job options for a MD without residency?

[Donald Juan]

A close relative could also be a cousin, nephew, grandfather, niece, etc. I read OP's message saying family member as being a sibling or parent.

You also said "maybe" he should get a day off.

But hey, if you're going to be anal with someone, with no impact on patient care at all, in this kind of situation for the sake of "professionalism", I bet you must be really fun to be around. But that's just my opinion. Agree to disagree.

I said, "maybe" and "probably" many, many times above. I have said over and over again that if I was in charge, I would most likely let them off. The OP did not say son, daughter, mom, or dad. Why you read it as such, I don't know. It could be any, or it could be second cousin, or great-great aunt.

But hey, if you're going to try and misquote somebody, who has all their messages above, in this kind of situation for the sake of "proving some point," I bet you must be really fun to be around. But that's just my opinion. Agree to disagree.

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[sliceofbread136]

Seriously?

You think that a doctor missing a funeral for an unspecified relative for work is the same as the plight of black Americans in the US during post civil war segregation??

Rosa Parks was boycotting an institutional stance against widespread racism. Rosa Parks was arrested and charged with crimes for sitting on a bus because of the color of her skin. The OP received a "poor professionalism" mark (read: B).

If you equate receiving a B in one rotation in med school with the threat of being lynched, shot, or arrested for the color of your skin, you are a terrible human being. I usually think white people who get offended on behalf of black people (or any other race/culture) are being oversensitive, but holy ****, what you said here is the most ridiculous, entitled, blatant example of why everyone hates millennials, dumbest things I've ever read.

You are assuming he just got a B based on nothing. It could be much worse, such as something ending up in the MSPE (very bad).

Cry about the example all you want, point is that if you think something is wrong you should fight it. If you would roll over and take it that's fine, doesn't mean OP should.

 

[sliceofbread136]

I said, "maybe" and "probably" many, many times above. I have said over and over again that if I was in charge, I would most likely let them off. The OP did not say son, daughter, mom, or dad. Why you read it as such, I don't know. It could be any, or it could be second cousin, or great-great aunt.

But hey, if you're going to try and misquote somebody, who has all their messages above, in this kind of situation for the sake of "proving some point," I bet you must be really fun to be around. But that's just my opinion. Agree to disagree.

I really hate the rationalization defense mechanisms that always go on here on SDN. "Oh you must have a pattern", "it's just a B", "oh it must be his fourth cousin three times removed". I hate to break it to ya, but the higher authority of medical school administration that you seem to hold so dearly is sometimes wrong. I know it is hard to believe.

 

[Donald Juan]

You are assuming he just got a B based on nothing. It could be much worse, such as something ending up in the MSPE (very bad).

Cry about the example all you want, point is that if you think something is wrong you should fight it. If you would roll over and take it that's fine, doesn't mean OP should.

Do you think I'm suggesting crying about it, or rolling over and taking it? The two are at opposite ends.

Frankly, I would go to a funeral if I felt it was worth going to. I also wouldn't be upset about receiving negative marks on an eval if I disregarded my preceptors direct order. There are consequences for things. For the record, I also wouldn't expect my patient's to pay me for clinic visits if I had to cancel them for a funeral...but maybe I'm a martyr.

 

[Donald Juan]

I really hate the rationalization defense mechanisms that always go on here on SDN. "Oh you must have a pattern", "it's just a B", "oh it must be his fourth cousin three times removed". I hate to break it to ya, but the higher authority of medical school administration that you seem to hold so dearly is sometimes wrong. I know it is hard to believe.

And your rationalization defense mechanism is, "Oh you must have missed your dad's funeral, and now you're kicked out of med school." Frankly, neither of us knows. But, since the OP didn't mention such a drastic situation I'm inclined to lean toward it wasn't such a severe situation.

 

[zeppelinpage4]

OP was unprofessional. I don't understand why it's so hard for all of you to understand this. It's very clear.

There are expectations and op didn't meet them. OP went out of their way to trample on them.

