requesting a day off during a rotation?

[manta]

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ok, i could be skewered for this, but -
i was wondering how to go about (or if i even should) ask for a weekend off during an inpatient rotation. my high school reunion is this year, and i'd like to go. so it's not a matter of life or death or anything, just something i'd like to do. any advice? of course i'd offer to make it up and then some. who do i ask? should i even mention that it's for a reunion (and that i already have airline tickets, etc)?

thanks guys! 🙂

 

[gagolden]

ok, i could be skewered for this, but -
i was wondering how to go about (or if i even should) ask for a weekend off during an inpatient rotation. my high school reunion is this year, and i'd like to go. so it's not a matter of life or death or anything, just something i'd like to do. any advice? of course i'd offer to make it up and then some. who do i ask? should i even mention that it's for a reunion (and that i already have airline tickets, etc)?

thanks guys! 🙂

Just ask em. You cant play with the big dogs till you grow some teeth. Now, don't lie about it, and don't expect a good LOR from him/her. But if you wanna go, just say something. The world isn't going to end if you miss one day.

 

[Medical123]

People at my school have requested days off for various things, and generally, those days off get granted. You might have to take an extra weekend of call or work something out with one of your classmates, but it is generally not a problem.

I would say that you should talk with your clerkship director and possibly your attending (if you already know what service you will be on) to see what can be worked out. Let them know up front that you will be willing to make up the time. Good luck!

 

[King Arthur]

Just ask em. You cant play with the big dogs till you grow some teeth. Now, don't lie about it, and don't expect a good LOR from him/her. But if you wanna go, just say something. The world isn't going to end if you miss one day.

ha, you know, if you do a good job on the rotation, you just may get a good letter of rec despite the atrocity of the weekend off!

 

[manta]

thank you all for your advice. i start peds outpatient tomorrow, so hopefully everything will be more clear after orientation. the only person i've had any interaction with so far is the program coordinator - is this the person who does the scheduling? if so, it seems like she would be the first person to talk to...i haven't received my inpatient schedule yet, so maybe it hasn't been made up yet. 😕

have a great week everybody! 🙂

 

[RustNeverSleeps]

thank you all for your advice. i start peds outpatient tomorrow, so hopefully everything will be more clear after orientation. the only person i've had any interaction with so far is the program coordinator - is this the person who does the scheduling? if so, it seems like she would be the first person to talk to...i haven't received my inpatient schedule yet, so maybe it hasn't been made up yet. 😕

have a great week everybody! 🙂

I think you'll probably get better answers from people at your own school. A lot of these policies are school-dependent, and even within a school, often vary by clerkship. (For instance, at my school, days off have to be approved by the clerkship director in most rotations.) Scheduling timelines and policies are also often idiosyncratic to each rotation. Try to get some intelligence from other students on how days off work for that rotation, and if that clerkship isn't notoriously bad about them, there is probably no harm in asking.

 

[SurgeryChef]

thank you all for your advice. i start peds outpatient tomorrow, so hopefully everything will be more clear after orientation. the only person i've had any interaction with so far is the program coordinator - is this the person who does the scheduling? if so, it seems like she would be the first person to talk to...i haven't received my inpatient schedule yet, so maybe it hasn't been made up yet. 😕

have a great week everybody! 🙂

Are you talking 1 day or a whole weekend? There's a difference. A day off shouldn't be a big deal as you should get one of those a week anyway, but you could not only be screwing yourself with a whole weekend, but also your classmates. It totally depends on the rotation (as others have said), but someone is going to have to pick up the slack for you. You have to make sacrifices when you're a med student/resident/doctor and I'd say it's irresponsible for you to make plans without first checking with someone in charge. Sorry to say it, but your life is no longer your own.