without going through the student, at whatever timing the school designates.
OP - not much you can do. I promise you you will have to deal with worse than generic comments at least once before this is all through -- we all do. You also hopefully will get pleasantly surprised a few times. Just do what you can to learn what you can and go whatever extra mile you can to impress when the opportunities arise. All you can do is your best, and then let the chips fall as they may.

 

[Ypo.]

Definitely do not ask to have the eval changed. You will end up pissing off both the attending and the administration.

Not everyone is going to think you are wonderful during your third year. A lot of that does not have anything to do with you. Honestly, a lot of your eval comes from how well they like you, rather than any objective measurement of your abilities.

Trust me; once you get broad-sided by a bad eval, you will pretty much not be at all perturbed by the average ones.

Just focus on cultivating relationships with doctors you spend a lot of time with...that will pay off in the end. I could be wrong, but I think that residency directors can spot the general/generic evals (even if they are only mediocre) and that they don't weigh those as much as the ones that stand out (be those bad or good).

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

Oh and one more thing, this is why I always tell people to FOCUS ON THE DAMN SHELF EXAM. It's the only thing that is entirely under your control. You study hard you will most likely do well.

With evals, there is no gaurantee. You could bust your ass and get a Pass (or even worse..."needs to read more"). Then you end up being pissed off...kinda like you are right now. It's so not worth it.

Listen, just do whats expected of you and nothing more in BS rotations like FP, Psych and Ob/Gyn. Don't stay late and don't volunteer anything. Just do your work accurately and efficiently. And be punctual. When there is nothing to do, don't wait to be discharged home by a resident. YOU'RE WASTING TIME THAT SHOULD BE SPENTING STUDYING FOR THE SHELF! Be proactive. Say to the resident "Do you need me for anything else, if not, I'm going to go read." Take your Pass on the eval and be done with it.

Moral of the story: You must strive to nail every shelf exam and stop focusing on your evals. Worst case scenario you will end up with a Pass on the eval and Honors on the shelf, giving you an overall grade of High Pass. You will be a much happier 3rd year!

Not to mention Step 2 studying will be a BREEZE.

 

[LADoc84]

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[edmadison]

My personal favorites are Comment: "great student, one of the best I've worked with" Recommend grade: "Pass"

 

[187502]

Unless you want to go into FP I would drop it and move on.