PGY-1 Medicine Program changing schedule from what was advertised

[ProfMD]

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People who get worked up about stuff like this are destined for a long and disappointing career. These things happen during internship, residency, and fellowship. Even as an attending, my schedule has and will unexpectedly change with partners getting sick, family emergencies, unexpected travel, etc.

 

[Goro]

I think it's more of a Millennial thing. For most of them, being a resident is the very first employment they've ever had.

People who get worked up about stuff like this are destinies for a long and disappointing career. These things happen during internship, residency, and fellowship. Even as an attending, my schedule has and will unexpectedly change with partners getting sick, family emergencies, unexpected travel, etc.

 

[Law2Doc]

...Even as an attending, my schedule has and will unexpectedly change with partners getting sick, family emergencies, unexpected travel, etc.

Ditto - for instance my current month's schedule looks absolutely nothing like what I was told a few months back. It happens. You roll with the punches.

 

[RadOncDoc21]

I hate to say it but this seems to be one of those times where "listen to your elders" seems to apply. Basically every poster with experience at either living through or making resident schedules has agreed that this is just not a big deal. Really a remarkable degree of consensus for SDN.

Changes to the schedule happen every year at my program. Sometimes it's just something little - maybe someone does two months at the VA instead of one. Others it's something big like we move transplant to third year instead of fourth year. The residents experiencing the change get flustered by it...those who have gone before recognize it all works out in the end and counsel as such.

This, seriously... At every single level, even in the real world situations come up and you are either forced to step up or resist. If the intention is to help the team, then it shouldn't be an issue. On the other hand I have seen situations that seemed shady but I chalk it up to life experiences. At the end of the year, you will be gone!

 

[Psai]

So if it's not a big deal, then why shouldn't op say which program it is? Because it's not a big deal? Shouldn't affect recruiting at all because this could happen to any program? Because we're all big fans of transparency? I don't see what the issue is with warning other people. We have a choice in where we want to go. OP is stuck but not next year's applicants.

It's not a millennial thing. Why do people use that as a crutch to make arguments? It's as intellectually lazy as the you're a racist if you say anything negative about someone that doesn't look like you or I'm offended by your ideas so you can't talk anymore nonsense. This is a night float sucks and ICU has long hours and I don't see why I should do more than anyone else and it's crap that I would not be treated the same as a categorical intern when issues arise thing. Applicants have a choice when we apply to programs and when we make a rank list. I put programs with reputations for more rigorous and time intensive intern years higher on my list and I now have no stake in the game as I matched already. Why are you guys so against informed decision making?

 

[QofQuimica]

Schedule changes can work to the residents' advantage too. It's just the luck of the draw. When I started residency, our program gave one month of elective time to PGY2s. During my PGY2 year, they decided to change it to one month of elective time for PGY3s. So the current PGY2s (my class) got an extra month of elective time as PGY3s, which was unexpected and much appreciated. The classes above and below us still only got one month of elective time. Serendipity for my class, and none of us complained about THAT schedule change!

Also have experienced schedule changes as a faculty, usually because we're short staffed and they need me to work extra. They pay me extra when that happens, but it's definitely not something I do for the money. Actually, I would like to cut back my clinical responsibilities, not add to them. Still, sometimes you have to suck one up for the team. And that goes both ways too. I sure appreciated it when one of my colleagues covered for me at the last minute when I came down with the flu last winter.

 

[ProfMD]

So if it's not a big deal, then why shouldn't op say which program it is? Because it's not a big deal? Shouldn't affect recruiting at all because this could happen to any program? Because we're all big fans of transparency? I don't see what the issue is with warning other people. We have a choice in where we want to go. OP is stuck but not next year's applicants.

It's not a millennial thing. Why do people use that as a crutch to make arguments? It's as intellectually lazy as the you're a racist if you say anything negative about someone that doesn't look like you or I'm offended by your ideas so you can't talk anymore nonsense. This is a night float sucks and ICU has long hours and I don't see why I should do more than anyone else and it's crap that I would not be treated the same as a categorical intern when issues arise thing. Applicants have a choice when we apply to programs and when we make a rank list. I put programs with reputations for more rigorous and time intensive intern years higher on my list and I now have no stake in the game as I matched already. Why are you guys so against informed decision making?

I really don't care if the OP "outs" the program. The program might not appreciate being smeared for something that isn't a big deal. And, as outlined above, the OP may want to think twice before engaging in a smear campaign - especially an unfounded one.

 

[Psai]

I think it's more of a Millennial thing. For most of them, being a resident is the very first employment they've ever had.

A month in the icu and a month on nights is quite possibly very different from your employment as a medical school professor.

 

[Goro]

You've never been a course coordinator, I take it?

A month in the icu and a month on nights is quite possibly very different from your employment as a medical school professor.

 

[Psai]

You've never been a course coordinator, I take it?

Nope but it doesn't sound like a 80+ hour a week job to me

 

[Goro]

Being burnt at the stake by angry students is a risk.

Nope but it doesn't sound like a 80+ hour a week job to me

 

[GnomeBeGone]

keep your head down and your mouth shut ......... you are powerless and vulnerable right now, don't let that medical degree convince you otherwise

Wow, you managed to paraphrase both LCME and ACGME's Standard 3.6 into one beautiful, concise sentence. Impressive.

OP, just don't bottle it all up - it might sneak up on you. 🤣

 

[Slack3r]

You have a valuable advanced degree.

You're a physician.

You have a job that pays more than what the average American makes.

You are presumably healthy.

Many people would kill to have any one of those, let alone all of them.

Just as I survived doing an extra month of Trauma (because they had a weak prelim on service and we got pulled to back him up in the more difficult rotations), you will somehow survive this "horrible year". Maybe you might even consider that doing more ICU might provide valuable skills and a level of confidence that carries you throughout your career.

