ICU elective prior to FP intern year?

[DaveinDallas]

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Ok, so here's a question:

My school has a 'you can only miss 4 days per clerkship month' policy
which makes scheduling interviews a pain. I'm currently scheduled
for an ICU month during the late Nov/early Dec timeframe (our months
don't fall on calendar months) and still have 3 additional interviews to schedule with the other months being full.

My question: Should I keep the ICU month or cancel it and take
it as a vacation month to schedule the interviews? So far I'm
9 out of 10 for interviews/applications.

My thinking in scheduling the interview month was to lock Mr. Murphy
in a closet when he snuck up behind me and whispered in
my ear,"Ha, bonehead, your first month and first call night will
be ICU!!".......

Opinions?

 

[cali-ob]

People often feel the need to read/study and in some way prepare for intern year. I don't think you should feel so worried about this that you need to do an ICU month in your fourth year unless you just really want to do one.
At my program we didn't even do ICU until 2nd year, but different places have different schedules. Either way, you will be fine. There will be a fellow, and a senior in the ICU with you whenever you eventually rotate there as a resident. So even if your very first night of residency finds you on call in the unit, you will be ok. Take a vacation month. You should enjoy fourth year as much as possible and relax whenever you can. Third year was hard, you've earned it. Intern year will be hard. Rest whenever you can.

 

[deleted87716]

I was paranoid. As a fourth year, I did four (yes, four) acting internships (AIs) in family medicine, internal medicine, pulmonary/critical care (ICU), and trauma surgery/critical care.

Sounds rough, but I actually had a great time, even on trauma (a month of 24 on/24 off). I learned a lot of things that helped me as an intern, including how to function on no sleep. 😉

 

[lowbudget]

I did an ICU rotation (elective) as a 4th year and loved it. I did it at an unopposed FP program where there weren't any fellows, etc. Definitely helped me out my intern year (actually 1st month) being more comfortable with sick sick crashing patients.

If it were me, I'd do that ICU month you planned on doing Nov/Dec. I'd rather do it during Nov/Dec than Mar/Apr. Plus, why waste your vacation time in Nov/Dec to do interviews when you can save your vacation for Mar/Apr or Apr/May and go on a cruise, travel Europe, hang out on the beach... after all your interviews are done and all of your med school friends are relaxing? I guess, you could go skiing...

 

[DaveinDallas]

Thanks for the advice -- stress of interviews, possibly moving, arranging last 3 months of electives, COMLEX Level 2 PE,flights,hotels,finances are all kinda converging right now.

Talked with my mentor and was told the ICU month would be nice, but not vital. I'm just trying to get a feel if I'd be unrecoverably behind the power curve if I didn't do an ICU month. But then again, I've forgotten so much medicine that I know I learned in 2nd and 3rd year that it's not funny.....guess that's where working with it multiple times a day for months on end in intern year imbeds it indeliby on the brain......