Thank you notes rotations

[MerYangBey]

So I was under the impression that sending thank you notes to third year clinical preceptors was not the norm especially if you had a very basic/not personal connection with them. I also thought that if any notes were to be sent it would be after they have submitted their evaluation/grades.
I've come to find that some of my classmates are doing things differently.

So what are people doing these days....

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[moyamoya6]

So I was under the impression that sending thank you notes to third year clinical preceptors was not the norm especially if you had a very basic/not personal connection with them. I also thought that if any notes were to be sent it would be after they have submitted their evaluation/grades.
I've come to find that some of my classmates are doing things differently.

So what are people doing these days....

I’ve been writing thank you cards to all my preceptors during third year. I usually gave it to them on my last rotation day. Some of the preceptors really enjoyed the thank you cards, and others probably could care less, but it’s just something I prefer to do.

 

[Lawpy]

I’ve been writing thank you cards to all my preceptors during third year. I usually gave it to them on my last rotation day. Some of the preceptors really enjoyed the thank you cards, and others probably could care less, but it’s just something I prefer to do.

Thank you cards probably have no impact on grades or evals, right? Just wanted to clarify

 

[moyamoya6]

Thank you cards probably have no impact on grades or evals, right? Just wanted to clarify

No idea. My preceptors have given me good grades with either great comments or generic good comments.

 

[libertyyne]

Thank you cards probably have no impact on grades or evals, right? Just wanted to clarify

Dont they?

 

[HereWeGo21]

Is this for real?

 

[Lawpy]

Is this for real?

Thank you letter after home SubI

I was wondering if anyone sent a thank you letter after your home SubI. PD? Chair? Both? Handwritten or email?

If relevant, this is for a surgical subspecialty.

​

 

[MerYangBey]

Is this for real?

What aren't you understanding?

 

[ciestar]

I didn’t know this was even a thing.

 

[MerYangBey]

Nobody at my school writes thank you notes for a rotation that I'm aware of. The only attendings who got thank you notes from me were the ones who wrote me LOR and one who literally hosted me in his home and provided me with food and shelter for multiple weeks.

Yea i find it an odd thing to do! except in the situations such as you listed. I just wonder if it's an overly polite Midwestern thing that I'm dealing with on my end.

 

[Oso]

What the hell? The things people will do to kiss ass...

So glad no one did this at my school.

 

[Newyawk]

I have sent these to residents who were particularly helpful to me and i know for a fact that the type A+ people in my school send these all the time. I think the general rule for me is:
If the resident really went out of their way for me i will let them know. I feel like this type of behavior should be commended so residents feel rewarded and recognized and perpetuate the behavior.

That being said, i have only sent a couple of these throughout the year.

 

[UnoMas]

Talk about being extra

 

[evilbooyaa]

What in the world? No. Express appreciation but not everything needs to be with a damn note card.

 

[IMreshopeful]

No. No no no. I never did anything like this in Med school and got honors in most of my clerkships. This is the most kissass thing I’ve ever heard of doing.

I personally as a resident never expected this kind of thing and we usually went out as a team for dinner after the rotation ended but that’s it

 

[Newyawk]

For the record: i meant emails. I would never send a physical card to a resident. Thats some serious ass kissing

 

[takeurmeds02]

Emergency Medicine Residency Applicant Characteristics Associated with Measured Adverse Outcomes During Residency

"“Red flags” during EM clerkships, a leave of absence during medical school for any reason and failure to send post-interview thank-you notes may be associated with negative outcomes during an EM residency."

Make it a habit now or you'll suffer during residency LOL

 

[IMreshopeful]

Emergency Medicine Residency Applicant Characteristics Associated with Measured Adverse Outcomes During Residency

"“Red flags” during EM clerkships, a leave of absence during medical school for any reason and failure to send post-interview thank-you notes may be associated with negative outcomes during an EM residency."

Make it a habit now or you'll suffer during residency LOL

So EM interviews love the ass kissing? Thats fine. Medicine residencies have a strict moratorium on it and do not allow it by policy (though letters of intent usually welcome).

Either way that’s referring to residency interviews, not end of clerkship

 

[Psai]

Just be useful and not stupid. It's harder than it sounds. No one needs a thank you letter from a student. If a residency doesn't take you because you didn't send a post interview thank you note, they're probably not worth training at.

