Clerkships/rotation at private offices?

[ToKingdomCome]

How common is it for DO schools to have clerkships at private offices? This sounds like an awful way to learn medicine, eh?

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[cliquesh]

Depends on the school. Some MD students do it too, but, admittedly, to a lesser degree.

 

[ToKingdomCome]

Depends on the school. Some MD students do it too, but, admittedly, to a lesser degree.

how would u rate the quality though? is it awful to be stuck in a private office setting or is there still some benefit from this rotation?

 

[Roxas]

There have been med students at my state school that came back here for FM rotations at private clinics, and many of them loved it. This could partly be because they shadowed the doctors they were now working alongside, but also they got far more personalized attention than if they were at a rotation with multiple other students. Tbh if I was doing FM outpatient, I wouldn't mind doing it at a private clinic as long as the attendings actually let me learn and not just act like I'm in the way. I guess its a gamble.

 

[SLC]

I've had some poor experiences in private practices; and some great experiences. My best rotations have been in private practices fwiw.

I think it has more to do with the rotation, and the preceptor than it being private practice vs. teaching hospital.

 

[mommy2three]

I've had some poor experiences in private practices; and some great experiences. My best rotations have been in private practices fwiw.

I think it has more to do with the rotation, and the preceptor than it being private practice vs. teaching hospital.

Absolutely 100% agree with this

I have had great rotations at private practices and not so great

But I have also had really bad experiences at the larger academic teaching hospitals

Entirely preceptor dependent

 

[Duff84]

I'm sure it depends on the site/preceptors but from my experience, we have Harvard Med students work in our private practice and after a few sessions they are treated almost the same as the residents (they see the patient by themselves, then report back to the supervising physician and discuss the case, and then he just comes back with the student to finish up and says he agrees with his assessment). Then they do the note themselves and the doctor goes over it with them and signs off. Pretty sweet deal for them, they get a lot of experience. I can only hope I find something similar when I'm on rotations.

 

[cabinbuilder]

How common is it for DO schools to have clerkships at private offices? This sounds like an awful way to learn medicine, eh?

Why? That's how many doctors make a living - in an office. A lot of my rotations were in offices. That's how you develop relationships with your patients instead of them being here and gone in the hospital. Not sure what your issue is? Not every rotation is going to be at the hospital, there are many different aspects to a medical career and you should be exposed to as much variety as you can.

 

[SLC]

I'm sure it depends on the site/preceptors but from my experience, we have Harvard Med students work in our private practice and after a few sessions they are treated almost the same as the residents (they see the patient by themselves, then report back to the supervising physician and discuss the case, and then he just comes back with the student to finish up and says he agrees with his assessment). Then they do the note themselves and the doctor goes over it with them and signs off. Pretty sweet deal for them, they get a lot of experience. I can only hope I find something similar when I'm on rotations.

This is exactly what all of my experiences in private practice offices have been like; with one exception, OB.

Oncology, Peds, outpatient portion of my IM, Family Med etc., all situations where I'd go in, interview and examine the patient, suggest labs and/or imaging, and make my diagnosis and suggest treatment. Then the preceptor and I both go in and see the patient together and my assessment is either cosigned, or he/she makes changes as seen fit. Obviously in oncology it wasn't seeing new cancer patients this way, but rather saw the patient with the preceptor, but I saw all the follow-ups on my own first, and I saw all the new hematology patients on my own as well.

Again, with the exception of OB, I have been 100% responsible for all progress and encounter noted from all the patients I see. As with the actual encounter, the preceptor reads and edits or signs the note