I will look back on this thread one day with a smile

[Psychobabbling]

Deleted

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[nitemagi]

Residency can feel very unjust. You have social support here.

Otherwise not sure why you're posting this in a public forum.

 

[NickNaylor]

I think everyone runs into bumps along the way, and all you can do is do the best you can and keep moving forward.

That said - and largely with respect to #1 and #7 - if you're an intern and deciding to simply not do things because you don't think they're right or important, you might want to change your course. You aren't really in a position to be making those calls. With #7 specifically, if you're simply ignoring what attendings tell you to do, yeah, you're going to run into problems. I'm not really sure why you would expect anything different. And yes, I would consider that unprofessional and problematic. If you're having trouble with organization, talk to your colleagues and get tips on staying organized. If you're having trouble with punctuality, then figure something out so that's not an issue. Mistakes are one thing, but recurrent patterns of behavior are another. If you're finding it difficult to process what's going on, consider seeing a therapist either at your program or somewhere else (my own program offers reduced fees for psychotherapy with therapists that aren't involved with resident education - yours might have something similar).

 

[NickNaylor]

I should add that with respect to punctuality, this can really be something that causes you to make enemies quickly. There's a resident in my program who routinely shows up for his/her shift 15-30 minutes late. After giving sign-out, that causes other residents to leave work 30-45 minutes later than expected. I and other residents make a point of getting to the hospital 15 minutes before our shift is scheduled to start so that we can get sign-out and ensure that the departing team actually leaves on time. If I'm able to do that and some of my colleagues are able to do that, yes, I would also be frustrated if you routinely show up late and inconvenience everyone else as a result.

 

[peppy]

It does seem really weird to me that a resident would get chewed out over not attending the welcome BBQ. My residency puts on a welcome picnic too, but there's no pressure to attend, because the people at the residency I attended are laid-back, normal human beings instead of control freaks with sticks up their butts.
The way I see it, if you want to make it clear that everyone has to attend, don't call it a BBQ. Call it a mandatory meeting that just happens to have lunch served.
Of course, I am the kind of person who has always disliked corporate team building and other types of Mandatory Fun.

I am sorry to hear that it sounds like your family is in chaos right when things are so stressful for you. I definitely think some residencies are more understanding about this type of thing than others are, and I can imagine that having these worries about your parents is probably amplifying all the other stress by magnitudes. What was the reason you had to apologize for taking a vacation day though? Was it during a rotation where vacation isn't normally allowed? Personally I think residencies should not be service driven and should be able to function without relying on the residents, since life does happen to people and sometimes illness/tragedies/etc. mean people really cannot be at work. Unfortunately the reality is that sometimes a resident being gone does cause massive issues on rotations where they have come to rely on them, so people do resent it even if you have a good reason for being gone.
Truthfully, there was some resentment in my residency program when one of our residents took maternity leave, because it did have a negative effect on the rest of us, even though we all understood that of course she was entitled to take time off for her child.

Now, I agree with NickNaylor that the punctuality thing is a legitimate concern. You need to try to break that pattern/perception of you ASAP. Perception is far more important than reality in residency, and you do not want to be perceived as a slacker who always shows up late or (far worse) doesn't show up at all. Truth is, getting through residency is really not about your knowledge base or how much your patients like you or how much you actually do help patients. Getting through residency is about being perceived by the people who matter as being likable, responsible, hardworking and reliable.
This means the little things are crucial: Answer pages right away. Do your notes on time. Show up for things when you're supposed to be there.
Even if you have to set all your clocks 20 minutes ahead of schedule to make sure you aren't late, do it. Even if you think you have a good reason/excuse, if it becomes something you're "Known For" (faculty definitely talk amongst themselves about residents) then it will hurt you badly.

 

[Psychobabbling]

Thanks for the all the replies

 

[Doctor Bagel]

The good news is that you're almost done, and none of this will matter. Good for you for making it through with all the things that were going on and with little support.

 

[psych md jd]

出る釘は打たれる (deru kugi wa utareru) - A nail that sticks out will be hammered

 

[F0nzie]

Hopefully the politics will get better for you after residency. If it was really as bad as you say it was you should be able to take on anything now. Cause man there is some crazy **** out there.

 

[WingedOx]

There's a resident in my program who routinely shows up for his/her shift 15-30 minutes late. After giving sign-out, that causes other residents to leave work 30-45 minutes later than expected. I and other residents make a point of getting to the hospital 15 minutes before our shift is scheduled to start so that we can get sign-out and ensure that the departing team actually leaves on time.

ugh, I feel bad for your chief. I'm pleased that the only time I ran into that was with the other program we cross-cover with.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

I should add that with respect to punctuality, this can really be something that causes you to make enemies quickly. There's a resident in my program who routinely shows up for his/her shift 15-30 minutes late. After giving sign-out, that causes other residents to leave work 30-45 minutes later than expected. I and other residents make a point of getting to the hospital 15 minutes before our shift is scheduled to start so that we can get sign-out and ensure that the departing team actually leaves on time. If I'm able to do that and some of my colleagues are able to do that, yes, I would also be frustrated if you routinely show up late and inconvenience everyone else as a result.

This something where a little proactive communication might be useful. I'm not a person with a natural inclination to be early (I grew up in a family where we were late everywhere), but I did try to show up early to call shifts. I found myself having an expectation that other people would show up early as well as opposed to just at the start of the shift, so I could leave right at 8 am or whatever (you know, what I did for the other residents), but they didn't because that wasn't the norm. People don't know what the norms/expectations are unless you tell them. Admittedly actually showing up late is a little different than showing up right at the start of the shift, but still, it's possible he/she doesn't get that it's a big deal.