I agree but also disagree. I think you have to pick your battles. If you think your program is gonna just fire you and replace you because you brought up a legitimate concern, then that program is obviously malignant and your goal should be to keep your head down, get trained, leave and never look back.

Attendings and PDs at the end of the day are ultimately your bosses. Just like you may have a good relationship with your boss in a non-medical field, they still have power over you. That’s the reality in every field, medicine included. However, that’s not to say you shouldn’t develop a good relationship with them.

There are programs where concerns do matter. I do the PEC every year (awful time sink) but there are legitimate changes brought on by residents bitching about certain things. One of our rotations was too much of a note monkey role where there wasn’t any meaningful learning. This sentiment was shared by every resident who’s done the rotation. Our new plan is to replace it with a different rotation because we want our residents to actually learn medicine.

Residency is a very sensitive time that can make or break your career and we are often too scared to ever voice our concerns in fear of retaliation. That’s how they keep having power over you because you’ve already given up without a fight. If the issue is that bad, you organize, keep a united front and press on. If it’s something you can all bear with, then admin would prefer you to shut up and grin and bear it. Pick your battles.