electives for em

[coolcat007]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I just finished my 3rd year and a 4 week em elective, and I definately want to go into em. For those of you who know about this, (1) what are the electives I should do in order to be best prepared for em? (2) what are the best electives to do that would look good for program directors? (3) would it be a good idea to do medicine and/or surgery sub-I, or would it be better to use those 4 weeks on some other elective?

 

[tkim]

ortho, EM U/S

 

[ephedra]

A good Anesthesia rotation is a huge bonus. I had a 3 week rotation where I was able to perform many procedures. I stuck in tons of peripheral lines which might not seem interesting but trust me it helps when your nursing staff looks to you for "tough sticks" or when you need to place EJs or US guided peripherals. As an intern looking for a little respect, being able to drop peripherals easily can make you look highly functional from the start. It has been of great benefit to me and it also keeps patients from recieving unecessary invasive procedures. On that note I also was able to perform numerous Central lines which of course is a big help, and I intubated all morning each day. This is a wonderful skill to come into residency with, especially when you go to a program where you will be intubating on day 1.
Obviously this is just my experience and I was lucky that my medical school had such a great rotation in anesthesia but I would say it was the most beneficial elective I had coming into my intern year.
Ooh and dont forget radiology.....its a free vacation and you should schedule it during your interviews because they dont care if your there or not. Radiologists like to be left alone in the dark🙂

 

[RustedFox]

Agree w/ above, and would like to add:

Peds EM: great rotation for so many reasons. Every 35-45 minutes, a kid does something dumb on a bicycle, jungle-gym, etc. I sutured up so many lacerations that my head spun.

EM Ultrasound: US is becoming so useful and versatile. Being good at US really makes you shine.

ICU: While it sucks to have to do it during your fourth year, you learn SO MUCH about taking care of that decompensating patient.

 

[Tiger26]

All the above + cardiology--being able to really read an EKG is an incredible skill set to have

 

[It'sElectric]

Would love to do EM U/S, but no such rotation at my school. I tried doing a quick cursory search at away programs, but never really identified an actual EM U/S rotation. Can anyone guide me in the right direction?

Thanks!

 

[Rendar5]

i did cardiology for EKG practice, toxicology, derm, radiology (specifically emergency radiology, most schools dont' have something that specific), and then some more fun/interesting courses that didn't relate at all. Toxicology was very useful, and as an intern, overdoses and ingestions are actually a comfort zone, unlike a lot of other stuff that I'm learning now.

Derm and ortho are good options for at least learning the nomenclature of the fields, so that you have an easier time with consults.
I also had recommendations of anesthesia (with a focus on stuff like nerve blocks, you'd need to talk to the person in charge of the elective) and PICU.

 

[tkim]

Would love to do EM U/S, but no such rotation at my school. I tried doing a quick cursory search at away programs, but never really identified an actual EM U/S rotation. Can anyone guide me in the right direction?

Thanks!

where are you, in general terms.

NVM:

http://www.chicagoem.org/lectures/Advanced rotations/Ultrasound.html

Closest to you. Christ is a well known U/S program.

 

[It'sElectric]

Missouri area.

 

[jbar]

Would love to do EM U/S, but no such rotation at my school. I tried doing a quick cursory search at away programs, but never really identified an actual EM U/S rotation. Can anyone guide me in the right direction?

Thanks!

Yale has EM US rotations for med students, 2 week and 4 week. Not too close to you but I hear it's a good rotation.

 

[roja]

Other ultrsound places, off the top of my head;

UC Irvine
St. Luke's Roosevelt

 

[rvca1981]

Maimonides in brooklyn ny has U/S elective now

 

[EM2BE]

Is a neuro rotation helpful?

 

[Arcan57]

Did a couple of neuro rotations (back-up plan in case I couldn't stand ED), they were fun but didn't have a lot of applicability to the ED. Neuro emergencies: uncontrolled status (getting further down the algorithm then benzos and keppra/dilantin/fosphenytoin), iv (or IA) tPA for acute stroke, and myasthenic crises are all pretty rare during any given month. Neurosurgery (especially NSICU) is very high yield for EM.

I would recommend derm, not because it's going to make you fantastic at identifying maculopapular rash (NOS), but to give you a reasonable plan for dealing with said rash knowing that timely outpatient f/u is unlikely.

Radiology always sounds cool in theory. Everyone could be better at reading films. However, make sure there's someone who actually wants to teach med students involved. Otherwise it's staring at images in a dark room for hours with someone that would be much happier if you weren't there.

EM U/S, peds EM, and cardiology (except maybe a EKG reading elective) will all be well represented in your program's curriculum. Those electives can be fun, but you probably aren't going to uncover any secrets that will make a lasting effect on your practice. At least not that you wouldn't learn in residency.

 

[tkim]

Other ultrsound places, off the top of my head;

UC Irvine
St. Luke's Roosevelt

Did the rotation at Irvine as a med student with Foxy. Great rotation, very chill, beachside journal club.

 

[Cerberus]

UC Davis also has an EM US rotation. According to someone I talked to at UCI, sadly the US rotation is full until April.

 

[Pure Anergy]

I just wanted to throw my elective list out there and see if anyone has some other great ideas or thinks any of the ones I'm planning are a waste.

Done so far and planned: toxicology, cardiology, ICU, radiology, EM rotation at my home school, addiction medicine, anesthesiology, an away EM rotation

Considering based on this thread: derm, ortho, ophtho, a different ICU, an US rotation if I can set one up. Others I've been thinking about that I didn't see mentioned: pain, infectious disease, palliative med, PM&R

I think my weakest areas are probably derm, musculoskeletal and definitely US. So maybe derm, ortho or PM&R, and US if I can get it are the other three I should do?

 

[washkeep]

check out the ultrasound rotation at ucsf fresno... 4 weeks...

 

[LadyGrey]

I'm surprised at the number of cancer patients I'm seeing in the ED with complications of disease and/or treatment, and wonder if an oncology rotation as a student might've been useful. Or more pain/palliative care exposure, since a lot of the cancer patients show up for intractable pain.