Is that a bad sign? I'm on what's considered one of the more difficult rotations and am already feeling so much dread about having to go through this process. The scheduling is really opaque, there are all these BS assignments scattered in throughout the rotation, I feel like I have to run around trying to find whatever resident is randomly assigned to me and hope they aren't annoyed or bothered by me, I'm absolute ass at doing SOAP notes and presenting, the hours are brutal, and I just am not interested in this clerkship at all. Anyone else really dreading 3rd year or have advice for how to get through it?
Starting 3rd year and already dreading clerkship...
- Thread starter mmmhmm20
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First, don't start with the mindset that you are on "one of the more difficult rotations", it sets you up to already feel victimized or overworked before you even step foot in the hospital.
Second, every rotation has BS assignments and involves hunting down your residents and hoping they aren't bothered by you. That's the name of the game right now. Have the mindset that every rotation is gonna be logistically difficult with a lot of ambiguity (and then if it isn't like that you are pleasantly surprised, not the other way around). Part of medical education (especially 3rd/4th year) is set up in such a way that you don't have super well defined tasks and learning objectives... this is part of adult education where you have to seek out your own education opportunities.
Third, almost everyone sucks at SOAP notes and presentations in third year. This is your chance to learn. If you royally screw up and your resident rips you apart, then don't make that mistake again. There's no mystery or some magical solution here. Just practice and screw up until you don't.
I'm not gonna give you specific things to do (ie show up early, round before your residents, etc, blah blah) because you'll figure out the specifics yourself. In my opinion, the mindset and approach is much more important to develop and foster.
I'm only a 4th year myself, so feel free to ignore everything I say because I'm barely ahead of you, but in my mind, 3rd/4th year is the last chance we have to learn with essentially zero responsibility. That is a gift in medicine. Don't waste it and just try to stay as involved and engaged as you can. I'd rather get ripped apart by an attending or resident for doing something wrong than for doing nothing at all. Just keep your head down, your ears open, and work.
Second, every rotation has BS assignments and involves hunting down your residents and hoping they aren't bothered by you. That's the name of the game right now. Have the mindset that every rotation is gonna be logistically difficult with a lot of ambiguity (and then if it isn't like that you are pleasantly surprised, not the other way around). Part of medical education (especially 3rd/4th year) is set up in such a way that you don't have super well defined tasks and learning objectives... this is part of adult education where you have to seek out your own education opportunities.
Third, almost everyone sucks at SOAP notes and presentations in third year. This is your chance to learn. If you royally screw up and your resident rips you apart, then don't make that mistake again. There's no mystery or some magical solution here. Just practice and screw up until you don't.
I'm not gonna give you specific things to do (ie show up early, round before your residents, etc, blah blah) because you'll figure out the specifics yourself. In my opinion, the mindset and approach is much more important to develop and foster.
I'm only a 4th year myself, so feel free to ignore everything I say because I'm barely ahead of you, but in my mind, 3rd/4th year is the last chance we have to learn with essentially zero responsibility. That is a gift in medicine. Don't waste it and just try to stay as involved and engaged as you can. I'd rather get ripped apart by an attending or resident for doing something wrong than for doing nothing at all. Just keep your head down, your ears open, and work.
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Incoming tough love:
"The scheduling is really opaque, there are all these BS assignments scattered in throughout the rotation"
Welcome to medicine. The amount of BS you deal with as a resident and attending isn't going to get better.
"I feel like I have to run around trying to find whatever resident is randomly assigned to me and hope they aren't annoyed or bothered by me"
Yup, this part is annoying. Hopefully you'll get good residents who are actually interested in teaching and are not too overwhelmed to do so.
Things that you can do to make their life easier:
i) be proactive - keep an eye out for 'scut' tasks that are handed to them during rounds and volunteering to help out here and there (e.g with getting records, calling PCP, circling back to get additional history, etc),
ii) don't waste their time - before asking a question, at least try to have looked up the answer online. Nothing screams laziness like asking a question that can be answered with Google in 5 seconds. Similarly, ask questions that are actually pertinent to a patient's care, and not something obscure.
iii) be positive and don't complain - residency can be dreadful enough as it is, and having someone on the team be excited and positive can make all the difference. Even if you are not interested in their specialty, recognize that they can still teach you something that will be helpful in your future practice.
"I'm absolute ass at doing SOAP notes and presenting"
And that's why you're there to learn. Regardless of which field you're interested in, you will need to learn how to succinctly communicate the relevant findings to other teams. And yes, this is even true in specialties like radiology and pathology.
