Starting out at Cook

[LotaPower]

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hey all,

in my 2398th attempt to figure out my 4th year schedule, I think I'm getting somwhere. I have scheduled my 1st EM experience at Cook County in Chicago starting in July. As of now, Cook county isnt too high on my list of programs I plan to go to but I heard from one source that it's a great EM month. Is starting my EM experience at Cook County a good idea or is it nuts to jump in the fire without any previous exposure in EM?

also, if anyone's rotated at cook please give me details!! i've looked on scutwork.com and there are 4 reviews, and 3 of them are OLD.

Thanks in advance!!

 

[LotaPower]

😕

 

[Febrifuge]

I don't know, dude. If you're thinking you will be unlikely to want to match there, and you're eager to have a great EM month, it seems like a fine plan. You might learn you love being in the ED, and you might learn you hate it. Consider it a "practice" rotation.

If you love it, you have the rest of 4th year to get great at it; if you hate it, you know it wasn't because the program was a bad one. I've never been to Cook, so have a few grains of NaCl, but methinks the board is quiet because there's not much to add. Good luck to ya!

 

[EctopicFetus]

I will be there next yr as well. My school lets us rotate through there 3rd yr. I rotated elsewhere but current 4th years loved it there. Ive been there a number of times and I can say that if you can handle it at Cook you can work anywhere. It is very busy but they dont expect more that you can give. It might be a little like drinking from a Fire Hydrant but at the same time you dont have to worry about Trauma or Peds so that makes it a little easier.

 

[joaquin13]

plus you can get an early LOR from a program that everyone has heard of!!!

 

[deleted52758]

i rotated through cook in sept of this past year. i had a blast! i think it´s the best rotation in chicago for med students because they give you enough autonomy over your patient, and enough guidance when you need it. the attendings are fantastic, most of them that is.

the best part of county is that they expect you to take care of sick patients. i was at a nother ER within the city, and they highly discouraged students from taking on sick patients... personally i can only learn so much from fasttracking. at county you get exposed to anything that will walk in the door (other then trauma).

advice: work the extra shift with the PD or someone else who has a big name in the ER world. i worked two extra shifts, since i wasnt scheduled with the PD at all, and he was more then willing to write me a letter. overall, i worked 19 shifts in a 30 day period which wasnt bad at all.

anyways, if you have more questions, feel free to pm me.