Leaning on each other

[i61164]

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Word on the street is that third year takes a lot of team work if you want to be successful. At my school, the 2nd years have been asked to spend some time over holidays thinking about our relationships with our classmates. Thinking about how we can influence relationships within our class and promote success for all. Personally, I think most of my classmates are pretty chill, but there are definitely a handful that I would rather not rotate with. What do you guys think? Any stories of great success (or failure) to share?

 

[Anka]

Unfortunately, rotating with your classmates on the wards introduces a new set of possible tensions, some of which you wouldn't even think of now. As an example, you might rotate with a friend from your first two years. Imagine, now, that one of your residents decides that you're "better" than your classmate (often occurs based on first impressions, e.g. you might look more confident than they do) and starts giving you all of the interesting/complicated patients. As a result, the attending thinks that you can handle complicated patients, and starts giving you more and more positive feedback, while the other med student basically gets ignored. Every good thing you do gets transmitted to the attending. And, because you're being encouraged constantly and the intern is buffing you because he likes you, you look good and you learn more. Meanwhile, every dumb move your friend makes (and every student, including you, makes dumb moves) is attended to and commented on. How do you handle it? And how do you handle if your friend starts directing his anger/frustration towards you? Now imagine it from the other perspective -- how long do you think you'll be able to avoid expanding your anger at the situation toward your "friend" who is basking in the sunlight of the team's approval, "taking" all the interesting cases, etc.?

Here's another scenario: you're rotating with a classmate who has some annoying personality twitches. Your intern comments about it to you. What do you say?

Anyway, just trying to get you thinking. Suffice it to say, it's great theorizing about how you're going to interact with your classmates, but in the end a lot of it is determined by the very strange environment you'll be in, and the team dynamic -- which you can't predict and which is hard to control.

Best,
Anka

 

[deleted109597]

3rd year sucks. Not all of it, but many parts. First, you are held accountable for your "team" if you have a couple of screwups in it. Apparently everyone is responsible for teamwork. If you do too well, you are deemed a showoff. If you don't try hard enough, you are "not interested." I went through 2 rotations and was told I answered too many questions, to get to the third rotation and have an eval say that I didn't speak up enough. It is all such a game, and the less you rely on your classmates, the better off you will be. You can try and encourage them, but be warned, any attempts at helping them, be it teaching them, telling them good cases, etc, can come back to bite you, as some people are just outright resentful that they aren't the best person on the face of the earth. Expect a fair amount of backstabbing, but don't return it. Just stay above it.

 

[Samoa]

3rd year sucks. Not all of it, but many parts. First, you are held accountable for your "team" if you have a couple of screwups in it. Apparently everyone is responsible for teamwork. If you do too well, you are deemed a showoff. If you don't try hard enough, you are "not interested." I went through 2 rotations and was told I answered too many questions, to get to the third rotation and have an eval say that I didn't speak up enough. It is all such a game, and the less you rely on your classmates, the better off you will be. You can try and encourage them, but be warned, any attempts at helping them, be it teaching them, telling them good cases, etc, can come back to bite you, as some people are just outright resentful that they aren't the best person on the face of the earth. Expect a fair amount of backstabbing, but don't return it. Just stay above it.

This is excellent advice. It may occasionally be necessary to "take one for the team," but it should be voluntary, and not a situation where your fellow students-whether as a group or individually-sacrifice you to make themselves look better. Don't ever do it to someone else, even if they've done it to you. And if you are ever on a team where that kind of behavior is taking place, distance yourself from it as much as you can. People notice.

 

[Dr JPH]

Just stay above it.

👍

Definately.

 

[Richie Truxillo]

Expect a fair amount of backstabbing, but don't return it. Just stay above it.

Love this. Best advice I've seen on here in awhile. 👍