The Residency Players

[BobA]

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I'm probably a little over eager to start residency, but I'm trying to get a grasp on who the different players are in the residency world.

For example, what is the role of the PD? Do I need to be afraid of this person? How much of an impact does this person have over my fellowship placement (since I want to stay at the place I'm doing residency for my fellowship)? If I need to impress them, how can I do so?

What's the job of the Chief Resident? Do I need to be afraid of/need to impress these people? What kind of power do they have over me?

Thanks!

 

[Long Dong]

I'm not a playa I just crush alot.😀

 

[asmallchild]

I'm probably a little over eager to start residency, but I'm trying to get a grasp on who the different players are in the residency world.

For example, what is the role of the PD? Do I need to be afraid of this person? How much of an impact does this person have over my fellowship placement (since I want to stay at the place I'm doing residency for my fellowship)? If I need to impress them, how can I do so?

What's the job of the Chief Resident? Do I need to be afraid of/need to impress these people? What kind of power do they have over me?

Thanks!

Are you matched yet? And in what field? I wouldn't be entering a program where I felt "afraid" of the PD. I'm sure a good word from the PD would be a huge first step towards securing a fellowship especially at your home institution.

Chief residents change from year to year but again, I would think they should be more of a resource than someone to fear.

 

[BobA]

Are you matched yet? And in what field? I wouldn't be entering a program where I felt "afraid" of the PD. I'm sure a good word from the PD would be a huge first step towards securing a fellowship especially at your home institution.

Chief residents change from year to year but again, I would think they should be more of a resource than someone to fear.

I'm matched into psych with possibly the nicest PD on the planet.

The PD is almost so nice as to be disarming! And I don't want to mistakenly take that kindness to mean that the PD and I are best buds. Or are we? How can this person influence my future fellowship?

What's going to make them think well of me (besides just doing a good job)? As I've mentioned in other posts, I get along well with others and I do very good work but I can't play the game for the life of me. It's just not my nature. But I realize that one's got to play a little bit. I'm trying to figure out what the different roles in the game are.

 

[guitarguy09]

I'm not a playa I just crush alot.😀

haha... nice.

OP, I think the PD can and should be a valuable resource. I'm matched into anesthesiology and from what I can tell the PD seems to have more "direct" interaction with the residents (obviously this depends on the specific program though). That being said, I'm sure that both the chairmen of the department and PD are probably the "bigwigs" that you should try and impress... and don't forget about the your particular "fellowship director".

And it's probably not a bad idea to be cool with your chief residents either... seeing as how they make the schedules for everyone...

 

[dragonfly99]

I'm matched into psych with possibly the nicest PD on the planet.

The PD is almost so nice as to be disarming! And I don't want to mistakenly take that kindness to mean that the PD and I are best buds. Or are we? How can this person influence my future fellowship?

What's going to make them think well of me (besides just doing a good job)?

I don't think psych fellowships are that competitive to get into, but I could be wrong. The chief resident is unlikely to affect you one way or the other unless you make him/her mad. The PD is very very important b/c you need his/her reference to get either a job or a fellowship. Be cautious for a few months until you know the person better...of course he was nice to you during the interview, b/c he wants to get the applicants to rank that place high. However, hopefully your first impression was correct. Besides doing a good job, what else you need to do to impress the PD really depends on the PD's personality and what he/she thinks is important....it's totally individual. In general, I think we tend to like people who are like us...i.e. who share the same values and perhaps even have some of the same hobbies, etc. If you were a future ortho resident, I'd tell you to learn to play golf, but for psych I don't know what to tell you

 

[BobA]

I don't think psych fellowships are that competitive to get into, but I could be wrong. The chief resident is unlikely to affect you one way or the other unless you make him/her mad. The PD is very very important b/c you need his/her reference to get either a job or a fellowship. Be cautious for a few months until you know the person better...of course he was nice to you during the interview, b/c he wants to get the applicants to rank that place high. However, hopefully your first impression was correct. Besides doing a good job, what else you need to do to impress the PD really depends on the PD's personality and what he/she thinks is important....it's totally individual. In general, I think we tend to like people who are like us...i.e. who share the same values and perhaps even have some of the same hobbies, etc. If you were a future ortho resident, I'd tell you to learn to play golf, but for psych I don't know what to tell you

Thanks for your post. It's good advice that "we like those who are like us." (not to be totally fake, but play up the similarities.). Also good advice to lay low for a while.

For what it's worth, I'm going into Sleep, it's competitive to get into from psych.