PGY-4 in General Surgery. Transferred out of my sucky previous program just to come into a horribly malignant program in which basically everyone hated my guts.
Planning to go on military active duty for a few years. My questions on this forum are...
1. How much does my horrible recommendation from this year, just one, matter 3-4 years from now? Especially if I am planning on changing specialty?
2. Is it worth a while to stick it through the rest of year, especially when I am sure I will continue to get horrible evaluations? i.e. "medical knowledge is at MS-3 level"
Any thoughts on this will be appreciated.
Leaving anything unfinished is a red flag for future training positions and to future employers - people who have cut and run once are thought likely to do it again. You've already got one more transfer than most people, and if you then leave part way through a year, with poor evaluations, it will cut off a lot of options for you. If you want to be BE/BC (by far the best long-term outcome for you) your best option is probably to stay where you are if you possibly can. Unless your old program would take you back?
If you do have the possibility of sticking it out where you are, you need to start being proactive about your problems, now. First, can you find someone attached to the program who is in good standing who would be prepared to act as a mentor for you? Chief resident? Attending? Resident adviser? Someone liked you enough to take you on in the first place, who are they and are they prepared to help you out now? You need someone who can help you put together a series of actions which will get you into the program's good books again.
Secondly, make a list of all the issues everyone has had with you. Against each of the issues, list all the things you can do to make that person think that you have dealt with/are dealing with the problem. At this stage, your personal view of whether they are right or wrong is irrelevant. If you want to stay in the program, you have to accept that you have no position of strength from which to argue the point, and that if you contest it you will lose.
Thirdly, when you have a solution to one of those problems, talk to the person who brought it to your attention, tell them what you are proposing to do about it, and ask for their advice on whether this is a good solution or whether they have something else to suggest. Very few of those people will hold a grudge against you if you do this.
If your problems have come to the attention of the program director, it is probably a good idea to let him know asap that you are committed to his wonderful program and will be addressing all of the issues raised.
Finally, remember that training is temporary and an attending career is permanent. You've worked your way through a lot to get where you are, and half way through PGY4 you are on the home stretch. Grit your teeth and do what you have to in order to get to the finish line.
