Away rotation at Hopkins

[BostonBrunette]

I am thinking of doing a 4th year away at Hopkins, either an anesthesia elective or a SICU month. On the application it asks me to list 3 clerkships, in order of preference. In the catalog I see:

Clinical preceptorship in anesthesiology
Advanced clinical clerkship in Anesthesiology
Clinical clerkship in surgical intensive care (SICU)
Intro to pediatric intensive care
Advanced clinical clerkship in pediatric anesthesiology
Management of pain and suffering

If there are any Hopkins med residents/medstudents/alums out there, or those who have done an away at Hopkins, which of these would be most appropriate to take? What does a student at Hopkins going into anesthesiology usually take as an anes sub-i to get an LOR? Which one would be the best for making an impression for a student only there for 1 month? (i.e. which offers the most opportunity for exposure to the attendings who enjoy having students)

p.s. the latter 3 are not of as much interest to me--not going pain or peds

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[VentdependenT]

I am thinking of doing a 4th year away at Hopkins, either an anesthesia elective or a SICU month. On the application it asks me to list 3 clerkships, in order of preference. In the catalog I see:

Clinical preceptorship in anesthesiology
Advanced clinical clerkship in Anesthesiology
Clinical clerkship in surgical intensive care (SICU)
Intro to pediatric intensive care
Advanced clinical clerkship in pediatric anesthesiology
Management of pain and suffering

If there are any Hopkins med residents/medstudents/alums out there, or those who have done an away at Hopkins, which of these would be most appropriate to take? What does a student at Hopkins going into anesthesiology usually take as an anes sub-i to get an LOR? Which one would be the best for making an impression for a student only there for 1 month? (i.e. which offers the most opportunity for exposure to the attendings who enjoy having students)

p.s. the latter 3 are not of as much interest to me--not going pain or peds

I was very impressed with the SICU director at JHU during interviews. If you're going to be in Baltimore and in search of a letter you mine as well work your tail off and learn something. I'd go for SICU (which is under the auspices of the anesthesia dept) and ask the director for a letter.

 

[IceDoc]

I am thinking of doing a 4th year away at Hopkins, either an anesthesia elective or a SICU month. On the application it asks me to list 3 clerkships, in order of preference. In the catalog I see:

Clinical preceptorship in anesthesiology
Advanced clinical clerkship in Anesthesiology
Clinical clerkship in surgical intensive care (SICU)
Intro to pediatric intensive care
Advanced clinical clerkship in pediatric anesthesiology
Management of pain and suffering

If there are any Hopkins med residents/medstudents/alums out there, or those who have done an away at Hopkins, which of these would be most appropriate to take? What does a student at Hopkins going into anesthesiology usually take as an anes sub-i to get an LOR? Which one would be the best for making an impression for a student only there for 1 month? (i.e. which offers the most opportunity for exposure to the attendings who enjoy having students)

p.s. the latter 3 are not of as much interest to me--not going pain or peds

As a student at JH, I did an anesthesia sub-I to see if I really wanted to do gas and then later an SICU/WICU rotation for experience. Actually the SICU was in April of 4th year which was a little crazy, but I wouldn't trade that experience for the world as it prepared me for internship quite well.
Here's the catch: The first two rotations on your list are basically the same, just the second is less structured and you have more freedom to do exactly what you want. On these clerkships, though, it is difficult to really get to work with a specific attending for very long. The attendings often do different things every day of the week so you may not find enough continuity to find someone comfortable to write a letter. That's why I actually spent 3 weeks of my sub-I at a local hospital where I worked with only about 3 main attendings (private guys), one of whom wrote the LOR. I think Theresa Hartsell is still the clerkship director and she's pretty tuned in to the practical needs of students, so I think you could ask her about arranging a rotation that could lead to a LOR (worded more tactfully of course).
As for the SICU, the attendings will know you better because they come on for a week at a time. Some are surgeons and some are anesthesia. You will work hard and you'll definitely feel like you're ass gets kicked, but it'll be one of the best learning experiences ever. It's one of the best collegial and collaberative environments I experienced at JH (I'm sure this is all team dependent!). Anyway, if you thrive you may have a better chance of finding someone to write a letter. This rotation is popular among JH students, so you'll probably have to schedule earlier rather than later. And for God's sake, be prompt with your paperwork lest you annoy the clerkship director (colorful surgeon of the old guard).
I've rambled on long enough, and I'm not sure I've helped at all. Good luck.