I disagree. If OP is considered unprofessional for missing a day to go to a funeral. Then that asshat attending should be called out as unprofessional for denying him a day off for what most would call a valid reason.
Everyone I know who has had a death in the family during third year got time off, or at least some accommodations. And our Dean's allow for an excused abscence if there is a family emergency.

The administration at OP's school sounds malignant if they didn't have his back.

Anyways you do you, whatever floats your boat, I really don't care. But don't try and call out others for not doing the same. Unprofessional or not, OP was being human and did the right thing. I would have prob done the same.
Better yet, if there was any mistake done here, OP should have bypassed the attending and filed a request with the admins from the beginning, as I'm pretty sure most programs allow for a day off if there is a death of a loved one or family emergency.
I mean we got sick days, OP could have used one of those too.

 

[sliceofbread136]

Do you think I'm suggesting crying about it, or rolling over and taking it? The two are at opposite ends.

Frankly, I would go to a funeral if I felt it was worth going to. I also wouldn't be upset about receiving negative marks on an eval if I disregarded my preceptors direct order. There are consequences for things. For the record, I also wouldn't expect my patient's to pay me for clinic visits if I had to cancel them for a funeral...but maybe I'm a martyr.

And your rationalization defense mechanism is, "Oh you must have missed your dad's funeral, and now you're kicked out of med school." Frankly, neither of us knows. But, since the OP didn't mention such a drastic situation I'm inclined to lean toward it wasn't such a severe situation.

I'm actually assuming it was an immediate family member and that he got a professionalism comment that may very well end up on his MSPE, not quite as bad as your example. This is what seems most likely to me based on OP's tone.

I guess we are more in agreement than I previously thought. It's not the consequences that would really upset me but the whole situation which is not something a medical student be put in. I probably would've taken it higher up the food chain before just not showing up. If that didn't work well at that point I would take the day for the funeral and chalk it up to my medical school being malignant and do my best to move on. Would still be very upset about the entire situation.

 

[sliceofbread136]

I disagree. If OP is considered unprofessional for missing a day to go to a funeral. Then that asshat attending should be called out as unprofessional for denying him a day off for what most would call a valid reason.
Everyone I know who has had a death in the family during third year got time off, or at least some accommodations. And our Dean's allow for an excused abscence if there is a family emergency.

The administration at OP's school sounds malignant if they didn't have his back.

Anyways you do you, whatever floats your boat, I really don't care. But don't try and call out others for not doing the same. Unprofessional or not, OP was being human and did the right thing. I would have prob done the same.
Better yet, if there was any mistake done here, OP should have bypassed the attending and filed a request with the admins from the beginning, as I'm pretty sure most programs allow for a day off if there is a death of a loved one or family emergency.
I mean we got sick days, OP could have used one of those too.

I agree 100%.

 

[sazerac]

I don't think anyone disagrees that the OP technically acted unprofessionally. The clerkship director and school made their professional decision. The OP made the ethically correct decision. I would gladly take a big hit on my professionalism and Dean's Letter for that because I would not want to attend a residency program that held their point of view.

No. The clerkship director and school made an unprofessional decision.

 

[akwho]

If the clerkship director, attending and residents are a bunch of chocolate coated bastards then that is all there is to it. I had an attending on one of my sub-i's who literally made me doubt my purpose on this Earth he was so awful to me. I had been set on a sub-speciality, was AOA, and top-board scores, and he literally made me feel like useless scum. I pushed through and a year later I'm doing the speciality I love, and am having a great intern year in a much better work environment. Don't let people drown you in their misery. That attending went on to move jobs because he was deeply unhappy.

So you never know what those above you are going through, sometimes, and it's wrong, but sometimes they rain wrath down on you from above due to their unhappy lives.

 

[ohioishome]

Take some community college classes and get an associates in graphic design and become a medical illustrator?

 

[Azete]

Take some community college classes and get an associates in graphic design and become a medical illustrator?

Why would he need to take classes? This kind of stuff is far more easily learned using free online resources.

 

[ohioishome]

Why would he need to take classes? This kind of stuff is far more easily learned using free online resources.

