Tips for away rotations?

[zoirusha]

I have three away rotations that I will be doing till mid-summer. I have a general and a specific question.

The general question: what tips do you have for succeeding at the rotation? I am a little frightened at the prospect of being able to dazzle everyone in a span of 2 or 3 or even four weeks...

The specific question concerns two of the programs, which I have heard both praised and criticized. I will be rotating at Albert Einstein and Mount Sinai - any program-specific tips?

Thanks so much. I am getting nervous...

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Scatter]

Work hard. Be genuine. Prepare a good, high-yield, memorable presentation (have residents or junior attending look over it, ask how to improve it). When presenting a patient to the attending, make sure to mention indications for RT in the particular patient case. Have fun!

 

[zoirusha]

thank you!

 

[nieceyj12]

Anyone willing to provide a little more information? I figure the only way I'm gonna match is if I dazzle on my aways... SO it would be EXTREMELY helpful if I new from day 1 what pertinent/special information goes into a presentation and what can be left out. I know it will vary by attending, but the basics should remain the same? Kinda like how in OB you have to include menstruation history, GsPs, etc....

Detail would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[napoleondynamite]

Anyone willing to provide a little more information? I figure the only way I'm gonna match is if I dazzle on my aways... SO it would be EXTREMELY helpful if I new from day 1 what pertinent/special information goes into a presentation and what can be left out. I know it will vary by attending, but the basics should remain the same? Kinda like how in OB you have to include menstruation history, GsPs, etc....

Detail would be greatly appreciated!!

You are right, very attending and program-dependent. One thing I would be sure you know (because this is definitely something you CAN know - mostly it is assumed you know close to nothing about cancer/radonc) is a complete social history. Make sure you know where the patient lives - will there be trouble getting to and from the clinic, etc. Knowing a little about them, their job, family, etc sometimes is the most memorable part of a presentation IMO b/c it allows your attending to form a connection with the patient before they have met them - I think all attendings appreciate that.

Also, glean everything you can from the chart the day before you see the patient. Both your attending and your resident will want you to take as little time as possible in the room - in order to be speedy, you need to prepare beforehand so that you are mostly clarifying history while you are in the room.

Many medical students falsly believe that their time to shine is by presenting a solid and accurate plan. This may be true on other rotations - but I don't think as much in radonc. As I said above, you aren't necessarily expected to know all of that in detail - it is a bonus, and run it by your resident so you have something smart to say - but ace the things that you are expected to know. Know things like presentation, work-up, staging etc of the case in question and nail those aspects. If your plan is 30Gy in 10fx and the attending actually prefers 37.5Gy in 15fx, you won't look bad b/c there is no way you would know that. But you do look bad if you don't know the basics. Just don't lose the forest through the trees - I see too many med students try to impress by focusing on the complexities that they forget to know the real basic stuff they are expected to know.

Best of luck.

 

[frycek]

I'd try to know (as in memorize) the staging for the cancers you present to the attending. I remember this being a favorite question of attendings when I did my aways.

 

[stankem]

Look up what patients you're seeing the next day and read up on them thoroughly. Uptodate was way more than enough. Ask the residents what attendings like to here about during presentations. Don't be a douche. Definitely start work on your presentation early and get an attending to give it a once over beforehand.