What's the difference between an externship vs. an internship? I'm an M3 looking at an away rotation course catalog and the only difference between the two descriptions is student will function as extern vs. intern. Has anyone done an IM away rotation as an M4 in which you had to take call q4? How would you recommend that to either of the above two options? Thanks for any info.
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Away Rotation - Externship vs. Internship
Started by zeloc
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My understanding from my own experience is that an extern is an addition to the team as opposed to a sub-intern which replaces an intern. When I did my medicine sub-i, I completely replaced an intern and carried the same responsibilities (well, actually I was capped at 10, one less than a "real" intern). We also had an option of doing a medicine externship instead at a different hospital. The extern is paired up with an intern and usually carries no more than 4-5 patients.
actually, an externship is meant to indicate doing an elective at another institution away from your home program. an internship really only means your first year of residency (i.e. your intern year). a "sub-i" is when a medical student does a clerkship in something but acts in the capcity as an intern (but usually with a little less work/responsibility), i.e. this is a "sub-internship."
As this thread confirms, there are many differences in what people believe to be the roles of med students on teams, whether you're at your home school or away. I did an away rotation during which I think I was technically an extern but for a good chunk of the time I was functioning as an intern as much as the system would allow. If you have a choice, choose an away where you'll get as much responsibility as possible - usually that's a general IM rotation vs. a subspecialty rotation, and a "sub-i" vs an externship. And of course, in the end its usually just up to your residents and attendings.