I mean sure I was just suggesting it lol

 

[68PGunner]

Facts:
OP wanted to do something
OP asked for permission
Clerkship director said no
OP did it anyway

It's pretty clear

If I was a third year, I would probably man up and then cross that program off my list during residency application.

If I was a full fledged attending, I would tell them to eff off, put in 60 days of leave, and then look for other employment opportunities.

 

[GoodWillShunting]

I'm not sure what the hell is so difficult to understand: the OP is not arguing about professionalism. There is no damn argument here about "should he or should he not have taken the day off". There is absolutely zero sense in pointing out that the OP disregarded orders.
The entire point is that the OP is angry at a culture that completely and unreasonably disregarded a very serious personal life issue.

I don't give a damn whether or not he got marked. For the virgin Mary's sake- even if they had NOT marked him for anything, and instead gave him a lot of verbal ****- it is still a culture that completely failed to use any sense in judging the situation, and showed zero compassion.

He's a third year. He's not the surgeon who was about to begin a whipple on his patient. He's about as useful as a coat rack with first aid hanging on it. Even if he WAS the surgeon, the complete disregard is just stupid. Simply because that's the way it is, doesn't mean that's the way it should be. The OP is angry that this is the culture. That is the whole point. I bet he could give a rat's ass about the literal mark on his grade.

PS: simply disagreeing with somebody should not instill in you a mission of wishing the OP's situation on them. Don't ever wish that somebody loses a close relative and is denied the chance to honor them at a funeral so that they see what the OP feels like. That demonstrates awfully pathetic character.


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[thxleave]

I'm not sure what the hell is so difficult to understand: the OP is not arguing about professionalism. There is no damn argument here about should he or should he not have taken the day off. There is absolutely zero sense in pointing out that the OP disregarded orders.
The entire point is that the OP is angry at a culture that completely and unreasonably disregarded a very serious personal life issue.

I don't give a damn whether or not he got marked. For the virgin Mary's sake- even if they had NOT marked him for anything, and instead gave him a lot of verbal ****- it is still a culture that completely failed to use any damn sense in judging the situation, and showed zero compassion.

He's a third year. He's not the surgeon who was about to begin a whipple on his patient. He's about as useful as a coat rack with first aid hanging on it. Even if he WAS the surgeon, the complete disregard is just stupid. Simply because that's the way it is, doesn't mean that's the way it should be. The OP is angry that this is the culture. That is the whole point. I bet he could give a rat's ass about the literal mark on his grade.

PS: simply disagreeing with somebody should not instill in you a mission of wishing the OP's situation on them. Don't ever wish that somebody loses a close relative and is denied the chance to honor them at a funeral so that they see what the OP feels like. That demonstrates awfully pathetic character.


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I know. Medicine shouldn't be so harsh, that taking a day off to pay respects at a funeral should questioned so heavily.

The whole issue of what's professionalism, and standing tall for your own choices is pretty pedantic. OP shouldn't be in this situation at all. The attending, and school were the ones that were unprofessional.

 

[chipwhitley]

A malignant culture doesn't change unless people start standing up to it. You did the right thing OP. The good news is most places aren't like this. The vast majority would have let you take the day off. So I wouldn't quit over this. Just finish up and find a better place for residency.

 

[Psai]

The real problem with medical culture is all the whiny entitled babies that are currently in training. Guess what, as a doctor you will have many situations where your patients will come first before your family. Sorry that you can't handle this reality but it's part of the job. Blah blah third year medical student.

It's very sad that you're spending 50k a year on tuition but think so little of your own education. You're training to be a resident and that means showing up when you're supposed to or find someone to cover you. I don't want any colleague who unilaterally decides to leave their responsibilities and do their own thing no matter what it is. It may not make a difference now but it does not portend well for the future and I would definitely want to see that on the mspe.

This is what you signed up for. If you can't handle it, then quit.

 

[bannie22]

Im not sure if the OP intended for this thread to be about the incident that led to his decision to leave medicine.

I do agree that OP was unprofessional in taking leave despite it being denied.

However, it is unfathomable that such a reasonable request was denied and those above have to take a serious look at each other.

