So I recently finished one of my rotations. Overall, it was ok. Not overly malignant site. However, there were several things that I have experienced that I am highly concerned about. Grading is one of them. Examples: One of the things that concerns me is that some of the attendings are not very academic and grade basically on whether they liked you or not. I was pretty much the only non-male individual in my team, and the discussions usually centered on women and other issues I was not particularly comfortably with discussing, etc etc. Attending is grading male students better than female students for this reason, also another of my concerns is student filling out their own evaluation form, resident showing favoritism/preferential treatment towards male students, etc. What should I do? I don't feel it's very appropriate and I think I will be getting the short end of the stick. Although I have gotten some awsome evaluations from more academically oriented people I've worked with, I am concerned about these issues mentioned. Should I mention them to the site director? I have worked with him and I believe he is very happy with my work. Thoughts?
Medstudenquest,
Your concern is definitely legitimate, and I completely agree with your observations. Even though I am a male, I think that the discussions your housestaff were having were inappropriate (whether in your presence or not), your resident notifying you of the preferential treatment towards your colleague because he was "gettin hooked up" is disgusting, and you ending up with a lower grade is unacceptable. Throughout medical school we get reamed with the word "professionalism" 16 times per day, but surprisingly your colleague who ended up with a higher grade was not professional at all, and neither was the conduct of the residents. From reading your post, the thought that comes to mind is "how is this resident and med student functioning with their female patients? do they magically transform to perfectly appropriate, professional, and caring physicians in the exam room considering they did not have even a fraction of the same sensitivity to be respectful when a female colleague was in the room?"
The bottom line is, it sucks, and you are right. Since I guarantee you that you will continue to encounter this throughout this year and the rest of your career, here is what I recommend. 1) Do not worry about how anyone else is doing. I have found that my classmates who did best are the ones who focused on how they can do best and tried to learn/help their classmates however they could, rather than compete with them. 2) Be confident. Do not feel compared and do not panic about your grade. You are in it to learn, and when you are confident you learn better and you come off as more competent. 3) Always thank your resident for what you have learned. Even though you feel your learning was minimized by your experience, you still learned a lot, and should thank your teachers for it. When your resident feels appreciated by you despite his shortcomings, he/she will be more likely to appreciate you in return.
I had a very similar experience on OB/Gyn. I had an attending who absolutely hated males being on OB/GYN at all. It did not matter that I worked harder, was liked more by my patients, stayed later, cared more, and smiled wider. No matter what I did, I was abused by my attending while my female colleagues who on this particular rotation happened to be absolutely crappy students were sweet-talked and included on deliveries and surgeries far more frequently. I had a miserable time, but did my best to continue to follow the above advice. I ended up with the top evals collectively from all my attendings, nailed the boards, and honored the clerkship.
There will always be haters. Keep your head up.
