When you go on an externship, try to find family members and/or friends to stay with to save money. One month with LSU-NO, I was going to stay in the call room, but I decided not to and got a room in the dorms (which was 3 minutes walk to Charity - connected by skyway). The dorm cost me $450 for the month for everything (internet, cable, W/D, parking). With food, social expenses, dorm for a month, gas money (I drove), and etc, the month added up to be around $1200. During this externship, residents did pay for a lot of my meals & beverages outside of the hospital and allowed me to use their meal tickets when they have extras.
At Parkland, I had to cut my externship length short (4 weeks to only 2 weeks) due to financial hardship. I couldn't stay in the call room and I refuse to rent a hotel room for 4 weeks. Luckily, I found a relative who lived in the Dallas metro that I could crash with so I ended up commuting 40 minutes each way everyday to get to and from the hospital. I did this for two weeks and it was pain in the @ss. My relative loaned me a car to drive during the two weeks that I was there. The last two weeks (week 3 & 4), I could've stayed at a resident's house because he's just that nice
, but I decided to cut my externship length short because my summer financial aid refund had not dispurse yet and I completely ran out of money literately! Most money spent here were food and gas and hotel for the first couple of days ($80/night)! Parking was not a problem because one of the resident gave me his parking card to use for two weeks so I could park for free. Super cool dudes here, they were setting me up left and right!
In Chicago, I stayed with a friend of mine so the room expenses were knocked out. Again, transportation expenses were an issue here. I end up riding the "L" (subway) everyday and sometime a taxi. Food was free at the hospital because of the nice residents, but partying expenses add up because it was Chicago! I was here for 3 weeks. Most expenses here were spent on social expenses.
Bottom line, externship expenses can break down to:
1) food: this expense you will have to fork out, some externships will allow residents to provide you meals, but don't expect it. Definitely budget money for food
2) transportation: if you drive to an externship, then that could save you money or it can cost you more money. Most "great" externships are located in a major city so parking can be an issue. The obvious, gas alone now will cost you an arm and a leg, so I don't recommend driving to any externships.
3) a place to stay: this is a big one, if you don't have relatives or friends or a call room to crash at, then this will be your most expensive cost for an externship. If you do have a free place to crash, then you'll save a crap load of money.
4) social expenses: this can cost you a lot, but it's completely up to you.
My recommendation is to have at least $600 laying around to spend on any given externship. The longer you participate in an externship, the more it will cost.
Call rooms:
LSU-NO (Charity): large (6 beds), old, no TV or internet, nasty at first glance, but it grows on you. The shower in the bathroom is absolutely disgusting (it's no longer there, so...)
Parkland: small (1 bunkbeds), TV, other entertainment, bathroom decent
Cook County: no call room for OMFS, residents on-call sleeps in the resident's office in the outpatient dental wing
Minnesota (Hennepin County Medical Center): new, nice, small (1 bed), no TV, no internet, bathroom decent, no shower
NSU (Broward Medical Center): call room new, nice, small (2 beds), TV, internet, refrigerator, microwave, paintings, book shelves, bathroom clean, no showers