 

[Amba]

Buy your resident a cup of coffee if you really want to show appreciation

 

[mehc012]

Talk about being extra

No, extra is the guy at my school who showed up on the last day with individually packaged and name-labelled bags of thank you cookies for each resident and attending. No warning to the other students on his team, and, notably...no cookies were brought in either to share with the floor, nor for any nurse, tech, student, or other staff member who wasn't actively grading them.

 

[Newyawk]

No, extra is the guy at my school who showed up on the last day with individually packaged and name-labelled bags of thank you cookies for each resident and attending. No warning to the other students on his team, and, notably...no cookies were brought in either to share with the floor, nor for any nurse, tech, student, or other staff member who wasn't actively grading them.

This couldnt have been real life

 

[Oso]

No, extra is the guy at my school who showed up on the last day with individually packaged and name-labelled bags of thank you cookies for each resident and attending. No warning to the other students on his team, and, notably...no cookies were brought in either to share with the floor, nor for any nurse, tech, student, or other staff member who wasn't actively grading them.

How can something so delicious be used for something so disgusting

 

[CherryRedDracul]

I used to tip my preceptors at the end of my rotations, usually about 20% of their salary for the duration of the block.

Med school's expensive.

 

[mehc012]

This couldnt have been real life

Alas, some med students retain their premed roots.

How can something so delicious be used for something so disgusting

Homemade, too...and I have to grudgingly admit that he is an excellent cook, so I'm sure they were amazing cookies.
Fortunately, while most residents here will notice and take note of a student not being a team player with the other students (and it really is rare for someone not to)...EVERYONE will notice if you fail to include the nurses and other staff in a thank you gesture. So I doubt it helped him, and would be surprised if it didn't hurt him, to some degree.


I personally just stick with making sure to steal whatever baked goods are up for grabs in the ED when I go to interview a patient...less work for me, plenty for everyone, and I get to eat cookies myself and share them without throwing anyone under the bus!

 

[spartan25]

“Thank you for the privilege of letting me pay 50k a year to be here”

 

[evilbooyaa]

Emergency Medicine Residency Applicant Characteristics Associated with Measured Adverse Outcomes During Residency

"“Red flags” during EM clerkships, a leave of absence during medical school for any reason and failure to send post-interview thank-you notes may be associated with negative outcomes during an EM residency."

Make it a habit now or you'll suffer during residency LOL

This is dumb, but at least different. Thank you card at post-interview is a bit more accepted as a thing. Thank you card at the end of a rotation, I have not heard of to this date.

 

[DrMcCoyDO]

Thank you card at the end of a rotation, I have not heard of to this date.

I only did it once during clinical rotations. Late in fourth year, I had the biggest jerk ever as my resident who had made my life a living hell nearly the whole rotation (also, whose head was lodged so far up the attending’s rectum). The Hellbeast expected us to write thank you notes to the attending, so I wrote one just to keep her from trying to screw me over grade-wise (she gave off the impression of being that petty).

Usually, though, I just tried to go with a firm handshake and a thank you to those who taught me.

 

[bananafish94]

I will definitely sacrifice a little bit of dignity for good evaluations when the situation warrants it, but writing thank you notes or bringing in food is a line that I won’t cross. I’m still the one paying $50000/year to be there.

 

[coldcase331]

This couldnt have been real life

One of my classmates brought in a gourmet cake for all the residents, it really does happen. Personally I'm of the opinion that a simple thank you (maybe a cup of coffee) is all that you need. Anything beyond that becomes way too much for me

 

[UnoMas]

One of my classmates brought in a gourmet cake for all the residents, it really does happen. Personally I'm of the opinion that a simple thank you (maybe a cup of coffee) is all that you need. Anything beyond that becomes way too much for me

I would love to have a slice of that cake while jokingly tell my residents that they won’t ever get anything like this from me cause I am poor as ****


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[MerYangBey]

One of my classmates brought in a gourmet cake for all the residents, it really does happen. Personally I'm of the opinion that a simple thank you (maybe a cup of coffee) is all that you need. Anything beyond that becomes way too much for me

I love how it had to be “Gourmet” cake... as if regular cake wasn’t extra enough lol.

 

[mehc012]

One of my classmates brought in a gourmet cake for all the residents, it really does happen. Personally I'm of the opinion that a simple thank you (maybe a cup of coffee) is all that you need. Anything beyond that becomes way too much for me

I'm fine with bringing in baked goods (as long as there's not another student on the team that you're screwing over), so long as you do the usual "I brought this in for everyone on the floor, you're all great" type thing. Maybe it's just where I work, but people bring stuff in to share ALL the time...if you work weekends there's invariably a spontaneous breakfast/brunch potluck, etc. So contributing isn't the weirdest thing. As a general rule, though, it's either potluck style or the attending providing for everyone on the team, not usually bottom-up from the students.

