Making internship easier: 4th yr scheduling

[franklinthedog]

So, at the start of 4th year i have to take Step II and do an ER rotation to get some letters....

But, after that, what? Do you go for easy stuff or stuff that will actually help in 4th year? It seems like a great oppty to learn w/o stress, residency apps will be in and "grades" won't be the determining factor in my rotations at that point.

I was thinking the following would help:

Rads (neuro and bone/joint)
ICU (surgery or medical?)
dermatology
more ER (ambulatory/fast track)
trauma surgery
pathology


but, you readers know more than me, so please help with guidance...

THANKS TONS IN ADVANCE

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[Red Runner]

Others may disagree, but I think you have the right idea.

Yes, fourth year can be a slack year but it can also be a stress free learning opportunity. One of the last you will likely have. I decided to do an AI in the MICU in April of my fourth year and while everyone was at the beach I was on call. I admit, it was no where near as fun as margaritas and the beach but it helped me immensely at the beginning of my Intern year. I was much more comfortable in the ICU setting and with 'sick' people in the ED.

If I had fourth year to do over again in addition to the ICU rotation and the ED months, I would have taken a longer Radiology course (ours was two weeks and included an intro to everything - much that we don't need in EM), and I would have taken an elective with ID in an attempt to learn my abx coverage better.

Good luck, enjoy, and schedule at least a few slack rotations.

 

[GeneralVeers]

Don't expect anything you do in 4th year to make internship easier. The learning curve when you're an intern is so enormous, that you're unlikely to make a dent in it.

In your 4th year it's a good time to take a breather, relax and have fun. Interested in a cake dermatology rotation? Go ahead and do it. Want to spend a month in Florida? Go ahead and do it!

You should also take electives that interest you, or that you think will be valuable later on. Cardiology, ICU, peds-EM would all be helpful.

 

[Hawk22]

So, at the start of 4th year i have to take Step II and do an ER rotation to get some letters....

But, after that, what? Do you go for easy stuff or stuff that will actually help in 4th year? It seems like a great oppty to learn w/o stress, residency apps will be in and "grades" won't be the determining factor in my rotations at that point.

I was thinking the following would help:

Rads (neuro and bone/joint)
ICU (surgery or medical?)
dermatology
more ER (ambulatory/fast track)
trauma surgery
pathology


but, you readers know more than me, so please help with guidance...

THANKS TONS IN ADVANCE

Definitely take Path off that list. As a student I've heard Trauma surgery is only so-so at UNC, so the other rotations would probably be much more helpful. Pretty good list otherwise.

 

[sleepymed]

I'm scheduling my fourth year and the nice thing about EM, is you really can't go wrong with which elective you choose!

I'm doing a Med sub-I, ER sub-I, another ER rotation, Primary care (left-over from third year), Renal and electrolytes rotation, and a GYN clinic... I'm trying to fit in rads, but I don't think I'll be able to... there are so many things I want to do and would love to do, but do not have the time.

Good luck with your schedules, us fourth years should compare schedules and see if we're doing any electives at the same places and the same time, might be nice to have moral support!

 

[Dr.Evil1]

MICU will be valuable, try to do it somewhere that is BUSY as you will get more procedures etc. I had a GREAT experience in my MICU rotation but it was Q4/no sleep on call kind of rotation. Go into it with eyes wide open.

I personally feel like trauma surgery and SICU are only so/so rotations and if you are going to be putting in the kind of hours that you do there then you should get more out of it. If you see a good amount of trauma in your ED then I wouldn't waste your time doing trauma surg or SICU.

Also, not mentioned before, is toxicology. Tox is a great 4th year rotation. This is related to EM and will really help you to realize how important pharmacology is. If you have a regional tox center somewhere nearby then take advantage of it.

Rads is good, but a lot of the time you really don't know what will eventually be important and you end up just wasting your time. This rotation isn't all that hours intensive so might be good towards the end of your EM4 year.

A word on dermatology: Try to do something that is hospital based. Clinic based derm is rather boring. If you do the rotation early then you will be rotating with gunner types trying to get into derm and you might be expected to work rather hard just to keep up.

 

[la gringa]

anesthesia - get some tubes under your belt before either ED tubes or your rotation in residency. mine in residency was only 2 weeks, so having some done as a student made it more practice than learning.... plus they'll almost certainly let you go around lunchtime at most places!

 

[Red Runner]

I also strongly recommend a tox rotation if possible. Rads is good if your rads rotation is set up right, otherwise it is a waste of time but easy. Mine was easy and a waste of time because I spent a half or full day with every type of rads there is and then after two weeks the rotation was over. An individually designed selective in Rads where all you read are CT's and Plain films would be useful. Good Luck.

 

[JkGrocerz]

Do ICU, or a good cards rotation. and then do somthing crazy, like go to the jungle and make up an elective or make up some bs elective like skydiving medicine

intern year is stressful and the learning curve is steep. Enjoy M4 year.