Rotating with attendings only vs. Rotating with mainly residents

[KnuxNole]

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I've experienced both and I feel you learn a lot more when you have a rotation with an attending and you get more out of your day of learning X specialty. With residents, that only happens sometimes. I know some residents have the thinking "I'm not required to teach med students", but there are lots of good ones to compensate for the pathetic ones. Some of them go out of their way to teach stuff and actually let you present a patient/give some autonomy. However, I feel most of the time it's a waste and I end up either studying with the other students elsewhere, or play on my Iphone while they do work since the important parts(rounds, interviewing a patient) is over. Although the above mainly applies to ward sections. In the clinics, I feel the residents are willing to teach more.

This is just my thought, but I guess I would feel I'd learn more if all rotations had attendings as the main people you work/follow/learn with instead of only seeing them for 1-2 hours and get thrown with random residents for the day like some rotations...

How do other peeps feel about rotating with attendings/residents, etc.?

 

[MilkmanAl]

As always, it just depends on who you're working with. I had a rotation last year where I worked 1:1 with an attending and did tons and another where I basically just shadowed. I find that residents are typically more prone to let you do pretty much whatever you want unless they want experience doing it, themselves, but some attendings are extremely willing to let you go wild, especially if you're interested in their field.

 

[Bacchus]

I've had positive experiences with my 1:1 attending rotations so far. I really like learning from them. My only experience with a bunch of residents and interns is medicine and surgery thus far. I got to do a bit more on surgery than medicine, but the surgical interns were in their last month whereas medicine the following month was with the new interns so they did a lot of what I could have done. I could have asked more, though.

 

[mmmcdowe]

I definitely like working directly with attendings for several reasons. For one, they tend to be better teachers. They often have more time in teaching and depending on where you are they may be more inclined to (i.e. they are in academic medicine to teach). They also tend to remember "the good old days" when medical students did 105 hour call and delivered babies blindfolded. Thus, they often give you more opportunity to do things (even just see the patient first and write them up before the MD goes in).

That's been my experience at least.

 

[turkeyjerky]

As always, it just depends on who you're working with. I had a rotation last year where I worked 1:1 with an attending and did tons and another where I basically just shadowed. I find that residents are typically more prone to let you do pretty much whatever you want unless they want experience doing it, themselves, but some attendings are extremely willing to let you go wild, especially if you're interested in their field.

Agree completely. There really is no clear relationship, it just depends on the individual involved. I never understand the desire people have to generalize based on a single experience. I will say, though, that my worst experiences have been w/ fmg residents, although the foreign born attendings have nearly always been great.

 

[Socrates25]

With residents, that only happens sometimes. I know some residents have the thinking "I'm not required to teach med students", but there are lots of good ones to compensate for the pathetic ones.

If a resident ever says that to you, you should contact the chief resident or the residency program director.

It is ABSOLUTELY the job of residents to teach med students. In fact, it is written into most residency contracts.

 

[DuxburyPembroke]

Definitely person-dependent! I've had positive and not-as-positive experiences with both residents and attendings, amg's and img's, and md's and do's - although my rotations have been positive overall so far, and I haven't had a horrible experience yet (knock wood). It also depends somewhat on the other students on the service with you. A rotation can be much better if you are all on the same page and working hard to learn, and can drag if you're with gunners or slouchabouts...

 

[OveractiveBrain]

As always, it just depends on who you're working with. I had a rotation last year where I worked 1:1 with an attending and did tons and another where I basically just shadowed. I find that residents are typically more prone to let you do pretty much whatever you want unless they want experience doing it, themselves, but some attendings are extremely willing to let you go wild, especially if you're interested in their field.

Exact same experience. It all depends. You get a great resident, you have a great experience. You get a garbage resident, and that blows. If you replace that statement with "attending" for "resident" then the same thing applies.

Here's the problem with the typical resident-based team model. Residents spend half the day with bull**** and paperwork, leaving the students to help with the scut or stand around waiting for them to finish. Feels like a waste of time, right? And no matter how well-intentioned the resident, its either "let you go early" or "get you involved with scut," neither of which turns out to be very useful or educational.