Since this thread is still active, I thought I would reply, although by now I am sure that Stormjen has essentially moved on to her MS-4 year. But, there are lessons here for all, and I think it behooves all of us to at least take a minute to consider the lessons learned. No, I am not criticizing Stormjen or others from my high horse. I may have very well done the same (or worse) in the same situation. But, back to our lessons:
1.) Pediatrics. First, you really cannot tell for sure who will be evaluating you. Even if you know the attending who is writing the eval, that person may very well take informal input from other attendings, residents, interns, nurses and ancillary staff (yes, this does happen). Similarly, even if you believe a certain attending is expected to write an eval, there are situations where that attending may not. Perhaps he or she forgot, got busy, or took a position at another hospital to be closer to his wife's family, and did not have time to complete the eval. The lesson is that you really do need to try to impress everyone, even if that is impossible.
2.) Pediatrics again. In Stormjen's example, all is not lost. She could always ask for the attending to write a recommendation for her residency applications.
3.) Surgery. First lesson here is that when asked by attending to do something, such as round, you must do it. If you cannot for some reason, you need to inform the attending. Informing the resident is not a substitute. Yes, it was inconvenient to wait around on your supposed day off. But remember that the attending probably had "things to do" as well; he could very well have been missing his daughter's little league game.
4.) If you do make a mistake (such as missing rounds), and are confronted about it, don't mumble excuses, such as "the resident said it was OK." A quick "Sorry about that. Can I explain the situation later?" would have been a better response.
5.) Attendings get very busy, and some are in very stressful situations. Furthermore, just about any attending can probably come up with a legitimate gripe about med students with whom they have worked in the past. As a result, some attendings give students no benefit of the doubt whatsoever. It is clear that Stormjen p*$$ed the attending, which was her fault. No, that does not give the attending the right to give her an F, but he probably knew it was going to get reversed anyway. But, still, in this case, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Better to follow the earlier lessons and not be in this situation to begin with.
6.) OB/GYN: Getting a pass is not the end of the world. If you did as well as you thought, and you feel you could get a good recommendation from the staff, and are still interested in OB, go for it. Lot's of practicing OB's got P's (or equivalent) in their OB rotation. To strengthen your resume, you could always do an MS4 elective or an away rotation in OB.
7.) Why a P instead of HP (or equivalent)? Well, in many cases it is not at all related to anything the student did right or wrong. Some course directors are very stingy in handing out the high grades. The misinformed resident that thought you missed rounds may not have had any impact on your grade. Even if it did, it is still best just to move on with the knowledge that you are one step closer to having MD after your name.
8.) Despite some cynical comments, very few are good enough at kissing up to get by on that alone. The best brownnosers can kiss backsides without the kissee even noticing. But, as they say, you cannot fool all the people all the time. For most of the rest of us, blatant attempts at kissing up will ended being called out for what they are, and will end up costing you points in the long run. Yes, there are stories about how the brownest nose with the biggest cleavage got the best grade in a particular rotation. Just remember that that person probably had difficulty in a rotation where the staff sees through the BS.
If you want to be department director at a major university medical center, you will have to learn the fine art of schmoozing (the politically correct term). Otherwise, don't sweat it, and do a good job and feel good about yourself at the end of the day.
9.) Finally, do stand up for your own rights when appropriate. Never take an failing grade lying down. The course director should be able to explain why your performance was not worthy of passing. Mistakes and breaches of rules do happen. It's your life, and you need to be your own biggest advocate.
I really don't want to stoop down to that level... yet I feel that my grade my suffer badly for this