Medicine is a very heartless and cruel field that there can be any justification in denying a trainee leave to attend a funeral. This is definitely not a singular event and I emphatize with OP for having had to invest significant time and resources but recognize this somewhat later in his training.

However, it is a positive that he has made his decision somewhat earlier in his career than later. As with some of the many responses, in the field of medicine there will remain many individuals who sternly believe that it would be unprofessional to take leave to attend a loved ones funeral. The likelihood of working with or under one of these individuals is probably at 50% based on this thread.

Not a risk you want to take if you have already been scarred. And unfortunately you cant change the world.

 

[zeppelinpage4]

The real problem with medical culture is all the whiny entitled babies that are currently in training. Guess what, as a doctor you will have many situations where your patients will come first before your family. Sorry that you can't handle this reality but it's part of the job. Blah blah third year medical student.

It's very sad that you're spending 50k a year on tuition but think so little of your own education. You're training to be a resident and that means showing up when you're supposed to or find someone to cover you. I don't want any colleague who unilaterally decides to leave their responsibilities and do their own thing no matter what it is. It may not make a difference now but it does not portend well for the future and I would definitely want to see that on the mspe.

This is what you signed up for. If you can't handle it, then quit.

Your logic is wrong. Third year medical student with no real responsibility skipping a day for a legitimate reason =\= an attending/resident/anyone with actual purpose on the team ditching their responsibilities.

If OP had any legitimate reason to be there, I'm sure they would have stayed. In this case there wasn't a reason for OP to suck it up and stay. As far as education...really? One day of a third year rotation means jack squat as far as education. OP isn't missing any big educational oppportunity...he/she's most likely missing a day of glorified shadowing and writing notes that no one will read.

And complain all you want, but the culture is changing, and IMHO it's changing for the better. Folks like you, who only see black and white are the real problem with medicine today, and I'll be glad to see those with your mentality get phased out. Also, along with making sacrifices, self care is important. We can't take care of our patients if we can't take care of ourselves. This means making a judgment call on when to make a sacrifice for work, and when to focus on your own needs. Sometimes balance between the two won't be possible, but it doesn't mean we shouldn't try for it.

It's true, professionalism is important, and that some sacrifices are inevitable. But, to compare OP's situation, to leaving your resident team unexpectadly one man down is not a fair comparison at all. Extrapollating one from the other is silly.
With all due respect, I would not want to be paired with you on the wards. And reading this thread, you're clearly in the minority. Maybe it's time to reflect on your own views as well.

 

[PikminOC]

Respect the heirarchy.

 

[thxleave]

Respect the heirarchy.

Yes, the eldest male should inherit everything under primogeniture.

 

[LLCoolK]

So you asked to take the day off, were denied and chose to take it off anyway.

it was a FAMILY MEMBER'S FUNERAL. it's mentalities and cultural norms like these in medicine that are contributing to the depression, burnout, and suicide rate for medical students and physicians. it's like personal lives don't matter, but they DO. luckily, most schools allow you to take a day off of a rotation to attend something like a funeral in efforts to change this toxic culture. OP, don't take this as the norm.

 

[Promethean]

I was working at my first nursing job when my grandfather, who had adopted me and raised me and was the only father I had ever known, died of cancer. I requested one shift off to grieve and was told that since I wouldn't be able to travel out of state to the funeral and back within 24 hours, that I couldn't have any time off at all. The hospital policy said that I should have had up to 3 days paid bereavement leave, but the unit director I was working for insisted that I fill my scheduled shift. She had a reputation for firing people over less, and I was working out a contract that would have been very expensive to break, so I worked despite barely being able to keep from crying all shift.

I have never stopped regretting that I allowed that terrible person to bully me into working that night. It would have cost me about $25k to resolve the breach of contract if I'd been fired over this, but in retrospect, I would rather have risked that than to have submitted to her coercion. (Of course she couldn't fire me over this. She would have had to invent a reason, which something that I saw her do to a number of other nurses during my 18 months there.)

