What is the purpose of rotations?

[pvmed]

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[pdeco1]

Nope, rotations are useless. You cracked the code.

 

[umean2tellme]

You do rotations because you learn everything there is to know about medicine from reading books. If you spent 4 years reading about patients, then jump into patient care after you graduate, you would be clueless as to how to actually approach and manage a patient.

Though I am a year away from rotations, I am pretty sure these years are NOT harder than residency. In med school you're not really counted on to make final decisions, and you have residents and attendings there to back you up. In residency, you still have attendings there but you become more and more autonomous as you go on, so that you can be ready to be that attending when you graduate.

As for why you spend so much time in the hopsital, how much time do you recommed being in the hospital?

 

[pvmed]

You do rotations because you learn everything there is to know about medicine from reading books. If you spent 4 years reading about patients, then jump into patient care after you graduate, you would be clueless as to how to actually approach and manage a patient.

Though I am a year away from rotations, I am pretty sure these years are NOT harder than residency. In med school you're not really counted on to make final decisions, and you have residents and attendings there to back you up. In residency, you still have attendings there but you become more and more autonomous as you go on, so that you can be ready to be that attending when you graduate.

As for why you spend so much time in the hopsital, how much time do you recommed being in the hospital?

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[aggie08]

I'm still an undergrad and I see people regularly posting about 20 hour days/100 hour work weeks during their 3rd year rotations. Just curious about it. Serious tags on this, I really want to know.

I have a couple questions:

Are these years harder than residency? That seems to be how they are made out?

Why are medical students forced to be in a hospital for 16 hours straight? Is there any value or learning that comes out of this that is different from what you get shadowing a random physician?

Is any knowledge obtained in rotations ever relevant for...anything???

Um, do you really think you could spend four years with your nose in a book and then all of a sudden know how to operate in a patient-care setting? I highly doubt it.

Rotations are not harder than intern year. After that, it depends what type of residency you're in. You're most difficult year will be intern year (but, you will also learn the most this year).

Let me emphasize something very important, medical students are not forced to do anything. You CHOOSE to go to medical school and you know what you're getting yourself into before you start. If you're going to go in with the attitude that you're being forced to do something stupid and pointless, you need to go ahead and give your spot over to someone who is going to love the fact that they are getting this opportunity.

The knowledge you learn third and fourth year is invaluable to your career. The difference between rotation years and shadowing is HUGE. In rotation years you are seeing your own patients and presenting on them to your resident. They teach you how to be a doctor. You also get to do things, scrub into surgeries, talk to patients, learn how to suture, etc. You're not just following someone around and falling asleep as they talk. You're seeing the things your learned about for the past two years in action. You're learning how to diagnose and order labs. You're LEARNING. You're learning to put your knowledge into practice and you're learning to kill as few people as possible. It isn't shadowing at all. It's essentially job-training.

Also, rotations are invaluable for finding out what you're good at and what you want to go into. How in the world would you decide what kind of medicine you enjoyed and were good at if you had never spent any time in a hospital/clinic setting?

Rotations are a chance to gain guidance from the people who have been doing this since they were 30. You have between 5 and 10 years, including rotation years and depending on your residency-type, to learn how to be a doctor by yourself with nobody's help....I personally would like to be taught how to do it before I get into a position where someone's life is wholly dependent on me.

 

[pvmed]

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[Mr hawkings]

Man, people are pretty touchy about this subject...you'd think for all the bitching they do about it that it was less useful.

Being usefull does not make it any less difficult. Plus, some of the personalities you have to deal with can be frustrating despite how much you learn from them. Some people feel that med students these days have it easy and take it upon themselves to put you through the hell that they had to go through when they were in your position.

 

[CptCrunch]

If you ever find out please let me know. My days on the floors are spent on endless rounds, paperwork, phone calls to PMDs/consultants/labs, followed by more paperwork.

 

[pvmed]

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[christina30]

Apparently none of them have ever had to deal with a coach...Personally I like the challenge of doing right by someone who is really hard on me. Makes it worthwhile even though it feels like they do not care about you.

lol @ comparing rotations to playing a sport under a coach. NO.

 

[Mr hawkings]

Apparently none of them have ever had to deal with a coach...Personally I like the challenge of doing right by someone who is really hard on me. Makes it worthwhile even though it feels like they do not care about you.

Its not quite the same. I was a 2-sport division 1 athlete in college with a national championship. its really not the same.
Its about being pissed on just cos you're a 3rd year who knows nothing. just when you start getting the hand of things for your level of training, you graduate and become an intern who knows nothing and gets pissed on all over again