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Had an aha moment a few weeks ago that has made rotations *infinitely* easier to get through that I wanted to share. Had been struggling with frustration at how often I was shadowing, just downright ignored by the attending, or how many countless hours were spent staring at the wall while they charted (somehow using only 2 fingers in the 21st century?).
My problem was that I had been too attached to the idea that I would receive good training on rotations. Then I realized that my goal was not to learn a lot and go see patients and be actively involved in patient care because having this false belief was just leading to a lot of frustration that was sometimes hard to hide.
So I changed my goal to completely let go of the idea that I would see patients or be engaged and challenged on a rotation and instead to completely "go with the flow" and do whatever the attending wanted me to. Want me to see patients? Awesome - that's what I'm here for. Want me to shadow? Awesome, I'll just be friendly and let go of that frustration of "WTF really?!". Want me to stare at the wall and silently let you chart? That's fine too because I've fully accepted that I've been assigned to enter a sensory deprivation chamber every day I walk through those hospital doors. At the end of the day I've let go about caring about the quality of my education and replaced that with going with the flow for the sake of a good evaluation that you're going to write of me.
Anyway, if you're like me and were hoping for a good experience but find yourself ignored by attendings who are burned out af... try just going with the flow and be the medical student they want you to be, not the active/engaged/eager student that you are. So there you have it, a way to beat the game.
My problem was that I had been too attached to the idea that I would receive good training on rotations. Then I realized that my goal was not to learn a lot and go see patients and be actively involved in patient care because having this false belief was just leading to a lot of frustration that was sometimes hard to hide.
So I changed my goal to completely let go of the idea that I would see patients or be engaged and challenged on a rotation and instead to completely "go with the flow" and do whatever the attending wanted me to. Want me to see patients? Awesome - that's what I'm here for. Want me to shadow? Awesome, I'll just be friendly and let go of that frustration of "WTF really?!". Want me to stare at the wall and silently let you chart? That's fine too because I've fully accepted that I've been assigned to enter a sensory deprivation chamber every day I walk through those hospital doors. At the end of the day I've let go about caring about the quality of my education and replaced that with going with the flow for the sake of a good evaluation that you're going to write of me.
Anyway, if you're like me and were hoping for a good experience but find yourself ignored by attendings who are burned out af... try just going with the flow and be the medical student they want you to be, not the active/engaged/eager student that you are. So there you have it, a way to beat the game.