There are heartless people out there, and some of them have found their way into positions of authority. They can inflict a lot of damage on people around them just by being themselves. I'm sorry to hear that OP was in the crossfire of one of those. That said, don't let this interaction soil your whole future. The best revenge is success. The best revenge is completing your training and working to protect others from this kind of malignancy by ensuring that your trainees are well treated. Or just having the practice that you dreamed of, back when you decided to come to medical school.

Think back to what got you here... why did you come do this? Revisit those ideals or aspirations that led you to this point and consider how much closer you are to them than you were before. Don't let someone's mistreatment of you in the past steal your future and the fulfillment of your dreams. Be more than what they tried to make of you. Sure, you can do other things with your education, but don't let someone else's pettiness take anything away from what you set out to do with it.

 

[Lord_Vader]

The real problem with medical culture is all the whiny entitled babies that are currently in training. Guess what, as a doctor you will have many situations where your patients will come first before your family. Sorry that you can't handle this reality but it's part of the job. Blah blah third year medical student.

It's very sad that you're spending 50k a year on tuition but think so little of your own education. You're training to be a resident and that means showing up when you're supposed to or find someone to cover you. I don't want any colleague who unilaterally decides to leave their responsibilities and do their own thing no matter what it is. It may not make a difference now but it does not portend well for the future and I would definitely want to see that on the mspe.

This is what you signed up for. If you can't handle it, then quit.

Gr8 b8 m8 i r8 8/8.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

Sadly, this type of attitude isn't restricted to medicine. So the OP might try to get "out of medicine" to avoid this sort of thing, only to find it again in any other field.

Requests for leave definitely get complicated. It's been one of the biggest challenges of running a program -- being fair to people vs the program (which is, of course, other people).

I have had requests for a leave for bereavement like this. We always have accommodated them.

I have had requests for a week of bereavement leave for the death of a pet. "They were like a child to me", I was told.

I have had requests for a leave to attend the birth of a resident's sister's baby. "We are very close, this is very important to me". I was told. A questioning stare followed. "Not that close".

I have had requests for leave for court duties. "I need to see the jury summons". "I'm not on the jury".

Where to draw the line is very difficult. Should bereavement leave cover the loss of a grandparent? Step sibling? In-law?

 

[IlDestriero]

If OP was an attending,the hospital will let him take day off. Why the **** do OP have to miss a damn funeral, and it's not like he/she is asking for whole month off. Just one day.....

No. The "hospital" will not let him take a day off. He'll have to cancel his/her surgeries or patient appointments and/or convince one of his partners (or competitors) to cover for him. The show must go on. If he's the call/consult attending, he's not going to just take the day off.


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Il Destriero

 

[Perrotfish]

No. The "hospital" will not let him take a day off. He'll have to cancel his/her surgeries or patient appointments and/or convince one of his partners (or competitors) to cover for him. The show must go on. If he's the call/consult attending, he's not going to just take the day off.

But... he would. He would have a mechanism in place for someone to cover for him in case of an emergency, he would use that mechanism, and he would go to the funeral. Assuming he hasn't already used that mechanism half a dozen times this year he wouldn't need to get approval from anyone either, there would be no one above him with the power to say that its not a close enough relative, or whatever. He would reschedule the patients, take a personal day, and go.

I would say 94% of physicians have some kind of system in place to cover for emergencies. Of the remaining 6%, 2% are on a partnership track, 2% are being paid unusually large of money for assuming an otherwise awful contract, 1% are military doctors whose peers are TAD/deployed/nonexistent, and 1% are just schmucks who think its OK to be a doormat.

'As an attending you can't just take the day off' is one of those technically true but actually nonsensical things that academic attendings say, similar to 'there are no work hour limits after residency.'

 

[IlDestriero]

Most of the surgeons I work with would have to lose an eye or arm before cancelling a day. They don't even want to give cases to their partners when they're hopelessly behind. Aunties funeral vs $$$ OR day... Secretary can send flowers.


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Il Destriero

 

[Mr Roboto]

I got a text that my grandmother died, and excused myself from the exam room for a few minutes. Ten minutes later I came back, my boss asked what was up. First thing he said was, "you're not going to go to the funeral, are you?" because it was several states away.

