Things that annoy you about third year

[ForbiddenComma]

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-Conflicting orders. Resident: "Don't write in the chart. Leave it to me. You'll screw it up." Attending: "Mr. Forbiddencomma, why are you too lazy to chart your patients?"

-Nurses Who Eat the Young. "I just thought that you should know that dealing with med students is the least important part of my job." -- actual verbatim (and totally unprovoked) quote from an RN

- Security and hospital IT that treats med students with the same respect as car thieves. Students at my place are barely allowed to walk in through the front door or access the electronic charting system at all... and forget about getting into the ICU or rescheduling a patient without a humiliating call to a nurse. "They don't let me do these things. They also don't let me walk around without my special helmet on lest I hurt myself."

- "Lets go see the patient together" -- translation: "Go stand in the corner and don't do anything. And don't talk. In fact, try to be completely invisible."


This is a wonderful transition from all the classwork we've had up till now. Seeing real patients with real problems, and working long hours as a student doctor instead of just a student. And what better way to honor third year than by griping about it?

 

[persia]

And what better way to honor third year than by griping about it?

Do you mean 'honor' as in pay respect to? or honor as in get top grades. 😕

I am glad to know that other people have experienced the same verbatim comments. This is so universal! If I was going to do it again, I would definitely do it differently and have a different attitude.

 

[smq123]

- Security and hospital IT that treats med students with the same respect as car thieves. Students at my place are barely allowed to walk in through the front door or access the electronic charting system at all... and forget about getting into the ICU or rescheduling a patient without a humiliating call to a nurse. "They don't let me do these things. They also don't let me walk around without my special helmet on lest I hurt myself."

That's so true! We're not even allowed to order Eucerin on the computerized ordering system!

 

[Ambs]

I find myself annoying - I say "I'm sorry" or some variation of an apology to my residents/scrub techs/nurses/attendings many, many times a day because I'm always doing/saying something stupid or absent-minded. People for the most part have been really nice, and that sometimes actually makes it worse because they'll explain things really slowly, or give me specific instructions, or show me how to do something 3X, yet I still manage to say/do something wrong or stupid, and out comes the "Ah! I'm sorry" or "gosh, sorry!"

 

[Hard24Get]

I find myself annoying - I say "I'm sorry" or some variation of an apology to my residents/scrub techs/nurses/attendings many, many times a day because I'm always doing/saying something stupid or absent-minded. People for the most part have been really nice, and that sometimes actually makes it worse because they'll explain things really slowly, or give me specific instructions, or show me how to do something 3X, yet I still manage to say/do something wrong or stupid, and out comes the "Ah! I'm sorry" or "gosh, sorry!"

And then finally someone will say, "hey, stop saying you're sorry - it's ok!" 😍

And you're like, "oh!.....sorry"

The most annoying thing about 3rd year is pretending to be important/contributing to anything.

 

[lil pook]

i find some patients pretty annoying....especially the lil old ladies who when you ask "how have you been feeling lately", proceed to tell you their entire life story in excrutiating detail.

i am no longer asking even remotely open ended questions anymore to these people...everything they taught you about interviewing patients in med school is wrong, wrong, wrong with these types.

oh please just get me through this.

 

[bjolly]

the most annoying thing about 3rd year was the fact that you're never supposed to ask if you can leave. You have to wait for them to tell you it's ok to go. Even if nothing has happened for 4 hours. And even if it's obvious they've forgotten your existence. And you know that if they did remember you were there they wouldn't mind sending you home. It's just taboo to ever ask. You just have to sit there....hoping they'll notice you and say you can go.

 

[Hard24Get]

the most annoying thing about 3rd year was the fact that you're never supposed to ask if you can leave. You have to wait for them to tell you it's ok to go. Even if nothing has happened for 4 hours. And even if it's obvious they've forgotten your existence. And you know that if they did remember you were there they wouldn't mind sending you home. It's just taboo to ever ask. You just have to sit there....hoping they'll notice you and say you can go.

The funny thing is, being a sub-I as a 4th year you are shooting the breeze the the resident and other intern, and like 5 hours after we last saw the 200 students, one of us is like, "hey, where's so and so? Did he go home? Oh, well". A couple hours later we find him in the call room and the resident is like, hey, why don't you go home?

