The Rotation Files, the Dreaded Eval Form

Dear Rising Seniors,

During the summer betwixt my junior and senior years in high school, I did this nerdy summer program at Rice University (the ‘Harvard of the South’, not a school for yellow-folk) where we attended some seminars and got to stay at the dorms. It sounded a lot better than it really was; I spent the majority of the day trying to stay awake while suffering from a horrible case of ennui (boredom). Having no TV at the dorms, I finished Ellison’s Invisible Man while attempting to keep warm since my dorm-mate insisted on keeping the place at a toasty 60 degrees (Fahrenheit).

It was at the beginning of this program that I first heard the phrase ‘rising senior’. And it sounded really cool, like if I was a piece of dough almost ready to be baked. So I’ll use that term to describe my buddies who will be incarcerated at various hospitals/pharmacies starting in May. If they do well and heed my advice, they’ll be let out at just under a year for good behavior.

So this is the long awaited continuation of the Rotation Files. Today’s introductory topic is the Evaluation Form.

Aim to improve in all attributes. There was some famous study that concluded that when things improved to a high point, people liked it better than when things started and stayed at the same high point. A quick simple example: When you start out at $13/hr and they give you a $1 raise at 6 months and 12 months, it feels better than if you start out at $15 and stay that way for a year. It seems like you made progress.

Similarly, when you first meet a person and you think s/he pretty much sucks as a human-being, but then find out later that s/he really doesn’t suck all that much, then you will probably like her/him better than if you didn’t think s/he sucked in the first place. This, as it turns out, is the plot of Pride and Prejudice. It, as it also turns out, is also the plot of Twilight. Bam! And that’s why teenage girls swoon over pasty Edward and his 4-inch bird’s nest hairdo! (I happen to like chick flicks, but Twilight was a bit much).

So with your self-evaluations, always mark yourself low initially, and aim to increase at the midpoint and final.

Humility is golden. Some Christian high-ranking official, possibly a pope, said that the three best virtues are humility, humility, and humility. Most likely you’re not going to know a lick about the rotation or the drugs. And even if you did, your preceptor is the ‘expert’ in the material because s/he has been working at it on a daily basis. Rotations will be a humbling experience.

Eventually (around the 4th rotation), you’ll get to a point where you feel comfortable to mark yourself a 3 or 4 on the initial evaluation. DON’T! Even on the 5th and 6th rotations, I never marked myself above a 3/5 for the knowledge and skills attributes.

Different types of attributes. There are some exceptions, as hinted in the previous paragraph. On most evaluation forms, there are attributes which I categorize as knowledge/skills, attitude, and integrity/character. These should all be handled differently.

Knowledge and skills – these are the attributes that pertain to the subject matter of the rotation. They are the ‘proficient in topic discussions,’ ‘able to assess patient information,’ ‘able to develop follow-up plans’, etc. This is what you should learn during the rotation, so it would make sense to mark yourself low initially and improve at the midway and final evaluations. I would say 1 or 2, depending on your comfort level with the rotation; 3 if you’re feeling ballsy.

Attitude – These are the ‘follows directions,’ 'is a team player,' ‘is willing to learn,’ ‘expresses intellectual curiosity’, etc. I would generally mark myself at least a 3 on these attributes, because these are independent of the rotation. You should come in with a positive attitude, so mark yourself decently. This signals that you’re open to learn.

Integrity/Character – These are the ‘displays strong moral character,’ ‘possesses high integrity,’ ‘is honest,’ etc. Again, these are independent of the rotation, but unlike attitude attributes, these are somewhat immutable characteristics. You either have it or you don’t. There’s not really much of an in-between. So rank yourself at least a 4, because some preceptors frown upon students giving themselves 5’s on anything at first.

Self-evaluation = what you think your preceptor will give you. Although you should aim to improve your evaluation scores, try to mark down what you think your preceptor will give you. It is a self-evaluation, but you can make a bad impression if your preceptor thinks you’ve over- or under-estimated yourself. But when in doubt, always guess under. At worst, it shows lack of confidence; at best, it shows humility, which is a good thing.

One neat thing you can do is underestimate yourself for the midpoint so that your preceptor evaluation will be higher than your self-evaluation. Then on the final self-evaluation, just copy your preceptor’s midpoint evaluation.

I know some people feel that the self-evaluation should be a SELF-evaluation, but some students are just too arrogant or too humble to be left to their own devices.

Get a pre-evaluation. To get a feel of what your preceptor will give you, ask how you are doing and how you can improve at the end of each week. Ask more often if you can get away with it. Usually if you’re casual about it, they will let you know. But try not to be annoying.

You know that guy/girl who repeatedly asks, ‘where is this relationship going’? Don’t be him/her.

Give your preceptor the form a week ahead and remind periodically. You are ultimately responsible for completing and turning in the evaluation forms. Preceptors are real people and have lives outside the pharmacy. Don’t give an evaluation form to them on Friday and expect them to complete it by the afternoon. Even if they do finish it, they will probably mark you lower because of your poor planning.

Sometimes preceptors forget to do your evaluation. Give them subtle reminders a few days beforehand like, ‘How’s the evaluation going?’ or ‘Did you get a chance to look at my evaluation?’ But avoid being confrontational.

Be prepared to explain yourself. A vast majority of preceptors will talk to you about the evaluation. If you’ve been getting informal pre-evaluations, then nothing should come as a surprise. They may ask you why you marked yourself the way you did, so be prepared; don’t use the reason that g-said-so.

The reasons don’t have to be spectacular; just something to back it up. If you had followed my advice, most of the questions will be, ‘Why did you rank yourself low?’ Say something that accentuates humility.

Lastly, evaluations should not be scary. Think of them as a learning experience, not as a way for some horrible preceptor to crucify you for your lack of knowledge. But ultimately, there is no substitute for knowledge. These tips won’t save you if you epic fail in presentations and pimping* sessions.

But even if you end up with a poor evaluation, it shows great character and attitude if you respond well in the second half of the rotation.


I will end by repeating that there is no substitute for knowledge. Rotations are meant to be a learning experience, so don’t cheapen them by trying not to learn.

The rest of this week will be dedicated to rotation stuff, since I feel guilty for ignoring my blog.

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*Pimping happens when preceptors rapid-fire questions at you until you mess up. It’s an utterly frightening experience for students and an utterly delightful experience for preceptors. Like the ‘now-defunct’ hazing in fraternities, the students who survive and become preceptors get to torture the next batch of pledges (interns).