Getting out of medicine won't save you from this ****, OP. There's horrible people everywhere.

 

[sliceofbread136]

Your logic is wrong. Third year medical student with no real responsibility skipping a day for a legitimate reason =\= an attending/resident/anyone with actual purpose on the team ditching their responsibilities.

If OP had any legitimate reason to be there, I'm sure they would have stayed. In this case there wasn't a reason for OP to suck it up and stay. As far as education...really? One day of a third year rotation means jack squat as far as education. OP isn't missing any big educational oppportunity...he/she's most likely missing a day of glorified shadowing and writing notes that no one will read.

And complain all you want, but the culture is changing, and IMHO it's changing for the better. Folks like you, who only see black and white are the real problem with medicine today, and I'll be glad to see those with your mentality get phased out. Also, along with making sacrifices, self care is important. We can't take care of our patients if we can't take care of ourselves. This means making a judgment call on when to make a sacrifice for work, and when to focus on your own needs. Sometimes balance between the two won't be possible, but it doesn't mean we shouldn't try for it.

It's true, professionalism is important, and that some sacrifices are inevitable. But, to compare OP's situation, to leaving your resident team unexpectadly one man down is not a fair comparison at all. Extrapollating one from the other is silly.
With all due respect, I would not want to be paired with you on the wards. And reading this thread, you're clearly in the minority. Maybe it's time to reflect on your own views as well.

Well said. Will avoid working with his type as much as I can.

 

[chipwhitley]

Most of the surgeons I work with would have to lose an eye or arm before cancelling a day. They don't even want to give cases to their partners when they're hopelessly behind. Aunties funeral vs $$$ OR day... Secretary can send flowers.


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Il Destriero

The point is, if it matters enough to them to be worth the loss in revenue, they can get someone else to cover for them. No one is going to die because they had to cancel a day. Maybe surgeons don't but some people value their loved ones over a bit of money.

 

[chipwhitley]

The real problem with medical culture is all the whiny entitled babies that are currently in training. Guess what, as a doctor you will have many situations where your patients will come first before your family. Sorry that you can't handle this reality but it's part of the job. Blah blah third year medical student.

This is ridiculous. Going into medicine isn't like getting deployed to Iraq. If your job is keeping you from being there for your family when they really need you, you need to find a new job. Or your family needs to find a new you.

 

[PikminOC]

We are also hearing one side of the story. We don't know about history of other missed days, work ethic etc.

 

[PikminOC]

A family member passed away and I tried to take a day off to attend the funeral. My clerkship director straight up told me "you chose a career where you have to make sacrifices" and did not allow me to take 1 day off. I took the day off anyway and drove to the funeral. As a result, I received very bad marks in my professionalism categories on my evaluations as well as comments regarding my professionalism. I appealed and in short, nothing happened. I don't know what kind of human being could say such words, and it wasn't just the clerkship director who said that but those who were higher up in the administration ay my school basically agreed with that attending because nothing happened with my appeal. I'm sure not all doctors are like that but being punished for attending to a family member's funeral is just beyond belief. My view of doctors has totally changed. I don't want to be a part of a profession that does this kind of stuff.

We don't know what else may have caused the review...

 

[sliceofbread136]

We are also hearing one side of the story. We don't know about history of other missed days, work ethic etc.

Ah about time we had the classic SDN response. I swear they have bots programmed to make this reply word for word

 

[PikminOC]

Nope, just an attending trying to get the whole picture. I'm on a physician only site where we hear the attending side of it only.
I like to hear both sides.
Not that it matters. Don't screw with directors.
Op may need a lawyer.

 

[Mr Roboto]

Nope, just an attending trying to get the whole picture. I'm on a physician only site where we hear the attending side of it only.
I like to hear both sides.
Not that it matters. Don't screw with directors.

Don't propagate a toxic culture.

 

[PikminOC]

Oh grasshopper. You have a long way to go. As someone else said, these things happen in other jobs too.

You need a safe space for the microaggression?

