Just because I'm curious (and I don't know why I didn't think to ask this when I finished all of my rotations, because I think it's interesting to compare) - how did your OBGYN rotation go, if you happen to be a medical student reading this (or ex-medical student)? How were the attendings, residents? Did you feel that everyone hated your guts? (Sorry, that was probably just me, actually.) What was your schedule like? And what kinds of things did you do - like a week in L&D, a week on Gyn surgery, a few clinic days, etc.?

I'm just interested in how things are done at other medical schools. I know some students from other places (like the one from hither and the other guy from yon) read here sometimes - and maybe a few from my school too. If you're from my school, could you say so in your comment? You don't have to leave your name if you don't want to, and don't mention the school name either, because I don't think I ever have on the blog. Just tell me you go to school with me.

Or, nobody say anything at all. That would be okay too.

And also, I'm terrified of getting my OBGYN evaluation back - 50% of our grade comes from clinical evaluations (30% from attendings, 20% from residents.) I'm particularly afraid of the residents part, since I really did feel disliked. It could have been because I posted a few weeks ago about being disappointed in the rotation and such - but can't I say that? I've already picked up this year that we're supposed to be super-human robots who are made of stone and lack emotions (and think all patients in pain are drug-seeking trash) but are we also expected to pretend everyone and everything is wonderfully wonderful? Because it (and they) just isn't (and aren't.) I've always been one to not hide the way I really feel about things - I get really irritated when people are sweet as can be to your face and then rip you behind your back, and I just won't do that. Maybe I wasn't supposed to say that the atmosphere in the department was just weird, and not really conducive to learning at all - but that's how I felt. And it made me feel less crazy to find out that other students who had been through the rotation felt the same way as I did about things. So I thought I might make someone feel better, who was feeling the way I did but thought they were the only one. That's all. I didn't mean to hurt anybody or slander anyone - I didn't mention any names. I was just venting. And also, after that post (which I know was read and discussed by at least a few of the residents) they seemed quite a bit nicer to me. But maybe that was only to my face. Disclaimer: I'm not lumping everyone into the same group. Some of the residents and attendings were really great. (Actually, almost every attending was really great. I only got the "I hate your guts" vibe from one.)

Oh well, I can't do anything about it now. I did the same thing that I did on the previous three rotations - I was interested (genuinely), I asked questions (at least until I felt so uncomfortable that I stopped), I tried to see as many patients and write as many notes and be as helpful as possible (the patients seemed to appreciate me, at least - one of the ladies told me that I was the kindest person she had encountered in the hospital. Ha.) And I tried to improve - if I made a mistake, I tried not to make it twice. And also, darn it all, I'm a happy and cheerful person - but when you feel so unliked for no apparent reason, and when your attempts to help and be friendly and learn things fall flat time after time, it's just hard to keep that up.

But I haven't gotten anything close to a negative evaluation before (except for that one guy, The Attending Who Shall Not Be Named) and since the consensus is that OBGYN is the worst rotation of the 3rd year (I've heard over and over that Surgery is busier with more work and more hours, but the atmosphere is much better) I don't expect to get any negative evaluations from my last two, Pediatrics and Surgery. These evaluations are used to write our "Dean's Letter" (which is now called something else, but I can't remember what) that goes along with our residency applications. If something negative shows up only once, it can be tossed, assuming a personality conflict or a misunderstanding or something. But if it's a recurring pattern of the same negative thing popping up in the evaluation for more than one rotation, it stays.

So I'm not that worried about what the evaluation will actually SAY (although it may upset me, just because I felt really misunderstood and that the department didn't actually get to know the real me) but I am worried about my grade. Since the "clinical" part, like I said, is 50% of my grade, they could easily trash me and make half of my grade really bad - impossible to make up. And if I don't get a C or better in the rotation, I have to do the whole horrible thing over again.

Ack! I'm driving myself nuts. I'll stop blathering, and you can tell me how OBGYN went for you. And also, any tips for Pediatrics or Surgery? The floor is open for those too!

Doctors are funny!

That is, except the tactless ones that ruin the Internal Medicine clerkship for 3rd year medical students. Anyway, I found this article online from The Journal of Family Practice (Howard J. Bennett, April 1995) and it amused me. It's about humor in the medical practice, and has wit throughout. Here's a couple of my favorites:

A surgeon, an internist, and a family physician go duck hunting.

The surgeon sees a duck, shouts "Duck!" and shoots it down.

The internist sees a duck, shouts "Duck! Rule out quail! Rule out pheasant!" and shoots it down.

The family physician sees a duck and blasts it out of the sky with a burst of machine-gun fire. As the tattered carcass falls to the ground, he remarks, "I don't know what the hell it was, but I sure got it!"

Rule out quail! Rule out pheasant! Hee. It's funny because it's true. I also like this:

To the Editor:

Last year, my husband, a pulmonary fellow, sent me a valentine; he thought that the cardiac system was receiving far too much attention on that day. I thought that your readers would enjoy the valentine.

A Pulmonologist's Valentine
Roses are red
Violets are blue
Without your lungs
Your blood would be too.

Here's the whole thing, if you're interested: Humor in the Medical Literature - Editorial