And his advanced program is derm. I think he'll somehow manage.🙄

 

[gutonc]

And his advanced program is derm. I think he'll somehow manage.🙄

And...now it all makes sense.

I change my advice then.

OP...definitely out the program. And confront the PD about this clear injustice. Do it today. Do it again tomorrow. And on your first day of orientation, be sure to make unannounced visits to the PD, the IM Chair, the head of GME and the Dean of the School of Medicine to plead your case. Begin every wards/ICU case presentation with a summary of this injustice.

It's the least you can do to protect those who will follow in your Manolo Blahniks (or John Lobbs...not sure if dude or lady).

 

[Perrotfish]

People who get worked up about stuff like this are destined for a long and disappointing career. These things happen during internship, residency, and fellowship. Even as an attending, my schedule has and will unexpectedly change with partners getting sick, family emergencies, unexpected travel, etc.

Yes and no? The real world is a push and pull between employers and employees. They want more work for less compensation, we want more compensation for less work, and we arrive at a middle ground organically. Most real world physicians roll with some punches but, at the same time, would walk away from a sufficiently bad situation. If an employer had the gaul to ask me to work 20+ hours/week above what we negotiated before I even walked into work on the first day? I know I would be walking away from that without a second thought. Residents can't walk away, though, or negotiate. That's why they feel so pissed off when they are baited and switched, because there is nothing to do but do the extra work and let the liar win.

That being said, advice to the OP was spot on. Head down, mouth shut, both during and after the Internship. You have nothing to gain and everything to lose by fighting here.

 

[FIREitUP]

I enjoyed and appreciate everyone's input. The extra month of ICU is something that seems to be 50-50 even in previous years, not something that was completely unforeseeable. Just would have appreciated a heads up before ranking is all. You all make great points that this year may be formative and to take the best of it with me. I'm mostly concerned with having to switch between days and nights and not feeling like a zombie. Hopefully my body will adjust.

 

[ProfMD]

I enjoyed and appreciate everyone's input. The extra month of ICU is something that seems to be 50-50 even in previous years, not something that was completely unforeseeable. Just would have appreciated a heads up before ranking is all. You all make great points that this year may be formative and to take the best of it with me. I'm mostly concerned with having to switch between days and nights and not feeling like a zombie. Hopefully my body will adjust.

Glad you are coming to be at peace with it.

A couple of things - the program may not have been able to foresee these changes until they saw who matched and who was returning for another year.

Also, you are not the first or last person to do night float. Everyone adjusts differently, but everyone makes it.

 

[FIREitUP]

Glad you are coming to be at peace with it.

A couple of things - the program may not have been able to foresee these changes until they saw who matched and who was returning for another year.

Also, you are not the first or last person to do night float. Everyone adjusts differently, but everyone makes it.

Yeah, initially I was scared but I've come to terms with it. You guys helped change my perspective, that's for sure. Though, this being SDN, I could've done without some of the pretentious remarks by some users who feel because they've been through worse that they defecate rainbow sherbet. Cheers.

 

[Neuronix]

I agree that you can't win this fight. But, I think that you should anonymously make it clear online that this is happening for future medical students.

There was a prelim medicine program that used to have a reputation for being cush. Their categorical program was not competitive at all, filling with mostly FMGs. They would brag and advertise that they had such strong interns.

When the interns would arrive, the schedule would be far worse than they thought. Every year it was the same logic/justification as this thread. Don't complain, cover it up. The only people who got to meet the interviewees were categoricals or the bubbliest interns who they knew wouldn't complain.

This went on for at least 5 years. The word only really got out because of this website.

This isn't like a faculty position where rumors of malignant positions get passed around by current faculty for years and years. This is a one year spot. The data gets old and stale quickly. When you're finished this internship, you'll probably never meet your colleagues a few years younger than you. The only way anyone will ever know is to leave a public record.

 

[Apollyon]

There was a prelim medicine program that used to have a reputation for being cush. Their categorical program was not competitive at all, filling with mostly FMGs. They would brag and advertise that they had such strong interns.

Was that the Flushing Hospital?

 

[Neuronix]

Was that the Flushing Hospital?

No. I'm not going to name names though.

 

[Apollyon]

No. I'm not going to name names though.

No, I gotcha. It was just that, 14 years ago, that is what was said about that hospital.

 

[rokshana]

I agree that you can't win this fight. But, I think that you should anonymously make it clear online that this is happening for future medical students.
This is a one year spot. The data gets old and stale quickly. When you're finished this internship, you'll probably never meet your colleagues a few years younger than you. The only way anyone will ever know is to leave a public record.

No. I'm not going to name names though.

you are advocating for the OP to out his program...the one he is going to be in for the next year, but you won't out your program, even though you are no longer there...isn't that the definition of hypocrisy?

 

[Lee Ik-jun MD]

there's really no choice here except for throwing a fit.
the OP is in a lose-lose scenario no matter what.
leaving the program? Really? it's funny how some people can suggest it as if it was as easy as changing your car.
so, time to grow a pair and suck it up.

i always wonder who ever told people that "internship" is going to be a walk in the park.

 

[Siggy]

Program director be like, "I have altered the deal. Pray I don't alter it further."

 

[Neuronix]

you are advocating for the OP to out his program...the one he is going to be in for the next year, but you won't out your program, even though you are no longer there...isn't that the definition of hypocrisy?

My account is barely anonymous. Many people know my real identity. There are many ways to post anonymously here. I should have stated explicitly that I advise the op to post anonymously.

 

[Perrotfish]

i always wonder who ever told people that "internship" is going to be a walk in the park.

Well in this case it was the program director.