Rotations?

[businessguy]

It's difficult to decide on a residency if you don't have any experience.

My question is: During med school, are you exposed to most if not all areas of medicine? ie... Optho, Derm, Rad...etc..

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[EctopicFetus]

I would say yes but many of them you barely touch during your 3rd yr (your clinical yr). I believe all med schools have you rotate through Medicine, Surgery, Psych, Ob, Neuro, Family, and Peds. Other fields vary by school.

 

[Trisomy13]

It's difficult to decide on a residency if you don't have any experience.

My question is: During med school, are you exposed to most if not all areas of medicine? ie... Optho, Derm, Rad...etc..

at my school it works like this:

you have your basic 3rd Year rotations:

Psychiatry
Family Med
Surgery
Pediatrics
Internal Med
Ob-Gyn
Neurology

Now within these rotations, which range from 4 weeks (neuro) to 12 weeks (IM and Surg) you are exposed to various facets. On your 6 weeks of ObGyn you will (or should) see not only Gyn Clinic and L&D, but also some time in Maternal Fetal Medicine, Neonatology, etc. Similarly on the internal medicine rotation, we had 5-6 "specialty days" where we could choose to spend some time in a Dermatology office, in the Emergency Dept, in RadOnc, or in a subspecialty of medicine such as GI, Cards, Endocrine, etc. Likewise, in surgery, we had 4 three-week blocks - 2 general surgery services, 2 electives (anesthesiology, trauma, optho, surg oncology, ortho). On top of everything else you have to do during your third year, that is your time to see as much as you can. If the surgery team sends a sample to pathology, ask if you can follow it to the lab, or go to the path lab during your lunch break and ask about the sample - this might be your only glimpse at Pathology. Do the same for radiology. Instead of looking up the results of the chest x-ray, head down to the Radiology department and see if a resident will read the film with you. Point being - if you don't see it in your formal rotation schedule, seek it out opportunities.

By the end of third year you will probably have an idea of which field or fields you are interested in. At this point you still have a few months to try a couple more elective rotations before starting the interview process.

 

[orientedtoself]

Are you preclinical? If you have an interest in a particular field, then contact someone in that field and shadow them for an afternoon or two.

 

[monkey7247]

It's difficult to decide on a residency if you don't have any experience.

My question is: During med school, are you exposed to most if not all areas of medicine? ie... Optho, Derm, Rad...etc..

 

[businessguy]

Don't understand what the barf was for. I know, it's a bit early thinking of a residency when I am not even in med school yet. I just wanted to see how many areas med students do during rotations.

 

[orientedtoself]

I found "The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Medical Specialty" by Brian Freeman to be very helpful. I read it as a third year, but it's not to soon to start exploring different specialty options as a pre-med. Remember, you don't have to commit to a specialty until the beginning of your fourth year of med school when you apply to residency. I also think it's a good idea to keep an open mind for as long as possible so that you pick what's best for you.

 

[PickyBicky]

Don't understand what the barf was for. I know, it's a bit early thinking of a residency when I am not even in med school yet. I just wanted to see how many areas med students do during rotations.

I can see why the user puked. Your title and these subspecialties are $$$ driven. I think the user suspects a certain degree of toolness in your motivations and possible career interests. When you get there (ie. your clinical rotations), be open minded. Take in everything. And above all else, don't be another one of these derm gunner sons of bitches we all have had to deal with. Everyone will appreciate it.

-PB

 

[ericdopt]

I can see why the user puked. Your title and these subspecialties are $$$ driven. I think the user suspects a certain degree of toolness in your motivations and possible career interests. When you get there (ie. your clinical rotations), be open minded. Take in everything. And above all else, don't be another one of these derm gunner sons of bitches we all have had to deal with. Everyone will appreciate it.

-PB

Spot on mate. I agree about the "gunner" people. Very annoying. Even though I am in a competitive residency, I NEVER stepped on toes and generally kept my aspirations to myself and close friends. If more people matched into my specialty, then I say "right on". Makes our class/school look all the better. Never understood the backstabbing crap. I found it usually was from people with NO experience in the real world/working world and think that a$$ kissing is the way to go.

Just a small story about a former classmates "toolness"(sorry I co-opted it):
I was doing a Anesthesia rotation and chose to do most of the cases in ortho. One of my fellow students was majorly gunning for Ortho and was always there. I went out of the room to get something for the Doc, and when I got back, the tool was finishing MY Anesthesia assesment, as well as asked the Anesth. doc if he could do the spinal! I sat back and watched with a fellow classmate and not so subtly tore into him. I wasn't so much pissed as I was shocked.

Please, don't be that student.