 

[Dr.Smexy]

The real problem with medical culture is all the whiny entitled babies that are currently in training. Guess what, as a doctor you will have many situations where your patients will come first before your family. Sorry that you can't handle this reality but it's part of the job. Blah blah third year medical student.

It's very sad that you're spending 50k a year on tuition but think so little of your own education. You're training to be a resident and that means showing up when you're supposed to or find someone to cover you. I don't want any colleague who unilaterally decides to leave their responsibilities and do their own thing no matter what it is. It may not make a difference now but it does not portend well for the future and I would definitely want to see that on the mspe.

This is what you signed up for. If you can't handle it, then quit.

Dude, please take a look at yourself in the mirror soon when you have the time and see what you as a person has become after all this medical training. I know you're in residency but please still makes sometime to do this...there is still time to get your humanity back before the end of the road. There really is still time...

 

[Psai]

I wonder how most of you will survive residency. Showing up and being reliable is a minimum requirement.

 

[chipwhitley]

I wonder how most of you will survive residency. Showing up and being reliable is a minimum requirement.

If you think having to take a day off because of an emergency is not "being reliable" then I hope no one here ever has the misfortune of working for you.

 

[ordersol7]

I wonder how most of you will survive residency. Showing up and being reliable is a minimum requirement.

People have taken days off for emergencies at the last minute in my program (internal medicine) with no ramifications to their career or standing as residents.

 

[sliceofbread136]

I wonder how most of you will survive residency. Showing up and being reliable is a minimum requirement.

Ya it would be very very difficult surviving a residency with someone like you

 

[Psai]

This is an interesting definition of emergency. Yeah I'm the bad guy for expecting people to pull their weight.

 

[zeppelinpage4]

This is an interesting definition of emergency. Yeah I'm the bad guy for expecting people to pull their weight.

No one here is saying one shouldn't pull their weight. We're saying that taking a day off for a family emergency/unexpected event (as long as you notify your staff and make arrangements to return the favor) =\= not pulling your weight.
It's called being flexible with your schedule and understanding when others on the team or yourself needs time off. Sometimes we won't have a choice and will need to suck it up, but that shouldn't be the case every single time.

Either there's some miscommunication here, or you're just trolling to push people's buttons dude.
Anyways I'm done arguing. I really hope you're not this stubborn and judgemental in real life with your fellow residents. I want to believe you're not. Personally for me, dealing with antagonistic personalities is far worse than dealing with someone who doesn't pull their weight.

 

[iqe2010]

I lost my mom 5 months ago, I wish like hell some stiff would tell me I couldn't go to her funeral.

And lulz @ Rosa Parks being brought up. Like, how random.

 

[sliceofbread136]

I wonder how most of you will survive residency. Showing up and being reliable is a minimum requirement.

I'm not really sure how anyone could survive working with someone like you

 

[PikminOC]

I'm not really sure how anyone could survive working with someone like you

You guys are in for a rude awakening

 

[VA Hopeful Dr]

But... he would. He would have a mechanism in place for someone to cover for him in case of an emergency, he would use that mechanism, and he would go to the funeral. Assuming he hasn't already used that mechanism half a dozen times this year he wouldn't need to get approval from anyone either, there would be no one above him with the power to say that its not a close enough relative, or whatever. He would reschedule the patients, take a personal day, and go.

I would say 94% of physicians have some kind of system in place to cover for emergencies. Of the remaining 6%, 2% are on a partnership track, 2% are being paid unusually large of money for assuming an otherwise awful contract, 1% are military doctors whose peers are TAD/deployed/nonexistent, and 1% are just schmucks who think its OK to be a doormat.

'As an attending you can't just take the day off' is one of those technically true but actually nonsensical things that academic attendings say, similar to 'there are no work hour limits after residency.'

But see, that's not always the case. Imagine single coverage ED and no one is willing to step up to cover the shift. My first partner out of residency worked at a hospital with a single OB/GYN. If dude wasn't available, you couldn't do certain things - and emergent c-sections can't be rescheduled and generally can't be transferred.