First rotation of the year. Somehow has snowballed and come back to bite me despite having fine rotation evals following first rotation and minimal contact to no contact with said attending since. I don't know whether to take the probation or leave or and try to find another spot. I am essentially just doing an IM prelim year. Advice please!
Got on an attendings bad side and am now looking at probation if I do not leave.
- Thread starter Rob01
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Further explanation?
That's just it. I don't have any further explanation. It appears that someone behind the scenes is trying to ticky tack me into destruction. IM is not even my chosen specialty just a requred prelim year.
It was until all this started. I'm having second thoughts about going into said speacialty now and am afraid if I go on probation I will be a poor candidate for something else. If I leave without completing the year I don't know if that is worse than having been placed on probation or even risk being booted.
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Nobody can give you an accurate assessment without complete specifics and you completely divulging everything (and not leaving out any details or trying to make your side look better and the other side look worse). However, I would not recommend you post such information on a public message board. Therefore, I recommend you not take anyone's advice on here about what to do given they will have limited information.
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This is completely correct. If the situation is as serious as you have indicated, and it may be,
Take the following steps immediately:
1. Talk to no one at your program about this. Your fellow residents may not be your friends.
2. Do not discuss with anyone your personal plans until this is sorted out and then be circumspect.
---anything you say will be taken down and can and will be used in evidence.
3. Contact a lawyer in your state familiar with these issues. A general PI lawyer will not do, you need a specialist who has experience in medical licensing/privileging. It will cost you money, be prepared to spend it. At worst, its a small waste of money and time. At best, you will need good advice timely. To find such a lawyer contact your state bar association. Under no circumstances tell anyone about seeking legal counsel. If anyone finds out this could be the kiss of death, but you can be the hospital's lawyers will be fully aware.
Unfortunately, your situation is not unique, but there is no hard data on the extent of the problem. Meantime, if you are still working and on rotations, be early for everything, answer pages before they are called, give them absolutely no excuse to ding you. Good luck.
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Do NOT NOT NOT let anyone know you have contacted a lawyer, or even considered it.
Go to your program director and ask if there is anything you can do to remedy the situation. Be contrite. If the program director says there is nothing you can do about the situation, ask for help finding another spot. Don't talk to anyone else.
Get some outside support- a non-medicine friend, counselor (whom you pay privately- not insurance), etc.
Keep your nose clean.
Good luck going through this nightmare.
Go to your program director and ask if there is anything you can do to remedy the situation. Be contrite. If the program director says there is nothing you can do about the situation, ask for help finding another spot. Don't talk to anyone else.
Get some outside support- a non-medicine friend, counselor (whom you pay privately- not insurance), etc.
Keep your nose clean.
Good luck going through this nightmare.
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Rob, going on probation is bad. Leaving before the year is out is bad. Being fired is probably the worst.
One thing you need to investigate is the type of letter your program director will give you based on your choice. For example, if you can get a good letter now, you might just want to quit and avoid the probation. If not, you might try to get assurance that completing the year and the terms of your probation will then get you a favorable letter. Other programs will then also be very understanding if you satisfactorily completed the probation. Just know though that probation doesnt go away-- it has to be explained on every application for licensure, malpractice, hospital privileges, etc, for the rest of your life.
Consider long and hard though whether you might not make it to the end of the year if you take the probation. That would be the worst. You would have probation on your record, you would get a crappy program director letter, AND you would have to redo your intern year to boot.
As for hiring a lawyer-- Im not an expert but think this would only help if they were trying to fire you. There are undoubtedly institutional policies to appeal the probation, but I doubt they would let a lawyer attend. If you want to fight the probation though that means accepting it in order to stay on! It would then only be expunged from your record if you win. Look carefully at whether they followed all the rules for giving you probation. Your institution should have well laid out steps for what needs to happen prior to this (ie. notice of deficiencies in writing, options for remediation, etc). This would be your best chance at shoving it back at them.
Good luck to you. This is really tough.
One thing you need to investigate is the type of letter your program director will give you based on your choice. For example, if you can get a good letter now, you might just want to quit and avoid the probation. If not, you might try to get assurance that completing the year and the terms of your probation will then get you a favorable letter. Other programs will then also be very understanding if you satisfactorily completed the probation. Just know though that probation doesnt go away-- it has to be explained on every application for licensure, malpractice, hospital privileges, etc, for the rest of your life.
Consider long and hard though whether you might not make it to the end of the year if you take the probation. That would be the worst. You would have probation on your record, you would get a crappy program director letter, AND you would have to redo your intern year to boot.
As for hiring a lawyer-- Im not an expert but think this would only help if they were trying to fire you. There are undoubtedly institutional policies to appeal the probation, but I doubt they would let a lawyer attend. If you want to fight the probation though that means accepting it in order to stay on! It would then only be expunged from your record if you win. Look carefully at whether they followed all the rules for giving you probation. Your institution should have well laid out steps for what needs to happen prior to this (ie. notice of deficiencies in writing, options for remediation, etc). This would be your best chance at shoving it back at them.
Good luck to you. This is really tough.
Come on man, throw us a bone. Protect your identity on a public forum, sure, but try to be a little less vague.
Did you make a first-month-intern medical error? Park in the attending's reserved spot? Sleep through rounds more than 5 times? Hit on the attending's wife at the intern welcome picnic? Get caught stealing GYN instruments for home use?
Sorry to hear the man's got you down.
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You have to talk to your program director. If all your other evaluations are fine and it is one attending's opinion that is unfavorable, that can be dealt with. However, if that one attending has a very valid reason for evaluating you poorly (academic misconduct, dishonesty, shirking important duties, etc) that is less favorable. But still you need to talk to your program director - if there are things you need to do to improve and get in better standing in the program they can help you with that. It may be a simple matter of the PD talking with this attending and discussing things. Of course, as said above, it greatly depends on why you are on this person's "bad side."
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