Vent: It's unfair

[Iceppl]

I want to get it off the chest. I got my final score back for all M3 clerkships and I felt that most assessments and evaluations were unfair. They did not reflect my knowledge and capabilities. People who got better scores are those who have played the game well - leeching off the upperclassmen for past questions, spotting school exam questions, knowing whom to suck up to...*you know the rest*. I would like to say to anyone who is going through/had already gone through this ****ty experience, that it sucks.

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[Mad Jack]

I want to get it off the chest. I got my final score back for all M3 clerkships and I felt that most assessments and evaluations were unfair. They did not reflect my knowledge and capabilities. People who got better scores are those who have played the game well - leeching off the upperclassmen for past questions, spotting school exam questions, knowing whom to suck up to...*you know the rest*. I would like to say to anyone who is going through/had already gone through this ****ty experience, that it sucks.

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I guess the question is why does it bother you so much? Do you think it will prevent you from entering your field of choice?

 

[Iceppl]

I guess the question is why does it bother you so much? Do you think it will prevent you from entering your field of choice?

It bothers me so much because I feel those people with better scores did not deserve it. I I have studied really hard but those people have an easy way out because they have played it so well. Honestly, I wouldn't want them to be my doctors in the future. Some of them are my rotation partners and I know their knowledge level. We only had a few days to study for in-house exams and I don't think they could improve their knowledge so much within those few days. They just leeched off the upperclassmen to recall some past questions. It bothers me so much because it is not the true reflection of their knowledge and capability.

Sometimes, it was so embarrassing to even see (as a bystander) how much sucking up that they were doing to the residents and attendings + showing unhealthy amount of friendliness to everyone + being 'present' by doing bs small talks + agreeing to everything residents/attendings say + pretending to be likeable + ...

Now I have learnt not to blame the system and those people. I need to blame myself for being too naive for believing that fairness and just exist in medicine. But the silver lining is that I could warn my friends/family to avoid seeing which doctors in the future.

Yes, it could prevent me from entering my field of choice. Competing with those people, where is the fairness? Those people would always manage to find an easy way out in every situation.

 

[Maximus2020]

I know your pain about this. It sucks - plain and simple. The grading system is severely flawed. I'm sorry that things didn't work out well. But you're not down and out yet - the sub-I can be the saving grace. You have to make the best of the situation no matter what.

 

[FCMike11]

Empathetic joy for your classmates. Become more someone people enjoy working with. The sooner you get over comparing the better - it’ll add another level of anxiety. Residency is stressful enough to learn - add in comparison and you can really start to get crushed. We are all here to help eachother. If you encounter something else wise, as much as you can try to be the person that brings that energy. Avoid those people. Understand there will be a lot of things you don’t enjoy coming up - and there are ways to make that easier. Be a facilitator

Best of luck to you. Just trying to shoot straight; I hear you. It gets better! Truly.

 

[Cranjis McBasketball]

Honestly "the game" doesnt ever stop. Its just a part of life. Better to just start playing it now

 

[Drjc1977]

It bothers me so much because I feel those people with better scores did not deserve it. I I have studied really hard but those people have an easy way out because they have played it so well. Honestly, I wouldn't want them to be my doctors in the future. Some of them are my rotation partners and I know their knowledge level. We only had a few days to study for in-house exams and I don't think they could improve their knowledge so much within those few days. They just leeched off the upperclassmen to recall some past questions. It bothers me so much because it is not the true reflection of their knowledge and capability.

Sometimes, it was so embarrassing to even see (as a bystander) how much sucking up that they were doing to the residents and attendings + showing unhealthy amount of friendliness to everyone + being 'present' by doing bs small talks + agreeing to everything residents/attendings say + pretending to be likeable + ...

Now I have learnt not to blame the system and those people. I need to blame myself for being too naive for believing that fairness and just exist in medicine. But the silver lining is that I could warn my friends/family to avoid seeing which doctors in the future.

Yes, it could prevent me from entering my field of choice. Competing with those people, where is the fairness? Those people would always manage to find an easy way out in every situation.

This is a time when perhaps you should do a little self reflection. When I was doing clinical rotations, it appeared to me that if the resident liked you, then you received the better evaluation. If they didn't like you, you were screwed. Since being out of school these past 40+ years and reflecting on my experiences as a younger and rather sophomoric individual, I have come to realize it is more easy to blame the system rather than to maybe blame myself. Be as honest with yourself as you can be and then move on. One more word of advise, be careful when criticizing a colleague. That door swings both ways both professionally and legally. I wish you well. Now, go out there and save some lives.

 

[Fatalis]

It bothers me so much because I feel those people with better scores did not deserve it.

Right, you feel that way yet their grade reflects otherwise. I get it, I have been there before; student gets a better eval bc they suck up or resident/attending has a crush on them yet you know more and do more but the eval doesn't reflect it, it sucks no way you think about it. Guess what tho, you worked hard and will continue to work hard to match where and what you want and in 5-10 years from now, like I am reflecting on it, it means next to nothing.

 

[WhittyPsyche]

I want to get it off the chest. I got my final score back for all M3 clerkships and I felt that most assessments and evaluations were unfair. They did not reflect my knowledge and capabilities. People who got better scores are those who have played the game well - leeching off the upperclassmen for past questions, spotting school exam questions, knowing whom to suck up to...*you know the rest*. I would like to say to anyone who is going through/had already gone through this ****ty experience, that it sucks.

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Doubt it is a coincidence that every single rotation you under performed compared to what you think you “deserve”. Honestly this is some juvenile whining. Work harder, be more like able if need be.

 

[WashingtonR]

At my school/hospital, some residents give straight 5s to every med student who isn't an a-hole. Other residents set the average score at 3 and adjust accordingly, only giving 5s to the exceptional students. Your grade is a complete crapshoot, depending on how many residents you get from category A and how many from category B.

My resident eval scores have been all over the map. My attending scores, by contrast, have been much more consistent.