3rd year EM rotations

[melissaliss]

I hope this question has not been asked ad nauseum. I searched and couldn't find it. I'm a second-year DO student with my sights set on EM, however I am definitely not certain it's for me since I have not done rotations yet. I am basing my interest on the fact that I am broadly interested in peds, neuro, psych, OB/GYN, etc. I can't imagine myself working an 8-5 or even working in an office setting. I've always enjoyed fast-paced work (and yes, I know EM is not always like that) and I'm fine with long hours of shift work (at least I say that now!). Unfortunately, my school does not have any 3rd year rotations in EM and none of the hospitals in the area even accept 3rd year students. I do have the option of doing EM as an elective during 3rd year, but would have to do it as an away rotation. My goal is to end up at a residency in my home town, so presumably I'd love to do an audition rotation there during 4th year, but preferably after I've already had my first EM experience elsewhere. I have great grades and anticipate a good step 1 score, but I know that to get the proper LORs, I need to do rotations at locations with residency programs. Is there any advice for me to figure out early enough that EM is for me? I've heard that it's good to shadow an ER doc, but how do I go about finding someone to let me shadow them? When should I do my first EM rotation and should I do it somewhere I'm not interested in pursuing a residency? How do I ensure I get adequate experience early on, to better my chances of a residency? I realize I don't quite know the ropes yet, but we are starting to set up our 3rd year rotations next month and I'm eager to start out on the right path! Thank you!

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[EM_Rebuilder]

Are you in the same town as your 3rd and 4th year rotations? If you are, then you are tied to whatever hospital those rotations are done in and thus I assure you there is an ED at that hospital. Just because there is NOT an EM program, does not mean that you cannot shadow in that home ED some. I would approach your upper level classmates; ask if there are any cool folks in the ED that work well with students. I would then approach those folks.

Worst case scenario, show up in the ED one day with your short white coat, scrubs, and badge and say you would like to shadow for a while. I find it unlikely they will say no.... It will not be the same as a rotation, but over the course of a few months spending a few evenings or a weekend on occasion will be enough input to know if you have true interest.

Good luck.

 

[melissaliss]

Are you in the same town as your 3rd and 4th year rotations? If you are, then you are tied to whatever hospital those rotations are done in and thus I assure you there is an ED at that hospital. Just because there is NOT an EM program, does not mean that you cannot shadow in that home ED some. I would approach your upper level classmates; ask if there are any cool folks in the ED that work well with students. I would then approach those folks.

Worst case scenario, show up in the ED one day with your short white coat, scrubs, and badge and say you would like to shadow for a while. I find it unlikely they will say no.... It will not be the same as a rotation, but over the course of a few months spending a few evenings or a weekend on occasion will be enough input to know if you have true interest.

Good luck.

Thank you for the advice. I will start by asking some classmates for recommendations about who I can shadow. And yes, I am in the same town as my 3rd and 4th yr rotations, however, the EM rotation set up for us is not at a facility with an EM program, so I'd prefer to do my actual rotations elsewhere (to get LORs) but I have no problem shadowing anywhere. Thanks again.