Communication Interuptus

My school is notorious for its lack of communication. And that's not just in reference to their communication with the students, no, but even with their staff, faculty, affiliated hospitals, etc. Often, when you have a question you start out with the most obvious source of information, who will then refer you to someone else, who will tell you to email this other person, who will then never reply to your email so you call someone else up, who then never responds to your voice mail, so you return to your original source who tells you to check back in a week.

I'd like to think I'm a fairly patient and forgiving person. I tend to let things slide and try to be understanding. Sometimes I will get frustrated, but that tends to happens when things start to buildup and there's the accumulation of questions and a stark absence of answers.

Take for example my first clinical rotation. I arrive, and report to the student coordinator here, who's a lovely lady and full of helpful information and such. I am given a packet that's specifically made for SGU students with a booklet tailored for our clinical rotations at this hospital, Royal Hampshire County Hospital. I'm then told that the information within the booklet is not very reliable, however, and that schedules in there are subject to and most likely have already changed. Well, that's fine because I understand that schedules change and it'd be hard to keep un updated list of all the schedules of all the departments.

Then I find out that I'm not scheduled to do my Psych rotation here as I was previously told, but that I have been scheduled for Peds. Well, this was a surprise as I had clearly communicated with the clinical director of the UK program that I did not want to do IM or Peds here because I felt it important to get a US recommendation letter for those programs, as I am considering them for residency. I was told that this was fine and that my UK rotation schedule had been changed accordingly and confirmed for Ob/Gyn, Psych, and Surg. Wonderful. Now I arrive and the student coordinator is at a loss as to why I was told that I would be doing Psych when I have clearly been scheduled for Peds. Even when I showed her the letter I received stating I would be doing Psych, she couldn't explain it. Well, that's okay. I can always do a Peds Sub-I rotation and get a letter out of that.. no big deal.

I start my rotation eager, excited, and nervous. This is what I've been training for: to work in the hospital, rub elbows with up-and-coming who's who health professionals, learn the secret of the healing touch from veteran attendings, perform innovative procedures, and work miracles. Can we all just agree that I'm naive here and get that out of the way? Anyway, I'm handed a schedule and a welcome letter explaining the schedule and told, "This posting is self-directed. We believe this will facilitate you to learn what you feel is important and of interest to you. Now go forth and do great things."O-kay... Now what? How do I start? Is there a list of things I should be doing, maybe some objectives I'm supposed to try and meet? Who do I talk to? What does the school want me to be able to do? How am I being evaluated? How is anyone going to know that I'm actually doing anything? Hello? Help?

Over the next week I slowly find answers. But it's like scrounging around in a urban city trash bin looking for a slice of unmoldy cheese. Asking the student coordinator doesn't always help because she hasn't been given the answers by the school. Searching on the school website reveals that we're supposed to be keeping logs of our patient encounters so our preceptors can have an idea of how much we're doing and what we've been exposed to. Oh, really? And when were you going to tell me that? So much of what I do know is hear-say from other students. I don't know if I'm missing something crucial or if there's something else that I should be doing that's going to be vital in how I'm to be evaluated in this posting. My concern is that I will finally find out when it's too late, and I can hardly tell the school, "Hey look, it's your fault."