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4th year ophtho rotations
- Thread starter supersnazzy
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Make yourself useful but not in the way. Don't hover. Don't ask questions you already know answer to just to sound smart. Always introduce yourself to the patient.
For how to be useful:
In OR:
Tie up people's gowns in back
Offer to spin them
Don't contaminate anything.
In Clinic:
Again be useful
If you are in a retina clinic and you see how they like injections set up, set it up for them each time
For injections offer to rinse out the patients eye at end if that is something they do
If they print things out for patients go grab stuff off printer
If patient is in wheelchair help patient in and out of chair and help take them in and out of room
These are just examples but these are the things that make me like certain medical students. If they just stand around then they are not an asset to clinic.
For how to be useful:
In OR:
Tie up people's gowns in back
Offer to spin them
Don't contaminate anything.
In Clinic:
Again be useful
If you are in a retina clinic and you see how they like injections set up, set it up for them each time
For injections offer to rinse out the patients eye at end if that is something they do
If they print things out for patients go grab stuff off printer
If patient is in wheelchair help patient in and out of chair and help take them in and out of room
These are just examples but these are the things that make me like certain medical students. If they just stand around then they are not an asset to clinic.
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I can't imagine any retina place that would be ok with a new medical student setting up their intravitreal injections. Please don't try to do this.
We know as medical students you guys don't really know a whole lot and aren't going to be productive to the clinic or OR - that is OK, we weren't either when we were in your shoes. Try to get a gauge on how the residents/attendings want you involved. Unfortunately your experience will be VERY resident dependent. Read every night and show that you're working hard to climb the steep learning curve.
If there is an extra exam room ask if you can start a patient in the room while the resident sees other patients. In clinic this is really helpful and makes you learn how to use the slit lamp (rather then the resident just lining it up and saying look at this). If that isn't an option you can quickly clean the slit lamp and check vision while the resident starts looking through the notes. While refracting there's nothing you can do but if you search out a few good online refraction tutorials (like the one from Tim Root) you can ask good questions and learn some basic refracting techniques.
In the OR you'll be lucky to scrub in. Just sit back and watch what they do. Again read up on the surgeries and ask good questions during non-stressful parts of the procedure. The only things you can do here above what you learned in your general surgery rotation is to maybe pre-cut off tape to use on the eye shield at the end of the case.
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I still don't think anyone would want med students to do this.
Last edited:
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This is all good advice, but you should watch how they run things where you are. Every program is different and med students sometimes rotate at the private institution without as many residents. If you rotate at a place where your interaction with residents is limited then most of it is about helping the patients, asking the techs if you can help and showing that you are reading and engaged when talking with the attendings. Ask questions at opportune times but don't be in their face.
If you're at the resident run clinic then you can totally get in there a lot more. But Your letter isn't going to be about how you are with a 90 or whether or not you understand the knobs on a slit lamp. It will be about your enthusiasm, and interactions with the attending and whether or not the residents think you are interested vs disinterested.
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I think to do well you need to show enthusiasm, read up on topics, get along with people, and be on time. If you know you will be shadowing cataract surgery, read up on cataract surgery and maybe come up with a question or two to ask the attending at some opportune time. Same thing goes for other clinics. This will show them you are interested and took the initiative to read up on common topics. However, I caution you to not be over enthusiastic to the point of being annoying or in the way. Sometimes the attendings/residents you are with are extremely busy and behind in clinic, and it can get a bit annoying to have an overly enthusiastic medical student asking a billion questions that makes them get even more behind. You can bring a little notebook with you, and jot down questions to ask at a better time or at the end of the day. Just use your best judgement.
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Re: retina clinic, if you'll be working with someone for a long time, you can ask if they want to teach you how to set up their tray. I used to set up my attending's injection trays as a medical student...I would draw everything up, I would put the drops in pts and get them all ready for their injection. That being said, I don't think this is something that should be expected unless you're told or asked to it. My attending taught me exactly what to do and how to do it. Medicine is an apprenticeship and I'm glad he let me be involved.
To answer your question, every situation is different. For example, if you're at a prestigious oculoplastics private practice, don't try to be super proactive necessarily. Be a gentleman/lady and try to enhance the image of the practice for your attending by looking sharp and being kind to pts. Be ready to answer their advanced questions when they pimp you. In busy resident clinics it's completely different. Try to help in clinic as much as much as you can. The more you know the more helpful you can be. You can meet pts and document the HPI, take VAs, test pupils, confrontational VF, autorefract, try to work the pt up as much as you can. Ask if they want you to document your external/anterior chamber exam. Ask if you can put drops in. I learned how to do OCTs and help when things got backed up. Take a stab with the phoropter. Eventually you learn to do things.
Agree with the OR advice as above.
To answer your question, every situation is different. For example, if you're at a prestigious oculoplastics private practice, don't try to be super proactive necessarily. Be a gentleman/lady and try to enhance the image of the practice for your attending by looking sharp and being kind to pts. Be ready to answer their advanced questions when they pimp you. In busy resident clinics it's completely different. Try to help in clinic as much as much as you can. The more you know the more helpful you can be. You can meet pts and document the HPI, take VAs, test pupils, confrontational VF, autorefract, try to work the pt up as much as you can. Ask if they want you to document your external/anterior chamber exam. Ask if you can put drops in. I learned how to do OCTs and help when things got backed up. Take a stab with the phoropter. Eventually you learn to do things.
Agree with the OR advice as above.