I conclude from such exchanges that no one really cares if you just go home.

 

[ocean11]

The funny thing is, being a sub-I as a 4th year you are shooting the breeze the the resident and other intern, and like 5 hours after we last saw the 200 students, one of us is like, "hey, where's so and so? Did he go home? Oh, well". A couple hours later we find him in the call room and the resident is like, hey, why don't you go home?

I conclude from such exchanges that no one really cares if you just go home.

My sub-I is the polar opposite, its actually worse than my third year internal medicine rotation. However, the elective I did before my Sub-I was pretty nice, and they treated us way better than third years....so I think fourth year is better, but the sub-I could go either way (alot depends on your school and location). GOOD LUCK

 

[joe6102]

the most annoying thing about 3rd year was the fact that you're never supposed to ask if you can leave. You have to wait for them to tell you it's ok to go. Even if nothing has happened for 4 hours. And even if it's obvious they've forgotten your existence. And you know that if they did remember you were there they wouldn't mind sending you home. It's just taboo to ever ask. You just have to sit there....hoping they'll notice you and say you can go.

Just go up to them and ask what else you can do. If you're half as incompetent as me, they tell you to go home so you don't screw anything else up. 😀

 

[THP]

the most annoying thing about 3rd year was the fact that you're never supposed to ask if you can leave. You have to wait for them to tell you it's ok to go. Even if nothing has happened for 4 hours. And even if it's obvious they've forgotten your existence. And you know that if they did remember you were there they wouldn't mind sending you home. It's just taboo to ever ask. You just have to sit there....hoping they'll notice you and say you can go.

I started asking if I could go home if it was later than 5:00 and I hadn't done a single thing for for greater than 2 hours. It didn't seem to affect my evaluations in any way.

 

[t33sg1rl]

The most annoying thing about third year is realizing that during the last two years, they only presented about 5% of what I need to know, and I've forgotten the better part of that already.

 

[OrnotMajestic]

The most annoying part? When fellow students go behind your back to the attending (who is never on the floor so they don't know what is going on), ask REEEEAALLLLY sweetly to "scrub in on this procedure/surgery", when it isn't their patient. Then when the med student goes in to do it, the attending says "oh, we already have a student", even though that student hasn't even SEEN that patient before. Basically, steals other people's procedures behind their back.

This has happened to me several times. Someone is going to get their tires slashed soon. Effing gunners.

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

Subjective grading. My senior passed on to me this morning that she and my attending think I'm "doing really great", but that my current attendings is the absolutely brutal on evaluations, giving substantially lower scores than other attendings to the same students. So, "don't worry if your evaluation looks bad". Sure, he'll only be a part of my grade, but kinda sucks that one of my evaluations is going to be coming from the Ebenezer Scrooge of evaluations.

 

[docjolly]

The most annoying part? When fellow students go behind your back to the attending (who is never on the floor so they don't know what is going on), ask REEEEAALLLLY sweetly to "scrub in on this procedure/surgery", when it isn't their patient. Then when the med student goes in to do it, the attending says "oh, we already have a student", even though that student hasn't even SEEN that patient before. Basically, steals other people's procedures behind their back.

This has happened to me several times. Someone is going to get their tires slashed soon. Effing gunners.

Wow! That's soooooooo not right...I'm sorry about that 🙁

 

[ocean11]

The most annoying part? When fellow students go behind your back to the attending (who is never on the floor so they don't know what is going on), ask REEEEAALLLLY sweetly to "scrub in on this procedure/surgery", when it isn't their patient. Then when the med student goes in to do it, the attending says "oh, we already have a student", even though that student hasn't even SEEN that patient before. Basically, steals other people's procedures behind their back.

This has happened to me several times. Someone is going to get their tires slashed soon. Effing gunners.

My advice to you is to confront those students, thats not right! The student should at least talk to you BEFORE the attending! I've seen it done at my school too..... sometimes the students don't realize that there is another student on the case. But if u guys are all on the same team, things should be obvious.....

Good luck sorry to hear about this BS....

