No E-Med Dept. Here

[funkless]

Hey everyone,

I'm a student at Univ. of Tenn in Memphis, which does not have an emergency medicine department. (All traumas are handled by the dept of surgery, or sent to IM.) I'm very interested in Emergency Medicine, but, obviously, I'm not going to get much exposure here. I'd like to do an away rotation or audition clerkship at another hospital, when that time comes. (I'm an M1.)

Should I try to figure out which residency programs I'll be applying to, then try to work out an audition clerkship there? Or, should I find out which hospitals in my region have traditionally taken students in for away rotations?

Also, how should I go about getting involved in research that is e-med oriented, in a school without an e-med dept?

Thanks a lot ,

--Funkless

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[docB]

Should I try to figure out which residency programs I'll be applying to, then try to work out an audition clerkship there? Or, should I find out which hospitals in my region have traditionally taken students in for away rotations?

Yes. Although don't get too worried about exactly where you want to go yet. Do look around at nearby places that would be good. Vandy is an excellent place for EM and their chair, Corey Slovis, is well known. All of the programs in NC are great as well and have some of the best known faculty in the country.

You should also check out your own ER. Even if it's not a dept the docs there would probably be helpful with your interests. Also, they came from somewhere and likely have good contacts.

Also, how should I go about getting involved in research that is e-med oriented, in a school without an e-med dept?

Talk to your ER docs and see if any of them have anything going that you could get in on. You can also do work on things that are important to EM like chest pain, sepsis and trauma.

 

[EMDrMoe]

Yes. Although don't get too worried about exactly where you want to go yet. Do look around at nearby places that would be good. Vandy is an excellent place for EM and their chair, Corey Slovis, is well known. All of the programs in NC are great as well and have some of the best known faculty in the country.

You should also check out your own ER. Even if it's not a dept the docs there would probably be helpful with your interests. Also, they came from somewhere and likely have good contacts.



Talk to your ER docs and see if any of them have anything going that you could get in on. You can also do work on things that are important to EM like chest pain, sepsis and trauma.

My school doesn't have an EM dept or residency either, but the doc I work with for research is well known in the area at least. He's been VERY helpful with research ideas and logistics. It's very possible to get quality work done without big grants and big names

 

[funkless]

Thanks a lot. You guys are great.

--Funkless

 

[Hercules]

should I find out which hospitals in my region have traditionally taken students in for away rotations?



Thanks a lot ,

--Funkless

There were 2 UT-Memphis students on the EM rotation while I was at Vandy, so I know they have no problem taking students from your school.

 

[fuegorama]

Funk-
If not for the experience and possible LOR, you gotta get in that dept. just to score a pair of those Elvis Presley Memorial Trauma Ctr. scrubs.

 

[DrQuinn]

My medical school didn't have an EM residency, really. I did my core EM clerkship at a Level 2 trauma center in St. Pete... got a good LOR from one of the attendings there. He really went up to bat for me in regards to contacting the PD at the program he went to (that I initially wanted to go to). Ended up not even ranking there, but his LOR was real good and it was a great experience rotating there. Just make sure you do 1-3 EM rotations where you get atleast 2 LORs for ERAS.

That being said, you're only an M1 and a lot can happen in the next couple years. At this point, keep your interest in EM, join the interest group at your school, but also keep your options open.

Q

 

[aliraja]

A year or two ago EMRA was setting up a "Virtual Mentor" program for med students in just your situation - folks at schools without departments who were interested in EM. Does anyone know if that's still around?

 

[roja]

Ditto all the good advice...

Especially not negating your own ED. I am sure those MD's are ED trained. Even if you end up not doing a rotation at your med school, you should still get to know some of them. You can easily shadow as a M1 and M2 with some of the docs there... Get a feel for what EM is like... and the contact point is very well taken. It also doesn't hurt your CV that you shadow when you aren't on a rotation.

One of my strongest LOR came from the head of our ED (which doesn't have a residency) adn the second came from my rotation at a level 2 hospital. (others from CCU and psych) with a strong dean's letter... Id idn't do research until I was a fourth year (came to EM late). So don't stress... you can always do away rotations...

 

[Andy Kahn]

A year or two ago EMRA was setting up a "Virtual Mentor" program for med students in just your situation - folks at schools without departments who were interested in EM. Does anyone know if that's still around?

the virtual mentor application is at http://saem.org/advisor/index.htm

i think a logistical thing to think about when choosing away rotations is housing availability. you can go somewhere where you can stay w/ friends or family. many programs provide a list of housing opportunities (some more affordable than otheres and a couple of programs actually provide housing.) glad to hear that you are thinking of things way in advance. good luck and hope that things work out.

-andy

 

[Apollyon]

Especially not negating your own ED. I am sure those MD's are ED trained.

That very well may not be true. Until Duke started their program, the ED had a bunch of non-EM trained attendings, and anyone not EM-boarded or eligible got canned when the program took off.

 

[funkless]

From what I gather, there are few, if any, EM-trained physicians at The Med. This is probably due to interdepartment politics.

The way it seems to work at UT Memphis is, anyone coming in by ambulance is triaged the second year surgical resident working the trauma desk (unless they're obviously FUBAR, in which case they're rolled straight into Shock Trauma). If the PGY-2 decides they're not a surgical candidate, they're turfed to the medical service, which is staffed by straight-up IM attendings/residents.


Again, thank you for all the help. I really am excited about all of this. Med school is everything I'd hoped for.

--Funkless

 

[roja]

Hold me.




crosses fingers to never get sick in Memphis

 

[Andy Kahn]

The way it seems to work at UT Memphis is, anyone coming in by ambulance is triaged the second year surgical resident working the trauma desk (unless they're obviously FUBAR, in which case they're rolled straight into Shock Trauma).

what does FUBAR stand for?

 

[sigep628]

what does FUBAR stand for?

FUBAR = F--ked up beyond all recognition.

I think the quote came from Sly in Tango & Cash. That is the first time I remember hearing it.

 

[Hercules]

FUBAR = F--ked up beyond all recognition.

I think the quote came from Sly in Tango & Cash. That is the first time I remember hearing it.

I don't know where it came from originally, but I'm pretty sure the military was using it before Tango & Cash.

 

[southerndoc]

I don't know where it came from originally, but I'm pretty sure the military was using it before Tango & Cash.

Affirmative

 

[unk_fxn]

Yeah SAEM e-advising is great. Mine has been a tremendous resource.

 

[initially]

dude,
i don't know in what year of school you are in, but there are plenty of people in memphis to talk to about this. i am a fourth year student, applying in em, and there are about 5 of us applying from my class. the em interest group is pretty much non-functioning, but just ask around and you'll find out where students went for away rotations (vandy, orlando, carolinas, gw) and where ut grads have matched in the past (brown, vandy, jacksonville, emory, lsu, usc, wake forest).

no, there are not a lot of er trained docs downtown but that will eventually change, and supposedly baptist east has a few in their er. get the virtual mentor through the saem website, keep up with things through this website, and read the saem/aaem info for students, but above all, DON'T STRESS about all this, especially if you are a first or second year student. just get your work done and remember that life is still around to be enjoyed; work hard, play hard, and you'll figure things out a piece at a time.

good luck!

 

[Apollyon]

I don't know where it came from originally, but I'm pretty sure the military was using it before Tango & Cash.

It dates at least to WWII.

Still funny, though!