How do I get out of a terrible rotation?

[Turpulus]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I have no interest in surgery, but for whatever insane reason I decided to do a trauma surgery elective. I'm only part way through the month and I'm absolutely miserable. I'm working 90+ hours a week and don't get a single day off. I'm pretty sure thats against my schools weekly hours policy. Has anyone been able to successfully transfer out of a bad rotation mid way through the cycle? I don't want to lose credit for the time I"ve already completed on this rotation. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Psai]

Suck it up and get through it

Complaining can only hurt you and has a low chance of helping. They only have you for so long. Maybe you can take solace in the fact that the residents have it worse.

 

[cabinbuilder]

NO, there is a difference between a bad rotation and one that you get your butt run off. You will survive another two weeks. You don't have any recourse and will come across as being whiny and lazy. Look at it as an opportunity to know that you would never do that for your life and that it is good practice for residency call shifts.

A bad rotation is like the psych rotation I had that the guy told me to memorize the DSM IV and the drug book on a Monday then didn't talk to me until Friday. Then took me to the nursing home and stacked all his charts on the table and told me to do his chart notes. I called the school right away.

 

[byaaaaaaah23]

Agree with the above. Complaining will certainly affect your evaluations which show up on your MSPE regardless of what specialty you later apply in. After the rotation, definitely tell your school that you were forced to violate duty hours so they can take action for future students. Sucks man but just try to get through it.

 

[DocWinter]

Stick it out with a smile for now.

Be honest in your evaluation after, but if you learned anything in years 1-2, it should be "don't rock the boat."

 

[swoopyswoop]

you should get 1 day off a week. call your rotation coordinator if you have one or your ombudperson, but you can't change rotations just because your hours suck.

 

[n3xa]

I have no interest in surgery, but for whatever insane reason I decided to do a trauma surgery elective. I'm only part way through the month and I'm absolutely miserable. I'm working 90+ hours a week and don't get a single day off. I'm pretty sure thats against my schools weekly hours policy. Has anyone been able to successfully transfer out of a bad rotation mid way through the cycle? I don't want to lose credit for the time I"ve already completed on this rotation. Any advice would be appreciated.

I just went through a similar rotation and all I have to offer is a hang in there. It was harsh, unforgiving, and my bf told me that he's never seen me look so... emotionally dead in my entire life.

The clock doesn't stop for anyone and eventually it'll be over and you can move on.

 

[evilbooyaa]

you should get 1 day off a week. call your rotation coordinator if you have one or your ombudperson, but you can't change rotations just because your hours suck.

This. If you truly aren't getting days off, at least 4 in the month, then yes, you should discuss it with the rotation coordinator or clerkship director.

If you're working 90 hours/week, sucks but you can't just bail on a rotation because the hours are worse than you imagined.

 

[JustPlainBill]

The OPs question was: "How do I get out of a terrible rotation?" -- multiple ways to do that one -- You could just not show up, be sarcastic all the time, tell the attending their treatment plan sucks, go hang out at the pool/with the GF (or BF), multiple ways to do this --- or you could suck it up for another 2 weeks and try to get something out of it. Trust me, I worked with a very driven general surgeon who had lost his wife and family to surgery and had nothing else to do but surgery and yoga one half day a week -- he lived for his practice. Nice guy, but driven as heck -- do not make him late type of dude --- he tried to break me that first 2 weeks, failed at that (gonna take a whole lot more than 12 hour days of scutwork to break me, cupcake) and the last 2 weeks were rather nice --- actually invited me to his country club for dinner on the terrace to discuss an invite into a surgical program. Still talk with him to this day, even though he's retired and a professor emeritus at the medical school.

My advice -- suck it up, it's only 2 more weeks, be glad you figured out now that you don't want to be a trauma surgeon, rather than 5 years down the road.

 

[WinslowPringle]

Why don't you have a day off/week? Usually that is written into the course description or there is some guideline for expectations. Are the attendings demanding that you come in? Are there residents involved - and are they nice? Could you talk to them about expectations for when you need to be there? Have there been other med students on this rotation who have had the same experience?

I would say just keep your head down and get through it...

 

[The Anhedonia]

One word: pseudoseizures

 

[Jabbed]

One word: pseudoseizures

Remember to keep your eyes open. Closed eyes are an easy giveaway.

 

[theseeker4]

Remember to keep your eyes open. Closed eyes are an easy giveaway.

And urinating on yourself makes it a lot more authentic...

 

[augeremt]

Don't go with a seizure! Apparently you can't practice in some states for x amount of time after you have one. We considered this during a particularly poke-your-eyes-out-with-a-dagger EMR session during MS3 orientation.

Explosive diarrhea works every time.

 

[NontradICUdoc]

Welcome to the real world. Grow up, not everything will be happy and great.

 

[MetalloBetalactamase]

Explosive diarrhea works every time.

Can vouch for this. Time the enema right tho'. Witnessed diarrhea is better than just presenting post explosion. Swallow a rough string with a gravy meal and see if you can thunder.

 

[Top Gun]

That's trauma surgery. Anyone knows that if you do trauma, the hours suck. Its even worse for the residents. Like almost everyone else has said, suck it up and try to learn something from the rotation. The pathophysiology and medical management you can learn is priceless. You can learn a ton about shock, acute kidney injury, fluid resuscitation, airway management, etc.. Think of it as a way to learn how to care for critically ill patients. If you can learn that now, you'll look like a rockstar in residency.

 

[Phloston]

I have no interest in surgery, but for whatever insane reason I decided to do a trauma surgery elective. I'm only part way through the month and I'm absolutely miserable. I'm working 90+ hours a week and don't get a single day off. I'm pretty sure thats against my schools weekly hours policy. Has anyone been able to successfully transfer out of a bad rotation mid way through the cycle? I don't want to lose credit for the time I"ve already completed on this rotation. Any advice would be appreciated.

It's good if you're out of your comfort zone. It means you're growing. Sounds like a good rotation to be completely honest.