"the hours are brutal"
They don't get better during residency or fellowship. It will get worse before it gets better.
"I just am not interested in this clerkship at all"
See my point above. Even if you're not interested in the subject matter, there is still much that you can learn from every service. I'm in internal medicine and I know that most students rotating through are not interested in my specialty, despite everyone professing 'yeah, I'm either going to do medicine or X' or 'I'm still undecided, but medicine seems cool'. Regardless of their interests, everyone can and should still learn how to manage hypertension, and diabetes, how to interview and present efficiently, communicate with outpatient teams, hold family meetings, etc. Similarly, when I was a medical student, I learned from surgery when they should actually be involved in a patient's care. From pediatrics, I learned how to deal with difficult family members and to get information from patients who cannot tell you what's going on. From radiology and other medical subspecialty services, I saw the importance of asking thoughtful questions so that they can best help the primary team figure out what's going on, etc.
You don't need to like the specialty or clerkship, but you should still go in with a positive attitude and look for things that will help you in your future career. You are paying a boatload of money for this experience, so take advantage of it.
"The scheduling is really opaque, there are all these BS assignments scattered in throughout the rotation"
Welcome to medicine. The amount of BS you deal with as a resident and attending isn't going to get better.
"I feel like I have to run around trying to find whatever resident is randomly assigned to me and hope they aren't annoyed or bothered by me"
Yup, this part is annoying. Hopefully you'll get good residents who are actually interested in teaching and are not too overwhelmed to do so.
Things that you can do to make their life easier:
i) be proactive - keep an eye out for 'scut' tasks that are handed to them during rounds and volunteering to help out here and there (e.g with getting records, calling PCP, circling back to get additional history, etc),
ii) don't waste their time - before asking a question, at least try to have looked up the answer online. Nothing screams laziness like asking a question that can be answered with Google in 5 seconds. Similarly, ask questions that are actually pertinent to a patient's care, and not something obscure.
iii) be positive and don't complain - residency can be dreadful enough as it is, and having someone on the team be excited and positive can make all the difference. Even if you are not interested in their specialty, recognize that they can still teach you something that will be helpful in your future practice.
"I'm absolute ass at doing SOAP notes and presenting"
And that's why you're there to learn. Regardless of which field you're interested in, you will need to learn how to succinctly communicate the relevant findings to other teams. And yes, this is even true in specialties like radiology and pathology.
"the hours are brutal"
They don't get better during residency or fellowship. It will get worse before it gets better.
"I just am not interested in this clerkship at all"
See my point above. Even if you're not interested in the subject matter, there is still much that you can learn from every service. I'm in internal medicine and I know that most students rotating through are not interested in my specialty, despite everyone professing 'yeah, I'm either going to do medicine or X' or 'I'm still undecided, but medicine seems cool'. Regardless of their interests, everyone can and should still learn how to manage hypertension, and diabetes, how to interview and present efficiently, communicate with outpatient teams, hold family meetings, etc. Similarly, when I was a medical student, I learned from surgery when they should actually be involved in a patient's care. From pediatrics, I learned how to deal with difficult family members and to get information from patients who cannot tell you what's going on. From radiology and other medical subspecialty services, I saw the importance of asking thoughtful questions so that they can best help the primary team figure out what's going on, etc.
You don't need to like the specialty or clerkship, but you should still go in with a positive attitude and look for things that will help you in your future career. You are paying a boatload of money for this experience, so take advantage of it.
This. Residents would kill for the opportunity to have no responsibilities or expectations for a day.
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I loathed (and i mean LOATHED) my ten weeks of general surgery rotation.. yet I still honored it. You wouldn’t know I hated to be there. That’s the point, you appear interested and do the best you can. Make sure you take a vested interest in the patients assigned to you, if nothing else (this is also expected).
You haven’t had a rotation yet, so yeah, you’ll suck at notes and presentations. You’ll do so many over the course of third year that even you will notice improvement. It is all about practice. If your resident can, pre-round on your patient(s).
You haven’t had a rotation yet, so yeah, you’ll suck at notes and presentations. You’ll do so many over the course of third year that even you will notice improvement. It is all about practice. If your resident can, pre-round on your patient(s).
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If you have a will to survive, you will.
If you have a will to succeed, you will.
If you have a will to be a victim of a “tough rotation” with “opaque scheduling,” you will.
Be honest with yourself and get the outcome you expect.
If you have a will to succeed, you will.
If you have a will to be a victim of a “tough rotation” with “opaque scheduling,” you will.
Be honest with yourself and get the outcome you expect.
