How to drop research projects when they involve APDs?

[folgersormh]

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PGY2 in neurology. I’ve been contemplating quitting altogether. I have my resignation letter ready to go, I’ve warned my friends and family it might happen, I’ve started to look into other jobs to do in the meantime while I figure out my future. I’ve been so miserable and overwhelmed with everything.

One possible avenue I’ve been exploring is dropping anything that isn’t work and home and seeing if things get better. I’m on two research projects, and I’m on a committee that helps improve the curriculum. The research projects are with two APDs who we work very closely with all the time (one is a neurohospitalist on frequently and one almost single-handedly staffs residency clinic).

How do I drop all of these? I can’t “go into hiding” from the PIs afterwards because we’ll have to work together soon. I can’t easily leave the quality improvement projects because I’m working with senior residents who will be my seniors on upcoming rotations.

I have research I did during residency through my medical school so it exists. I can also do a BS project as a fourth year or something.

My goal now is either to quit residency altogether or at best become an outpatient neurologist without fellowship training (and I do not want procedures like EMG or EEG).

 

[gutonc]

PGY2 in neurology. I’ve been contemplating quitting altogether. I have my resignation letter ready to go, I’ve warned my friends and family it might happen, I’ve started to look into other jobs to do in the meantime while I figure out my future. I’ve been so miserable and overwhelmed with everything.

One possible avenue I’ve been exploring is dropping anything that isn’t work and home and seeing if things get better. I’m on two research projects, and I’m on a committee that helps improve the curriculum. The research projects are with two APDs who we work very closely with all the time (one is a neurohospitalist on frequently and one almost single-handedly staffs residency clinic).

How do I drop all of these? I can’t “go into hiding” from the PIs afterwards because we’ll have to work together soon. I can’t easily leave the quality improvement projects because I’m working with senior residents who will be my seniors on upcoming rotations.

You should have done this already. You just tell them "I'm overextended right now and need to focus on my clinical work and training".

I have research I did during residency through my medical school so it exists. I can also do a BS project as a fourth year or something.

I don't understand the relevance of this. If you need a research project of some sort to graduate, you have 2 more year to figure that out.

My goal now is either to quit residency altogether or at best become an outpatient neurologist without fellowship training (and I do not want procedures like EMG or EEG).

And if you just quit, you don't need a research project at all.

 

[dozitgetchahi]

PGY2 in neurology. I’ve been contemplating quitting altogether. I have my resignation letter ready to go, I’ve warned my friends and family it might happen, I’ve started to look into other jobs to do in the meantime while I figure out my future. I’ve been so miserable and overwhelmed with everything.

One possible avenue I’ve been exploring is dropping anything that isn’t work and home and seeing if things get better. I’m on two research projects, and I’m on a committee that helps improve the curriculum. The research projects are with two APDs who we work very closely with all the time (one is a neurohospitalist on frequently and one almost single-handedly staffs residency clinic).

How do I drop all of these? I can’t “go into hiding” from the PIs afterwards because we’ll have to work together soon. I can’t easily leave the quality improvement projects because I’m working with senior residents who will be my seniors on upcoming rotations.

I have research I did during residency through my medical school so it exists. I can also do a BS project as a fourth year or something.

My goal now is either to quit residency altogether or at best become an outpatient neurologist without fellowship training (and I do not want procedures like EMG or EEG).

So now we understand why you might be feeling overwhelmed - you’re doing residency while being attached to two research projects (and several quality improvement projects).

If you’re feeling overwhelmed and struggling, drop all of this! Like, now. Will the attendings be “unhappy with you”? Maybe, but…oh well. You will likely never talk or interact with these people again after you graduate residency in a few years, so who cares? Their opinion of you will not have any impact on your life in the long run.

Your goal is to get out of this residency with adequate training to be a neurologist. The research isn’t helping you unless you have some sort of secret craving to be an academic (and bailing out of the residency means you wouldn’t be doing that either).

(Also, those attendings who want you to do research want you even more to pass the residency and not bail out, because they may have to step up and do call if you do. So you might remind them of this if they give you any pushback for dropping the research projects.)

 

[folgersormh]

So now we understand why you might be feeling overwhelmed - you’re doing residency while being attached to two research projects (and several quality improvement projects).

If you’re feeling overwhelmed and struggling, drop all of this! Like, now. Will the attendings be “unhappy with you”? Maybe, but…oh well. You will likely never talk or interact with these people again after you graduate residency in a few years, so who cares? Their opinion of you will not have any impact on your life in the long run.

Your goal is to get out of this residency with adequate training to be a neurologist. The research isn’t helping you unless you have some sort of secret craving to be an academic (and bailing out of the residency means you wouldn’t be doing that either).

(Also, those attendings who want you to do research want you even more to pass the residency and not bail out, because they may have to step up and do call if you do. So you might remind them of this if they give you any pushback for dropping the research projects.)

I’m just too cowardly to do it, I’ve even now been getting emails from our “research chair” (who’s an attending very involved in research) asking for updates etc and for one project I literally haven’t started doing anything and it’s been months. I feel terrible and ashamed, and paralyzed. Like it’s been months and even if I drop the projects I have nothing to show. I wasted everyone’s time.

 

[dozitgetchahi]

I’m just too cowardly to do it, I’ve even now been getting emails from our “research chair” (who’s an attending very involved in research) asking for updates etc and for one project I literally haven’t started doing anything and it’s been months. I feel terrible and ashamed, and paralyzed. Like it’s been months and even if I drop the projects I have nothing to show. I wasted everyone’s time.

At the end of the day, you are in residency to learn how to practice medicine. Research is a (some would say unnecessary) cherry on top. Some programs seem to forget this…turning trainees into research minions isn’t actually the purpose of GME training.

Just tell them you’ve been overwhelmed and you need to focus on your clinical training. If you really feel compelled to say something more, tell them you’ve been having issues with family members’ health you’ve had to attend to. Or whatever. As long as you are clinically competent, there’s nothing they can actually do to you for dropping research (aside from giving you a pouty face).

 

[mistafab]

I’m just too cowardly to do it, I’ve even now been getting emails from our “research chair” (who’s an attending very involved in research) asking for updates etc and for one project I literally haven’t started doing anything and it’s been months. I feel terrible and ashamed, and paralyzed. Like it’s been months and even if I drop the projects I have nothing to show. I wasted everyone’s time.

You are wasting no time. A simple email that describes you are overextended and need to step away from research to focus on learning how to be a doctor will suffice. There is no requirement for serious research in residency. To graduate you just need a cursory project for which you have your last year to work on. Drop all this extra junk and just focus on doing your job and making your life better. You didn't go to residency to be a researcher. You went to residency to be a doctor.

 

[Lost in Translation]

Also look at it this way: the research faculty would much rather a project get dropped by you and picked up by someone with more time for it than for you to give them half-assed garbage that they can’t use anyway and will have to fix before passing it along to someone else.