visiting student question

[sleepwhenimdead]

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I've got a general question for anyone out there. I am wondering whether it would be a good idea to do a SubI in Medicine at a school that most likely will be my first choice due to location, or if that looks too Gunnerish. I am worried about not getting a spot in one of the more laid back electives. Is this just something that visiting students don't do? Please give me some feedback. Thanks. Good luck all with fourth year planning.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Hmmm....seems to me (unless things have changed since I was a student) that you WANT to do Sub-Is at your prime residency choices. Are you suggesting that you aren't interested in an IM residency and are therefore worried that an IM sub-I would look like overkill?

I see the only worry is if you do a poor job and fail to impress your colleagues, and potential future faculty at this program. Don't worry about "looking too Gunnerish" - gunnerism is more behavior linked IMHO. If you're the type of student who will shaft his fellow students, do anything to excel that looks bad - being interested and going to a program for a Sub-I because you might want to do your residency there, isn't.

 

[Brewster]

I agree with everything Kimberli Cox said.

You do not want to hold back on your away rotations. Do a tough/time consuming one. Show that you can handle to work, and that you work well with the people there. Put yourself in a position to have your best foot forward and show what you know and what you can do. I can see no way that doing a sub-I rather than a consult rotation can hurt you (unless you are a slacker, in which case you would be hurt either way).

I also agree with Kimberli Cox's definition of a gunner. Don't be a gunner (one who is willing to step on his/her colleagues heads on his/her way up the ladder). But, DO work hard and do your best.

 

[sleepwhenimdead]

Kimberli and Brewster,

Thanks for your responses. That is what I thought, but had gotten some funny looks from probably not so well informed people. I fully intend to bust my butt to showcase my ablilities, as I am very interested in the USF IM program. Thanks for your imput.

Paul

 

[trkd]

What is a "consult" vs. "SubI" rotation?

 

[Brewster]

Originally posted by trkd
What is a "consult" vs. "SubI" rotation?

Sub-I - Sub-internship (sometimes called AI-Assistant Internship) - Basically, the fourth year medical students acts like an intern for a month, taking primary responsibility for his/her patients care. Depending on the hospital, the sub-I may be the one who is called first for all non-emergent problems with the patient. Of course, as the sub-I is not yet a doctor, everything s/he does is overseen by a resident. These are always rotations where the medical student is primarily based on the wards in the hospital (vs in an outpatient clinic).

Consult - Consult services see patients for particular problems. They do not have primary responsibility for the patient's care, but, rather, lend advice about a particular issue (eg, patient on the surgery service goes into atrial fibrillation...consult cardiology for some advice; patient on general internal medicine service goes into acute renal failure...consult nephrology, etc).

 

[Foxxy Cleopatra]

I agree with the other posters- doing a visiting sub-I will give you a chance to work hard/ show the group that you work well; plus, it may give you more exposure to the different residents and attendings.

I did a few visiting sub-I's for surgery last year and I went out and did it without much advice. Here's what I wish I would have known:

1. Does the chairman or program director work as an attending for a particular service? When? For example, if the chairman will be attending a wards team in September, that may be a perfect time to do your AI so he/she will get to know you.

2. When do the school's students try to get LOR's? My medical school began senior year rotations in July so most of us were doing the electives to get letters in July and August. It didn't occur to me that other schools may not begin senior year rotations until September. I did a rotation at one place in September and was paired with 2 other 4th year students from their school who were trying very hard to get good LOR's. In the end, I had a good experience, but I also got about 1/3 as many cases and a whole lot less interaction with attendings than I would have if I was the only 4th year on the team.

3. If you plan on being out of town doing visiting rotations during October, make sure that you have computer access. I did not have a laptop (and was gone during October as well) so I spent a decent amount of time in the town's public library trying to log on to arrange interviews (you will get the majority of invites in October.)

And then there's the obvious- try to get to know as many people as possible, work hard, read up, be polite, let them get to know you. Plus, if you do en elective at USF, enjoy Tampa- it is a great city!

good luck

 

[sleepwhenimdead]

Foxxy Cleopatra,
Your post all made a lot of sense. I appreciate the input. Tampa certainly is a fun place. My family has lived down there for about ten years, while I spent my formative years in Melbourne Beach on the east coast. I am definitely looking forward to getting back down there. I am trying to get the 8/4-8/29 block for medicine and I fear what you said about the USF students trying to get LOR at that time. I guess flexibility is the name of the game. But it would sure be easier if everyone just did what I needed. Thanks.
Paul