starting 3rd year after being out for a while

[twesting2173]

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[sunny66]

I've talked to people coming back after being out doing research as part of MD/PhD programs. They say the first rotation or two are tough, but then they get back into the swing of things. Maybe you can shadow a physician for a few weeks and look at some review books...it would be cheaper than Kaplan anyway.

 

[chrisisinnocent]

I was out a while doing a PhD. I was really worried too that I would be out of the loop but really it's not that bad. I was maybe lucky that I started with Psych but the main thing I did was get a copy of Maxwell and use the cheat sheet in there and also watched a DVD on the complete physical that our school gives to med students for review (it's a video of the head of Internal Med here doing a head to toe physical on a med student about 15 years ago).

 

[erin682]

I agree with the above posters. I started in medicine with several people coming out of doing their phd's and while they all felt behind they really didn't come off that way. Everybody is pretty much and idiot at the beginning of 3rd year. I remember being totally paralyzed when I was told to go just talk to my 1st third year pt even though I'd done a number of H&P's already. The beginning of 3rd year is scary to just about everyone. You can be great at doing H&P's but if you don't know how the hospital runs, how rounds work and whats expected of you (which is pretty much everyone at the beginning of 3rd year), you won't be effective. The learning curve in 3rd year is really steep and you'll catch up fast. When you get on the wards do your best to relax, if you have a sub-I pay attention to what they do and ask them questions as they can be a great resource, otherwise emulate your interns as best as you can.

 

[fantasty]

I'm just back on the wards as of two weeks ago. I agree with chrisisinnocent - starting on psych is nice. Although it's still a lot to get used to in a quick period of time, the interview is a little different and nearly everyone is starting off on the same level (it's not like surgery and ob/gyn are going to help you THAT much prior to psych).

My other suggestions were to contact the clerkship director ahead of time and just let them know that you've been on a hiatus (causally ask for pointers for how to prepare for their clerkship). Also, I found First aid for the Wards to be helpful, personally - I think it accurately reflects life on the wards, at least in our hospital.

 

[MadameLULU]

I'm on a team where 2 of the students have been out for a while, and while they may think they aren't as quick as examinig patients and writing notes, they are a huge help to the the other 2 MSIIs on the team (including me) who have NO idea what we're doing. Everything seemed to come back to them really quickly, so I woudln't worry about it too much.

 

[Llenroc]

My only advice for you is this: get in the habit of waking up early, and standing for 4-5 hours straight without sitting down. Those are the two things I had the most trouble with.