How should I interpret this question from attending?

[psychforme]

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to med student: "Don't you ever smile?"

 

[Rendar5]

why so serious?

 

[Isoprop]

to med student: "Don't you ever smile?"

translation: be more friendly

 

[JPmamd09]

"You look like you don't want to be here."

Hate to say it, but even if you don't normally smile and act cheerful and outgoing, you have to try to fake it. I got dinged on my ob/gyn rotation because I was quiet and serious; the chief resident said "The residents say you're bright and hardworking and a great team player, but they're not sure you want to be here because you're so quiet and serious."

 

[Pinkertinkle]

say bye bye to honors

 

[psychforme]

say bye bye to honors

🙁

Man, I just wanted to not be annoying and then get slapped in the face like this. Is this exclusive to female attendings who most likely where giggly when they were med students or what have you?

EDIT: I am so pissed off at this attending for this comment. REALLY REALLY PISSED OFF.

 

[SoCuteMD]

🙁

Man, I just wanted to not be annoying and then get slapped in the face like this. Is this exclusive to female attendings who most likely where giggly when they were med students or what have you?

EDIT: I am so pissed off at this attending for this comment. REALLY REALLY PISSED OFF.

Don't be. People skills are part of medicine. Smiling and being friendly but professional is an important part of professionalism.

 

[Slide]

Smile more (genuinely). I think you're overanalyzing this.

 

[SLUser11]

to med student: "Don't you ever smile?"

I'm sure most people reading this are aware, but just to point out the obvious, this is an interesting reaction to the attending's question given a recent poster's thread on the same topic, except with the student being the one who asked the identical question.

I think I would be personally annoyed by such a question, but be able to keep my composure.

I think it's funny, though, that there are some people demonizing the resident in the above-mentioned thread for his reaction to the question, but then a student expresses her own similar reaction when the awkward question was forced on to her.....

 

[psychforme]

I'm sure most people reading this are aware, but just to point out the obvious, this is an interesting reaction to the attending's question given a recent poster's thread on the same topic, except with the student being the one who asked the identical question.

I think I would be personally annoyed by such a question, but be able to keep my composure.

I think it's funny, though, that there are some people demonizing the resident in the above-mentioned thread for his reaction to the question, but then a student expresses her own similar reaction when the awkward question was forced on to her.....

Yes, thats the thread which inspired me to write about my own similar experience of people asking annoying non-relevant questions. Had med school not been a hierarchy I would of asked "Why do you behave like a giggly school girl instead of an attending?" My guess is that it is just a personality clash. Serious people mix with serious people and giggly people mix with giggly people.

 

[SLUser11]

Yes, thats the thread which inspired me to write about my own similar experience......

I thought so, but wasn't sure.

Anyway, third year of medical school, and then all of your training after that, is one big awkward experience, with lots of uncomfortable and unfair situations. The best thing to do is play the game.

They can hurt you, beat you down, force you to smile more, etc, but they can't stop the clock. That's important to remember.

 

[Doctor Bob]

You don't have to be super-smiley. The residency program I matched at ranked me even though I didn't smile much during the interview. And I'm in EM where everyone else is real outgoing and social.

Nowadays the attendings ask once in a while whether I've finished reading the chapter on smiling.

 

[anesthesiadoc]

You don't have to be super-smiley. The residency program I matched at ranked me even though I didn't smile much during the interview. And I'm in EM where everyone else is real outgoing and social.

Nowadays the attendings ask once in a while whether I've finished reading the chapter on smiling.

I got a negative writeup on one of my rotations because I smiled too much. My dean took one look at it, looked at the service that wrote the comment, and agreed "that's just stupid, I'm not putting it in your dean's letter"
Don't sweat it. Nobody formally teaches these people how to teach or evaluate. Just roll with the punches, and realize that this too shall pass.
chris