Venting

[oldManDO2009]

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I just got my schedule and I will be working 26 - 12 hour shifts most months. I am so pissed. I came to this hospital because I did not match and wanted a laid back transitional year so I could apply to EM again this year (already!!!). When I spoke to the program director - the director described a laid back program and I show up to the inner circle of hell. I am so screwed because I have no options and I have to suck it up and put up with a program that can't fill its spots (did not know that) and beats its interns like rented mules. Anyway, I should start sleeping now because I will not see much of that or my family this year.



Whining over.

 

[peppy]

Sorry to hear that you wound up with a situation that wasn't what you expected.
I assume that when you mention shifts you mean you're doing a lot of rotations in EM? Have you asked your program if they can switch one of those months during interview season to something lighter?
You probably know about Panda Bear's blog, but in case you haven't seen it, he wrote an entry about facing a similar problem: http://www.studentdoctor.net/pandabearmd/2006/03/22/the-residency-match-part-4/

Hope things work out for you!

 

[FatKid]

Remember oldman,

They do not care about your education. They are just exploiting you to get free labor.

Join the AMA and help put at end to this inhumane treatment.

 

[smq123]

Join the AMA and help put at end to this inhumane treatment.

😕

What's the AMA going to do?

(Not to mention that the PD who put together such a brutal schedule is just as likely to be a member of the AMA....)

 

[Doctor Bob]

I came to this hospital because I did not match and wanted a laid back transitional year so I could apply to EM again this year (already!!!).

I... umm.. so wait. I'm confused. Did you get this spot through the scramble?

If so, would you have refused the spot if the PD told you upfront that you would be working that many shifts?

 

[FatKid]

😕

What's the AMA going to do?

(Not to mention that the PD who put together such a brutal schedule is just as likely to be a member of the AMA....)

If every single resident today went on strike and refused to work more than 60-hours a week, the health care system would collapse.

We need to work through the AMA to achieve our political goals, or we will continue to be ignored and insurance companies will continue to bend us over due to their lobbying in Washington.

 

[EternalMD]

I think you should have assumed most if not all "laid back" transitional programs would have already been filled by highly qualified candidates. That would leave for the most part undesirable programs that aren't chill by any stretch of the imagination. You should of course be glad that you managed to find a position in the scramble while there are many graduates unmatched waiting for next year. But of course you stated this thread was merely a rant so none of what I state should really matter because I'm sure on some level you already knew it.

 

[Winged Scapula]

If you scrambled into this program, there should have been red flags.

As noted above, TYs are usually pretty competitive, so if this program wasn't filled there was probably an issue.

I'm sure you're just venting and don't really care, but you are working less than many residents - 72 hrs per week with a day off every week (on average; 4 days off per month).

 

[MWillie]

It sounds to me that it may be difficult for you to interview and match somewhere given that workload. You really got the shaft, why didn't you scramble into a medicine program?

 

[jdh71]

If you scrambled into this program, there should have been red flags.

As noted above, TYs are usually pretty competitive, so if this program wasn't filled there was probably an issue.

I'm sure you're just venting and don't really care, but you are working less than many residents - 72 hrs per week with a day off every week (on average; 4 days off per month).

This hardly sounds "abusive".

I essentially worked that much during PGY-1 (Categorical IM) and it didn't seem that bad.

I guess the OP was looking for a 9-5, no weekends gig?

 

[Winged Scapula]

This hardly sounds "abusive".

I essentially worked that much during PGY-1 (Categorical IM) and it didn't seem that bad.

I guess the OP was looking for a 9-5, no weekends gig?

My thoughts exactly.

Sounds like the OP either had unrealistic views of what residency entailed or was lead to believe otherwise by the program.