What's the point of being chief?

[Sea_Bass]

I'm about to start intern year and I'm wondering what the motivations are for someone wanting to be chief resident?

I like to be a leader and I think of myself as easy to get along with and approachable, so I could possibly picture myself as chief. But what's the motivation? Does it help with future jobs? I don't plan to do a fellowship.

Oh and one other thing, I'm a Caribbean grad at a program with all US MDs. I doubt I'll be treated differently than my peers, but would this in any way decrease my chances if I wanted to gun for the chief position?

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[cabinbuilder]

I took the chief job so I could be in charge of all the schedules as I knew I would make it fair for everyone. I was the liaison between the residents and the director and took care of any problems with folks calling in sick. I had the final say usually with arguments among residents, etc. It does look good on a resume as it is a leadership position with a lot of responsibility, etc.

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

Looks good on CV, means nothing for job outlook unless you're looking to remain in academics (within your own program or another program).

 

[JustPlainBill]

Being chief is usually a leadership position -- which can make or break a program -- good ones look out for their people, help the struggling and generally keep the attendings from shark tanking anyone in particular ---

Chiefs like the ones I had are twits who are in it for themselves -- intern year it was 2 females who decided they were tragically hip and could do no wrong -- took the easy shifts for themselves, and generally were a pain in the ass;
second year was just a joke but the topper was my pgy 3 year -- one chief was so quiet they could melt into a wall and basically went along with everything the PD and other chief had to say --- the other chief was a real piece of work ---
they actually never completed the required 2 months of night float and pretty much weren't around the residency for the entire third year -- so many of their rotations were "academic studies" that they could have had special recognition in that field -- which consisted of staying home and reading journal articles -- the prick didn't even understand the 2 different night float schedules and that one was heavily weekend with long stretches and the other was more weeknights in 3-4 day blocks with more time off.

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

Being chief is usually a leadership position -- which can make or break a program -- good ones look out for their people, help the struggling and generally keep the attendings from shark tanking anyone in particular ---

Chiefs like the ones I had are twits who are in it for themselves -- intern year it was 2 females who decided they were tragically hip and could do no wrong -- took the easy shifts for themselves, and generally were a pain in the ass;
second year was just a joke but the topper was my pgy 3 year -- one chief was so quiet they could melt into a wall and basically went along with everything the PD and other chief had to say --- the other chief was a real piece of work ---
they actually never completed the required 2 months of night float and pretty much weren't around the residency for the entire third year -- so many of their rotations were "academic studies" that they could have had special recognition in that field -- which consisted of staying home and reading journal articles -- the prick didn't even understand the 2 different night float schedules and that one was heavily weekend with long stretches and the other was more weeknights in 3-4 day blocks with more time off.

Hahaha reminds me of the Chiefs at my former program. Had no balls and did whatever PD wanted. The PD and other faculty within academic review committee sharked whoever they wanted and the Chiefs didn't do ****.

 

[letsdoit]

LOL, if you are going into FM, it is pretty pointless. I wouldn't recommend doing it. That said, I ended up doing it because no one in my class wanted it, LOL. My PD had to beg us (me and my co-chief) to take the job. LOL! Obviously, I did it for him because he took a chance on me and I was/still am very greatful for matching into the residency program.

 

[n3xa]

Chiefs like the ones I had are twits who are in it for themselves -- intern year it was 2 females who decided they were tragically hip and could do no wrong -- took the easy shifts for themselves, and generally were a pain in the ass; second year was just a joke but the topper was my pgy 3 year -- one chief was so quiet they could melt into a wall and basically went along with everything the PD and other chief had to say --- the other chief was a real piece of work --- they actually never completed the required 2 months of night float and pretty much weren't around the residency for the entire third year -- so many of their rotations were "academic studies" that they could have had special recognition in that field -- which consisted of staying home and reading journal articles -- the prick didn't even understand the 2 different night float schedules and that one was heavily weekend with long stretches and the other was more weeknights in 3-4 day blocks with more time off.

wow

 

[deleted87716]

FWIW, this is a two-year-old zombie thread. The OP is probably long gone by now.

 

[FrustratedFamDoc]

One of the most important things in life is that when things aren't going the way you think they're supposed to go, is determining who to assign blame to. Point of chief is so that administration can blame you for resident shortcomings and residents can blame you for not fighting hard enough to make what is a pretty crappy job (residency, that is) less crappy. You'll also be tasked the thankless job of call schedule, and trying to take care of any infighting you may have in the ranks. You'll also be interviewing every new applicants and putting the program's best face forward. Oh, and usually no pay increase for the added responsibility.

It's a pretty sweet gig... no really.

 

[deleted87716]

They wanted me to be chief. I figured I could either have a (relatively, compared to the first two) relaxing third year, or I could be chief. I decided to have a relaxing third year.