 

[Tired]

My advice to you is to confront those students, thats not right! The student should at least talk to you BEFORE the attending! I've seen it done at my school too..... sometimes the students don't realize that there is another student on the case. But if u guys are all on the same team, things should be obvious.....

This person really needs to either grow a pair and tell their classmates to back the f*ck off, or go to the Chief and have them handle it.

 

[OrnotMajestic]

This person really needs to either grow a pair and tell their classmates to back the f*ck off, or go to the Chief and have them handle it.

It's the chief who allows it. He plays favorites, and some students are expert ass-kissers. Trust me, I've already spoken up.

 

[chagall]

- "Lets go see the patient together" -- translation: "Go stand in the corner and don't do anything. And don't talk. In fact, try to be completely invisible."

This is my biggest gripe right now. I've been seeing patients by myself for almost a year (don't ask, it was a complicated scheduling thing), and now my resident and the clinic "system" don't generally allow it. I've even told my resident, especially when he has a lot to do, "you know, I'd be happy to go see this patient myself and report back to you," but he says, "oh no...we can go together." 😡

 

[ocean11]

It's the chief who allows it. He plays favorites, and some students are expert ass-kissers. Trust me, I've already spoken up.

YUP! I believe you! it sucks, but remember you'll be done with this rotation soon, you will finish it and move on.

As for the other students, I would confront them if the chief condones this behavior. You don't have to be rude, but just be upfront and say "Listen, you might not have realized that these are my patients, but in the future I would like to scub in on them myself." --> if that dosn't work you can be ruder or go higher in the chain.

 

[sikegeek]

I hate it when residents expect you to know that they have a certain way of writing orders/prescriptions etc. before ever even having met them. Then they act like their way is the only valid way it can be done.

 

[raidermedic]

I hated the medical "bullies." People who know you're a third year and can give screw with you knowing damn well that theres not a damn thing you can do about it. Everyone from attendings, residents, scrub techs, nurses, secretaries the list goes on. I even heard one CRNA say that picking on students was one of the perks of his job. I have no problem being yelled at whether it's called for or not (hey your just making yourself look like an ass). But if you're such a tough guy go ahead and and throw the whole hospital ranking thing out the window and be willing to step outside if you really think your temper tantrum is called for. If you're going to be a bully at least be a real one who is actually willing to throw down for being such an ass. These hospital "bullies" are annoying because they know damn well in any other field they would get their ass' kicked on a daily basis but find that being in the hospital allows them to get away with such things.

No I don't believe violence is the solution, but I've always believed that any person with integrity should only say what they are willing to back up.

 

[AmoryBlaine]

I hated the medical "bullies." People who know you're a third year and can give screw with you knowing damn well that theres not a damn thing you can do about it. Everyone from attendings, residents, scrub techs, nurses, secretaries the list goes on. I even heard one CRNA say that picking on students was one of the perks of his job. I have no problem being yelled at whether it's called for or not (hey your just making yourself look like an ass). But if you're such a tough guy go ahead and and throw the whole hospital ranking thing out the window and be willing to step outside if you really think your temper tantrum is called for. If you're going to be a bully at least be a real one who is actually willing to throw down for being such an ass. These hospital "bullies" are annoying because they know damn well in any other field they would get their ass' kicked on a daily basis but find that being in the hospital allows them to get away with such things.

No I don't believe violence is the solution, but I've always believed that any person with integrity should only say what they are willing to back up.

I experiencd quite a bit of that during the first half of my third year. You just have to learn to snap back at them quickly. You can always just meekly take it but I really think you lose a bit of yourself when you just let people walk on top of you.

I had to lay smack down on a scrub nurse during one case. She thought that I had touched the Bovie machine as I walked by it gowned and gloved. Came running across the OR shouting "you! you! medical student! you touched that machine! you're not sterile! you have to go rescrub!"
In plain sight of my attending and chief resident I say, "no, I didn't, and no, I don't."
She keeps on me, we argue for a few seconds until I just said, "I didn't touche your damned Bovie and I'm not going to change." My resident laughed and we got going. Later he told me he thought I did a great job.


It can be done.