Good Non-EM elective rotation 4th year?

[iliacus]

What would be a good Non-EM elective rotation during 4th year that would best prepare you for EM? I was thinking ICU, Gas, Trauma/Critical Care? In one short year I'll be an intern and I want to be as prepared as I can be. If you can do 4th year all over again which rotations would you do?

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[psychbender]

I'm actually a year behind you, but I'd assume that a month each of Anesthesiology, Cardiology, and Critical Care would be the most high-yield and immediately appropriate. Depending on how your school handles them, a Radiology elective would probably also be quite helpful (if you spend most of it just going over CTs and Xrays). Some other fun ones, if you have time, might be Disaster, Wilderness, or Toxicology electives. Not as immediately medically relevant, but interesting and a good break.

 

[WilcoWorld]

Some schools offer an EKG elective. It's a nice rotation for 4th year and provides some essential skills. Tox fits that bill as well. The ones you mentioned are great, but may wear on the waning motivation of a MS4. However, if you're still a real go-getter a Trauma rotation could be a good elective, and an LOR from a Trauma Surgeon will be helpful.

 

[shortbread9]

personally i did rads, anesth and cardiology and felt that by far cards was the best experience. It really gives you an inside to what happens to your patients with ami after they get admitted and its always good to brush up on your ekg skills. I learned about ami,angina, syncope, chf exacerbation...which are all complaints that you will see in the ED. No one excepts you to be able to read a CT perfectly when you start, or intubate...but if you know that you do a right sided ekg with an inferior MI and why....you will be a star, hands down!

 

[iliacus]

personally i did rads, anesth and cardiology and felt that by far cards was the best experience. It really gives you an inside to what happens to your patients with ami after they get admitted and its always good to brush up on your ekg skills. I learned about ami,angina, syncope, chf exacerbation...which are all complaints that you will see in the ED. No one excepts you to be able to read a CT perfectly when you start, or intubate...but if you know that you do a right sided ekg with an inferior MI and why....you will be a star, hands down!

Thanks Shorty...this is what I was looking for. I have a letter from the chief of trauma surg. at my hospital, which is a level I in the inner city so I'm squared away there. It seems that the procedural training will come and just takes practice, but the medicine like cards, ID, pulm would be helpful before starting residency. I'm probably going with ICU and cardiology.

 

[kalico]

I did my non-ED electives in Anesthesia, Emergency Ultrasound, and Peds EM. I think they all gave me manageable schedules but I learned a lot of useful info/skills as well.

I would have loved to do a radiology elective too but I ran out of time.

In my opinion -- don't kill yourself on your electives. Do something that you enjoy or that you were always curious about. You'll forget everything you learned in ICU anyway by the time you're an intern, trust me.

P.S. I actually think the opposite -- that medicine is medicine and comes with time; and that procedures and other skills (radiology) are more few and far between. So rotations like Anesthesia and Radiology may not seem important but will be nice skills NOT to have to worry about learning later.

 

[EM_Rebuilder]

I did Optho-cation. It was great. Showed up a couple afternoons a week and just did slit lamps. I learned a little and obviously it was a relaxing month.

I also did two weeks of OB U/S. It was low key since I just hung out with U/S Techs but they are top notch with the machine and taught me a fair amount. They would let me have the first go on a very early pregnancy or gyn complaints. It was worthy and again, laid back.

 

[MavsFan08]

What would be a good Non-EM elective rotation during 4th year that would best prepare you for EM? I was thinking ICU, Gas, Trauma/Critical Care? In one short year I'll be an intern and I want to be as prepared as I can be. If you can do 4th year all over again which rotations would you do?

Here are the ones I did/am doing:

-Cardiology
-Radiology
-Anesthesiology
-Trauma Surgery
-Pediatric Emergency Medicine
-ICU

If you aren't good at intubating, do Anesthesiology. If you aren't good with kids, do peds EM. If you don't know how to read films, you will be doing it in the ER, so do rads....etc....