Favourite Rotation:
My favourite rotation so far has been my Family Medicine placement, which actually surprised me. I think a lot of us enter clerkship with an idea of what we’re going to like and dislike, and I didn’t really expect this to change for me … I was very wrong. I worked with a really great team in a busy family practice in Burlington. I loved the pace and the variety that I saw day to day - I feel like you’re forced to learn at such a quick rate when you’re seeing patients with such a broad range of concerns throughout the day. I was also given a fair bit of independence during this rotation which was a really great opportunity for me to work on my own clinical decision-making while knowing I had plenty of support when I wasn’t sure about something. Advice for Incoming Clerkship Students: I think the best thing you can be during clerkship is adaptable. You’re constantly moving through different clinical environments, specialties, preceptors. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all of the change. You’ll never be fully prepared for each rotation and you’re never going to have all the medical knowledge for a particular specialty. I think you have to focus on controlling the aspects that you can - if you can think on your feet, problem-solve, learn quickly, and remain flexible, you’re off to a good start. You just have to enter each rotation with confidence in the skills you already have, and the work ethic to keep learning and improving upon those that you don’t. Typical Day as an Emergency Medicine Student: I just started my Emergency Medicine rotation, so I’m still adjusting to what my typical day looks like as well. I’ve spent the last 2 months in more specialized areas of medicine, so it’s nice to see lots of variety again in the ER. Generally, I will meet my preceptor at the start of my shift and take a look at the list of patients waiting to be seen. We will then select a patient for me to see and I will go take their history and do a physical exam. I’ll come up with a plan for the patient, and then review everything with my supervisor and make adjustments where needed. The rest of the shift continues like this, making sure that we are following-up on investigations ordered for any previous patients I’ve seen, and discharging or admitting them as needed. |
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