I finished there 3 years ago. med student rotation is excellent. it is structured to some degree. I think they usually have you do a week in the "central" corridor (which is mostly thoracic with some ortho in there as well), a week in neuro (lots of big tumor cases, sitting cranis, occasional awake cranis, intra-op MRI), a week in peds (lots of sick/zebra kids having B&B procedures as well as big cases) and a week at Methodist hospital (some OB, gyn, transplant, tons of ortho with TONS of regional). You are there to get what you want out of it. Ask for a cardiac/pain/icu day if you're interested. They're very accomodating. Show up early, help where you can. If a resident or consultant tells you to go home, go home. I believe call is optional and really only consists of staying until like 10 pm or midnight (and having the next day off, so do it on a thursday). I'm sure they'd let you stay overnight as much as you like if you're interested, but the daytime stuff is generally cooler and higher yield. As far as procedures, lots of tubes/IVs, some art lines, maybe a CVP, maybe a spinal?. Unlikely to do blocks/epidurals/swans. Show up at 6 to help somebody set up a room, daily lecture at 7, usually bounce around among a few rooms to get the best experience possible. Usually stay until 2 or 3 or whenever somebody tells you to get outta there. Residents usually eager to answer questions/teach, but there are limits, particular in busy/high turnover rooms. If you get a "beat it" vibe, try checking out another room (80 ORs in the main at SMH, ~45 at RMH) or just hook up with a consultant. If you want to impress, be on time, be enthusiastic and don't be an ass. usually not hard to get a letter. Tim Long (the PD) is a great guy and always willing to help. Matching can be tough. When I left, the average step 1 for matched peeps was like 250. I probably wouldn't make the cut nowadays. hope you enjoy your rotation.
