How do I take my clerkship director's advice?!

[ImmunoNut]

I got some constructive feedback from my last rotation (FM). Basically they said that I am a bright student, but I am too quiet and need to speak up more. They said that in some other rotations (surgery is next) I might get under-evaluated due to being less aggressive than some of my classmates and that I need to find a way to be more talkative.

I appreciate the criticism and I know that it is true. It's just hard to change in this way because it's not a specific task I can change... but rather an aspect of my personality. I actually don't consider myself "shy" - I love to talk to people. I just don't see those opportunities to jump in and show off like I am supposed to. One incident he cited specifically was when he asked another student a question and the student didn't know... I knew the answer, but kept quiet. He said I should have spoken up. At the time, I felt that if I spoke up and answered it would be rude towards my classmate. I don't know - does anyone else have this issue and if so how do you deal with it? I don't want to be rude or seem like a show-off and it will be very hard for me to change at this point. I'm a little bummed about it.

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[McGillGrad]

The big picture is that you, as a physician, will be the leader of your team one day. You must place the welfare of your patient above the feelings of the nurses, med students and techs that are under your direction.

Becoming an effective leader can be learned (if you do not naturally rise to the occasion). If you know the answer and the other student had 15 seconds to reply, then there is nothing wrong with piping in. NOW, do not do this with your residents in front of your attending...unless it is going to help the patient.

Start with baby steps. Always ask at least one question and answer one question per day. No one expects you to know that much yet, so you will be wrong and sound stupid sometimes. It is a normal progression.

 

[humabot]

I got some constructive feedback from my last rotation (FM). Basically they said that I am a bright student, but I am too quiet and need to speak up more. They said that in some other rotations (surgery is next) I might get under-evaluated due to being less aggressive than some of my classmates and that I need to find a way to be more talkative.

I appreciate the criticism and I know that it is true. It's just hard to change in this way because it's not a specific task I can change... but rather an aspect of my personality. I actually don't consider myself "shy" - I love to talk to people. I just don't see those opportunities to jump in and show off like I am supposed to. One incident he cited specifically was when he asked another student a question and the student didn't know... I knew the answer, but kept quiet. He said I should have spoken up. At the time, I felt that if I spoke up and answered it would be rude towards my classmate. I don't know - does anyone else have this issue and if so how do you deal with it? I don't want to be rude or seem like a show-off and it will be very hard for me to change at this point. I'm a little bummed about it.

sometimes this can be cultural. something interesting i noticed as well is those that come from affluent families speak up more than those who don't.

i would not sweat changing who you are. The same thing happened to me. I got slammed on my first rotation. Everything turned up fine. It is learning process just hang in there. The best thing to do is if they ask you a question answer it, if not, then who cares. Some students like blurting out answers. If this not you, then don't do it. However, when they ask a question to the group and the person asking is looking at you-- answer it. If you don't know the answer, look away...

 

[peppy]

At the time, I felt that if I spoke up and answered it would be rude towards my classmate.

You're right. And a different supervisor might have criticized you for being too outspoken and pushy.
One of the problems with clinical rotations is that it is all very subjective. All I can suggest is to try to ask your attending or resident how they think things are going midway through to see if you need to adjust your approach to the particular tastes of the people you're working with.

 

[VoiceofReason]

realistically speaking this aspect of your personality is going to screw you over time and again for the rest of your life

 

[dfer84]

Family Medicine physicians are often like that with medical students. I was dinged on my FM rotation for not sounding "confident" enough when I did speak. Keeping your mouth shut is a great asset at times, but in the clerkships that focus on working one on one with a preceptor, it can be bad. Surgery is one of those fields where talking too much to chief residents or attendings can make you look like a dbag at times. Experiences may vary though. I didn't talk unless pimped, did fine.

 

[eddie13231]

Family Medicine physicians are often like that with medical students. I was dinged on my FM rotation for not sounding "confident" enough when I did speak. Keeping your mouth shut is a great asset at times, but in the clerkships that focus on working one on one with a preceptor, it can be bad. Surgery is one of those fields where talking too much to chief residents or attendings can make you look like a dbag at times. Experiences may vary though. I didn't talk unless pimped, did fine.

I actually did the same thing. In groups of people (like in OR or rounds) I never talked unless asked a question or someone was asked a question and didn't know-then I waited a long time to answer giving the other person and other people time to answer. If I was 1 on 1 with an attending I felt more comfortable and would talk about medicine. Not necessarily answer pimp questions but how to deal with x medical illness or y social issue. It just brought up conversation we both liked discussing.