a much belated post about clinical week!
sorry this post is just now being written! things have been a little crazy (see below) plus the holiday added even more craziness on.
ah the wonder of clinical week. from the beginning the M2s told us this week would be the highlight of the semester and they did not lie. it was such a nice break from sitting in a classroom for hours upon hours every day and was also a great reminder of why we sit in that classroom for hours upon hours every day. I was, once again, completely and utterly amazed by the amount of information we have learned in a few short months and how applicable a vast majority of that information actually is to the real world.
so the logistics. for one week each semester of M1 and M2 years we rotate through a variety of specialties and practices of, for the most part, our choosing. the school gives us a list of physicians and we submit a list of who we would like to work with in order of preference. we can divide up the week however we want to in terms of number of days/shift time etc. and the school organizes it all. I got all of my first choices which was great! this was my schedule for the week:
saturday: 3pm - 2am in the ER
sunday: 10am - 8pm on general peds inpatient floor
monday: 5am - 6pm general surgery
tuesday: 8am - 5pm outpatient general internal medicine/family medicine clinic
wednesday: 7am - 5pm neonatology
thursday: 7am - 6pm pediatric intensive care
friday: 7am - 4pm cardiology
overall, I had an great week. least favorite day was probably the internal med/family med clinic day. I like things to be more fast-paced, complex, exciting etc. so the clinic environment didn't really do that for me. the day I was on cardiology was spent in the hospital and cath lab I think I am crossing that off the list of prospective specialties as well because they also spend a significant amount of time in the clinic and it seemed like it could be slightly repetitive on a day-to-day basis.
the ER, general surgery, and peds intensive care were probably my favorite with general peds inpatient and neonatology falling somewhere in the middle.
--surgery was beyond fascinating. I saw a number of procedures, got to scrub in, learned how to suture, and got to see all of the anatomy I've been shoving into my brain finally having a purpose. however, the hours/lifestyle are pretty rough and I'm not sure I have the hand skills for it.
--the ER satisfied my ADD-self and I really enjoyed it. it is an extremely fast paced environment and I saw a wide variety of illnesses and injuries. I learned how to read EKGs and use ultrasound to insert IV lines. the physicians in the ER have a very laid back personality which made the shift a lot of fun. downsides: charting, hours, charting, crazy people, and more charting. did I mention the charting?
--the pediatric intensive care unit is precisely that: intense. the cases are complex and often quite tragic. we lost two patients the day I was there. there is an overwhelming sense of teamwork in this unit and I loved that. everyone (MDs, PAs, NPs, Nurses, Pharmacy, Respiratory, OT, PT etc. etc. etc.) all worked together to talk through cases and make a plan for the patient. there was a wide variety of problems and each one incorporated many different aspects of medicine. I liked that there was a balance between making rapid decisions and quickly performing procedures/giving meds and a more contemplative, slow decision process. but, it was physically and emotionally taxing -- and I was just there for a day.
I am so thankful that my school has this program in place. it was an great learning experience and motivation booster -- exactly what I needed as we head into the final weeks of the semester.
