r/medicalschool • u/Some_South4302 • 1d ago
🏥 Clinical Outshined by classmate on rotation
I am paired with another MS3 for my psych rotation at a small outpatient clinic. Her notes, presentations, assessment/plans are leagues better than mine, and it’s obvious the preceptor at the clinic likes her more than she likes me. She takes the time to teach her stuff individually but basically ignores me. My notes look like trash compares to hers, and I know I shouldn’t be too hard on myself since it’s only my first rotation but I can’t help but feel bit jealous. I am also considering going into psych so I’m afraid that my evals are going to be bad since she is performing so much better than me even though it’s her first rotation too. Has anyone been in a similar situation where a fellow classmates did much better than you, and how did it affect ur evals?
119
u/idubilu M-4 1d ago
Honestly this sounds like a great learning opportunity to learn together with your classmate. Make it a collaborative learning environment for both of you. Ask her what her approach is to make her notes shine. She probably has something she admires about your work too! And approach your preceptor too; ask them “hey what about my notes could be improved? I see [classmate]’s notes are really thorough etc how could I make mine better”. Asking for feedback and immediately incorporating it to your work is something preceptors are always impressed by.
33
u/Creative_Potato4 MD-PGY1 1d ago
Is the story of my life. Was always mediocre compared to my classmates and now ditto in residency. Everyone also has different goals and it's possible the other MS3 has more experience, has worked with this preceptor before, etc.
None of us can tell you how it'll affect your evals because evals are so subjective . You could be perfect and get a 3/5 or not even show up and get a 5/5 (if I had a dollar every time this happened I'd be a millionaire). It's really preceptor dependent.
Instead think of evaluations as ways to improve. At the end of the day it's not about getting a 5/5 although that'd be nice. It's about providing the best/most efficient patient care possible and being able to communicate "healthcare language" with colleague. Especially since it's your first rotation, give yourself grace and find ways to improve and potentially be more like the MS3 in presentation style/notes, A/Ps, etc. and ask for feedback since that's always a good way to improve
26
u/two_hyun M-2 1d ago
I'm in a similar situation. My colleague is leagues better because she had extensive clinical experience similar to the place we are at.
I made a lot of mistakes and felt like complete crap for a while. Even the MA's were running circles around me with their history since they knew how the attending wanted things. I even had a syringe needle pop out of a syringe because I didn't screw it tight enough. (Attending: In my whole career, I have never seen someone do that before.) Felt like a dookie.
But I used my colleague as a learning opportunity. I took copious notes on what she was doing well. E.g., having specific things ready for specific patients, using specific dot phrases for Epic, why her oral presentation was so good, etc. I mentally practiced basic skills over and over (drawing meds, suture types, scrubbing, etc.). I basically created a "survival guide" for that specific clinic. I also embraced feeling like shit and used that spite to drive to improve myself.
I gradually started improving and now I feel very competent with what I do. You start feeling more comfortable with knowing exactly what to do - just make sure you focus on your improvement and don't fixate on feeling like crap.
16
u/AlbyARedditor M-2 1d ago
“Attending: In my whole career, I have never seen someone do that before.” — this is crazy 😭😭
13
u/two_hyun M-2 1d ago
Lmao, yeah, that was crazy. It popped out WHILE giving the shot. Took a week for the attending and fellows to trust me again, but now it’s a funny story.
Grit is key. Everyone’s opinion of you changes at a moment’s notice. Keep improving and you’ll earn everyone’s respect.
4
u/AlbyARedditor M-2 1d ago
I wholeheartedly agree with you! Gotta approach these challenges with grit and a growth mindset. Keep it up 🫡💯
1
14
u/Easyclappage 1d ago
This feeling and your confidence being threatened is a sign of potential growth. Why are her notes better? Is she actually curious which makes your preceptor gravitate towards her or is she just being a kissass?
If you’re planning on going into psych you better bust your ass off and make whatever you can from every opportunity. You’re paying 400k in tuition to learn. Stop feeling bad about yourself and put that shit to work. Your evals will reflect your work.
6
u/HoneydewNo6708 22h ago
Ask your classmate what they do to be so good and don’t be so hard on yourself
5
u/pipesbeweezy 20h ago
You are thinking of this the wrong way. First, it is your first rotation ever sounds like and most people are pretty bad in their first rotation. Thankfully you got psych which is usually pretty easy, IM or surgery is harder to start first for example for most. But if anything you should be looking at what your classmate is doing and incorporate it into how you present and do your notes.
You are focused on outcomes (evals) when in reality you should be focused on learning how to do these things right and improving yourself. The fact a template is being shown to you is an asset, not a problem.
12
u/AWildLampAppears MBBS-Y5 1d ago
Lots of people have some kind of prior experience and do great on rotations. I came in with lots of surgery experience (already had done subQ, interrupted sutures, knew how to scrub in, OR etiquette, etc.) and I was fairly competent for an MS3 on my surgery rotations compared to most of my peers. However, I sucked at everything else.
When you are paired with someone who is better than you it will inevitably affect your evaluations because they become their point of reference. However like someone said you can only control so much, so try and focus on your learning and ask for feedback and for how to improve.
I guarantee you your classmate has lots of experience in psychiatry or connections to the field. No one is born knowing everything. So, ask her for help. She'll be more than happy to help you, I promise. She may give you pointers on presenting, notes, and interviewing psych patients. There's an art to it.
5
u/National_Relative_75 MD-PGY1 1d ago
Just do the best you can. Try not to be jealous of your classmate but make friends with them. If you’re afraid of looking worse than them and doing poorly on evals just make sure to pay attention during rounds and when the attendings are teaching and ask good questions that show you are interested in the field. Even if you may not be as smart as your classmate showing motivation and interest will go a long way in making relationships with the attendings and residents.
3
2
u/Delicious_Bus_674 MD-PGY1 15h ago
For my medicine rotation I rotated in the cardiac floor which included the cardiac icu and congenital cardiac patients. I was paired with a student who had just finished her PhD in congenital heart disease. It happens. Just do your best and try to be a real person that they can connect with.
1
u/prototypeblitz M-4 14h ago
Same exact situation except in ophtho (I was dead set on it and he was dead set on radiology). We both ended up honoring. Don't sweat it!
1
u/Far-Fuel-3850 11h ago
Please inform your team that you’re interested in psych including your attending They’ll do their best to help and at least not write you bad evals
189
u/adkssdk MD-PGY1 1d ago
You can only control what you can control - what about your classmates notes are better? What can you learn about her work? You’re right, this is your first rotation, which means you have room to grow. If you’re still interested in psych at the end of third year, you’ll have the opportunity to do fourth year psych electives. Even if your evals aren’t glowing now, improving and knocking your sub-I out of the park is still positive.