Primary Care Rotation opinions

[smmypnts]

At this point I'm interested in internal medicine, and I haven't really decided if I would want to do primary care, but I do know that I have no interest in working with kids. My medical school requires that everyone do a month of primary care or family practice, I was assigned to primary care in peds.

I don't really know where the similarities or differences are between primary care in adults vs peds vs FP. Am I missing out by not doing a primary care rotation in adult medicine? Is it worth it to use elective time to get exposure to outpatient medicine or FP? Or should I try to obtain that experience in residency?

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[evilbooyaa]

You will get exposed to a good amount of outpatient, at least at the hospital I am currently rotating at. Residents have told me (just a med student) that they have 1 week of outpatient clinic, 5 weeks apart, for their entire 3 year residency.

If you're already locked into going into IM, I wouldn't be as stringent on you doing a primary care outpt rotation.

 

[smq123]

You will get exposed to a good amount of outpatient, at least at the hospital I am currently rotating at. Residents have told me (just a med student) that they have 1 week of outpatient clinic, 5 weeks apart, for their entire 3 year residency.

If you're already locked into going into IM, I wouldn't be as stringent on you doing a primary care outpt rotation.

1 week of clinic a month is not really what I would consider a "good amount of outpatient." It doesn't really replicate the pace of a true outpatient attending, which is day after day of outpatient. Not just a week, here and there.

At this point I'm interested in internal medicine, and I haven't really decided if I would want to do primary care, but I do know that I have no interest in working with kids. My medical school requires that everyone do a month of primary care or family practice, I was assigned to primary care in peds.

I don't really know where the similarities or differences are between primary care in adults vs peds vs FP. Am I missing out by not doing a primary care rotation in adult medicine? Is it worth it to use elective time to get exposure to outpatient medicine or FP? Or should I try to obtain that experience in residency?

I think it's worth doing an outpatient rotation specifically in adult medicine, if it's something you think you might be interested in.

The pace of outpatient adult is a LITTLE bit slower than outpatient peds. Outpatient peds is also much more preventative oriented than outpatient adult, which is more problem based. (I.e. Expect to do a lot of well child checks) Adult outpatient also offers more procedures (skin biopsies, colpos/IUDs - if you do FP outpatient, joint injections, etc.) than peds outpatient.

And hey, an outpatient rotation has decent hours - you're pretty much guaranteed to be done by 5, with no weekends. Compare that to the typical internal medicine or surgery sub-I.