 

[Oso]

Usually, though, I just tried to go with a firm handshake and a thank you to those who taught me.

That's nice of you (not sarcasm). I usually just peace the **** out once my time is up.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

as long as there's not another student on the team that you're screwing over

What if you bring in baked goods but say they're from both/all of you?

 

[mehc012]

What if you bring in baked goods but say they're from both/all of you?

Hey man, I'm not the 'extra' police. I won't pretend to be the arbiter of what's OK and what's too much...if it works for you and your cohort, sounds great! I can see definite pros and cons, but it'd all depend on who you were paired with anyway, right?

 

[doyouhaveaflag]

Someone I rotated with as an M3 brought in cookies on the last day and tried to tell me they were only for the residents as I was reaching for one. I enjoyed eating it in front of him.

I loved med school but I definitely don't miss BS like this. And I firmly do not support writing thank you notes to your preceptors following rotations.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Hey man, I'm not the 'extra' police. I won't pretend to be the arbiter of what's OK and what's too much...if it works for you and your cohort, sounds great! I can see definite pros and cons, but it'd all depend on who you were paired with anyway, right?

Yeah, it was just a hypothetical. I was curious if you personally would get upset if someone brought something in but credited all the students with it.

 

[mehc012]

Yeah, it was just a hypothetical. I was curious if you personally would get upset if someone brought something in but credited all the students with it.

Personally? I'd be eating a cookie, hard to get upset after that! Honestly, I probably wouldn't mind 9/10 times if they brought something in and took their due credit for it. I'm not much of one for taking false props, and I'm not so insecure about my evals as to think my grades would be at risk over a few Tollhouse. Heck, I'd even take the awkward tryhard guys distributing individualized gifts...I think that makes them look bad, not me.

That being said, there are a few classmates who rub me the wrong way who I would probably manage to find fault with if they brought me and only me a dozen homemade cookies, because they would probably still somehow manage to have a patronizing attitude while doing so. But I'd still eat their cookies, because cookies are always good.

 

[libertyyne]

Personally? I'd be eating a cookie, hard to get upset after that! Honestly, I probably wouldn't mind 9/10 times if they brought something in and took their due credit for it. I'm not much of one for taking false props, and I'm not so insecure about my evals as to think my grades would be at risk over a few Tollhouse. Heck, I'd even take the awkward tryhard guys distributing individualized gifts...I think that makes them look bad, not me.

That being said, there are a few classmates who rub me the wrong way who I would probably manage to find fault with if they brought me and only me a dozen homemade cookies, because they would probably still somehow manage to have a patronizing attitude while doing so. But I'd still eat their cookies, because cookies are always good.

does it not impact evals though?
All the studies that come out surrounding small gifts and reciprocation seem to be saying it does.

On a side note:
I know an NP student that once gave a watch to their proctor at the end of the rotation. The proctor even accepted the thing.

 

[mehc012]

does it not impact evals though?
All the studies that come out surrounding small gifts and reciprocation seem to be saying it does.

On a side note:
I know an NP student that once gave a watch to their proctor at the end of the rotation. The proctor even accepted the thing.

It may impact the other student's evals, but I'm usually either confident enough in where I stand, or else I know what my shortcomings were, to where I don't feel I have to worry about it affecting MY grades. If one other student making some cookies can upset a few months worth of me putting in good work, well...that's the way the cookie crumbles, I guess (sorry couldn't help it), but I don't feel like that's that likely.

 

[sharkbyte]

No, extra is the guy at my school who showed up on the last day with individually packaged and name-labelled bags of thank you cookies for each resident and attending. No warning to the other students on his team, and, notably...no cookies were brought in either to share with the floor, nor for any nurse, tech, student, or other staff member who wasn't actively grading them.

Oh my god, a guy in my class did basically the exact same thing on the last day of one of our rotations. I came back to the workroom after seeing a patient and saw him putting together a bunch of individualized, SUPER FANCY gift bags with some sort of chocolate or whatever inside. He gave this to every resident, even ones he wasn't working with during the month. Crazy. On top of that, the visiting M4 doing an away rotation brought bagels that morning (much more reasonable thing to do) but the combination of those two must have made me look like an idiot lol.

Oh well, still ended up with honors so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