radiology and pathology??

[MDpride]

I just finished my First clinical rotation in FM with a doc who has strong reputation in his community. He explains basic science/pathophysio/lab results to patient in a language pt. can understand. Every patient in his clinic ( in his absence) has told me I am lucky to have him as my teacher.
He has not taken new patient in last 10 years.

He thinks I would become good radiologist or pathologist but will find myself frustrated in IM or FM.

his reasons :

1) I can absorb lots of info in short amount of time and reproduce.

2) not able to use data from different sources and combine it/synthesize it as required in IM. He once asked me about anemia because patient has low Hct and Hgb. I said thalassemia and stuff but forgot to mention iron def. or blood loss.

MY PROBLEM w/ ASSESSMENT: He NEVER let anybody do H &P. His assessment is based on Questions he asked while seeing patient in hospital and readings he asked me to do.

He says he has taken FM being my first rotation into consideration

SOLUTION from HIM if i want to do IM : Lots and Lots of Problem solving.

I don't mind PATH or RAD. I will use elective to check them out.

How reliable is such assessment?

Have you guys received such honest assessment? How true it turned out to be?

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[Law2Doc]

I just finished my First clinical rotation in FM with a doc who has strong reputation in his community. He explains basic science/pathophysio/lab results to patient in a language pt. can understand. Every patient in his clinic ( in his absence) has told me I am lucky to have him as my teacher.
He has not taken new patient in last 10 years.

He thinks I would become good radiologist or pathologist but will find myself frustrated in IM or FM.

his reasons :

1) I can absorb lots of info in short amount of time and reproduce.

2) not able to use data from different sources and combine it/synthesize it as required in IM. He once asked me about anemia because patient has low Hct and Hgb. I said thalassemia and stuff but forgot to mention iron def. or blood loss.

MY PROBLEM w/ ASSESSMENT: He NEVER let me do H &P. His assessment is based on Questions he asked while seeing patient in hospital and readings he asked me to do.

He says he has taken FM being my first rotation into consideration

SOLUTION from HIM if i want to do IM : Lots and Lots of Problem solving.

I don't mind PATH or RAD. I will use elective to check them out.

How reliable is such assessment?

Have you guys received such honest assessment? How true it turned out to be?

See how you do in other rotations. This guy was in a nice way trying to tell you he didn't think much of your diagnostic or people skills. But there are plenty of idiots who make it to attending level. So chalk this off as one person's opinion. If you get a similar opinion from the next rotation, then I think you need to take it seriously. My own experience over the course of rotations was that there were a few fool attendings whose opinions were totally out of line with the majority, and could be dismissed.

 

[vicinihil]

Personally, I'd take that as a compliment but that's just me.

 

[mTOR]

What an ass. Take it with a grain of salt. A lot of students have difficulty formulating diagnostic and management heuristics when they first start their clinical rotations. That's the whole point of third year. To learn that crap.

 

[mTOR]

Personally, I'd take that as a compliment but that's just me.

Haha yeh it's a sly diss, but seriously, radiology and pathology are the best specialties in medicine IMO

 

[turkeyjerky]

wow, what a deuchebag. blow it off dude, I remember your other thread about this a-hole; wait until you get to a real rotation to take any stock in the feedback they give you.

 

[Mr hawkings]

Is it normal for clerkship preceptors to give advice or feedback on what specialty they think you are more suited for based on how you do in theirs?

 

[tremulousNeedle]

See how you do in other rotations. This guy was in a nice way trying to tell you he didn't think much of your diagnostic or people skills. But there are plenty of idiots who make it to attending level. So chalk this off as one person's opinion. If you get a similar opinion from the next rotation, then I think you need to take it seriously. My own experience over the course of rotations was that there were a few fool attendings whose opinions were totally out of line with the majority, and could be dismissed.

All this, plus don't forget that this was your first clinical rotation. A lot of med students don't make the best impressions in their first month. Learn from your mistakes and figure out what you love to do. And don't put too much weight on the thoughts of an attending that can determine your destiny after only one month into your formative years.

 

[vicinihil]

This guy is FM? He's probably bitter about his prospects and slightly of jealous of medical students that are still at crossroads of deciding on a profession. I would say it's also a little inferiority complex and to make himself feel better, he has to push you down.

 

[theVster]

Sounds like a jerk to me. It's one thing to give you constructive criticism but he was basically saying you have no people skills. I don't know where that assessment is coming from but you also have to take what attendings say with a grain of salt. And it's family med... so who cares... treat it as a vacation and go on with your next clerkship.

 

[MDpride]

Sounds like a jerk to me. It's one thing to give you constructive criticism but he was basically saying you have no people skills. I don't know where that assessment is coming from but you also have to take what attendings say with a grain of salt. And it's family med... so who cares... treat it as a vacation and go on with your next clerkship.

He NEVER let anybody do H &P. His assessment is based on Questions he asked while seeing patient in hospital and readings he asked me to do.

 

[TinyFish]

Okay, this thread caught my eye, I admit, because I decided to go into pathology.

There are so many things wrong with this picture.
First of all, it's your first rotation - putting together clinical information is very difficult, and if he expects you to do it right away, he's either an idiot, a jerk who is trying to play with your emotions, or has totally forgotten what it's like to be in your position.

Second of all - seriously? He's not letting you do H&P's? This is the worst pedagogy I've ever heard of. You can only learn so much from reading. You can read until your face is blue and NEVER be able to put a patient puzzle together. There are about a million things that you just can't read in a book. Of course you said "Thalassemia." It's what we read about. It's what's in our heads, because rare things are more interesting. There is NO WAY you'll be able to improve if you don't have real life, hands-on experience. Not watching HIM, not listening to HIM, YOU have to do it YOURSELF. Until you do, no one can evaluate your clinical competency.

Third of all - he shows an insulting lack of insight into both specialties that he suggested for you, and a lack of insight into the right way to make a choice of specialty. Combining clinical information into a big picture is CRUCIAL to good practice in ANY specialty, including rads and path. A pathologist will make a poor diagnostician and a poor teacher if s/he doesn't synthesize information. Furthermore, using superficial factors, evaluated during your first rotation of your first clinical year, is a terrible way to make a residency choice. You need to see all your options, PRACTICE, and then sit down and think about your personality, life priorities, and intellectual desires/talents to make a decision. This attending is too self-absorbed to see things from your perspective, and clearly has a poor understanding of what other specialties involved.

I would sit back, relax, and try my best (I know it's hard) to ignore thoughtless statements like the ones made by your attending. You will encounter many people during third and fourth years who will say stupid, careless things to medical students without thinking about how their words will be interpreted.

 

[TinyFish]

...and, as a morale booster, don't worry about putting things together...it gets much, much easier with practice. If you like IM or FM, don't discard the possibility because of what one guy said. Keep at it, do another elective, and see if it's something you can see yourself working hard on.

 

[colbgw02]

This dude sounds like a loser of epic proportions. He'll be just one of countless people who don't know their ***end from their elbow to which you'll have to kowtow on your way up the ladder. Although your interaction with this type of person never completely goes away, it will diminish over time.

Also, nevermind that this clown has little to no basis on which to judge you, but you need to do what you love. Don't do what you're good at or what you think your personality fits. Find something you enjoy and the rest will work itself out.