Year 4, Semester 10, Block 3.
I'm currently in Baltimore, doing fourth year electives. I did internal medicine at Harbor Hospital here and had a great experience so I thought doing electives here would be a good idea, even if it comes with a price tag of $900/month on top of our tuition. So far I've had a sub-internship in internal medicine, cardiology and orthopedic surgery. Next is infectious diseases for 4 weeks before heading out to New Brunswick to finish up my last 6 weeks of med school.
I've been asked if it matters for residency what electives you choose. I'm not sure. It's never come up in interviews, if that's a measure. I believe having Canadian electives in the field you are interested in is important for getting back to Canada, if that's your thing. Other than that, there's a balance between being proficient enough in your field so you feel comfortable once you start residency vs being a well rounded applicant. My philosophy and my gut tell me that being well-rounded is more important. 3-4 years of a residency is long enough to get good at it. Now is the time to explore, I think...
Saba is good about "strongly suggesting" we do a surgical sub-specialty and enforcing this rule if your combined USMLE Step scores are below 440. They also suggest doing a sub-internship in IM or another field if you can find it. I think this forces students into uncomfortable roles. The role of the sub-I is the closest to being an actual resident. I know I was despairing having to do it, but it turned out to be really enjoyable... I do love being in the hospital, though.
I just finished up orthopedic surgery. I wouldn't have signed up for it unless I had a choice, but with my scheduling and my want to settle in one place (Baltimore) for a few months, it was the thing to do. Turns out, not only was it an enjoyable experience but it was highly relevant to my future practice in family medicine. With the 3 and a half clinic days a week, I saw my share of arthritic patients, mostly osteoarthritis in the knee or hip, some rheumatoid, some ACL or meniscus tears, dislocations, and post-op patients. I'm now an expert on reading arthritic radiographs. I can inject a knee confidently. I know how to manage the arthritic patient conservatively and, importantly, when to pursue surgery. I just learned the importance of this last point when, last week, listening to an episode of "White Coat, Black Art" (a Canadian medical radio show) they stated that the majority (something like 80%!) of knee and hip replacements are unnecessary. Wow.
I guess my point is that once you have a field in mind, it's possible to manipulate the elective into a relevant learning opportunity. I could have spent more time in the OR and rounding on in house post-op patients if that was my thing. I chose an outpatient cardiology elective instead of inpatient. You know, that sort of thing.
I'm currently in Baltimore, doing fourth year electives. I did internal medicine at Harbor Hospital here and had a great experience so I thought doing electives here would be a good idea, even if it comes with a price tag of $900/month on top of our tuition. So far I've had a sub-internship in internal medicine, cardiology and orthopedic surgery. Next is infectious diseases for 4 weeks before heading out to New Brunswick to finish up my last 6 weeks of med school.
I've been asked if it matters for residency what electives you choose. I'm not sure. It's never come up in interviews, if that's a measure. I believe having Canadian electives in the field you are interested in is important for getting back to Canada, if that's your thing. Other than that, there's a balance between being proficient enough in your field so you feel comfortable once you start residency vs being a well rounded applicant. My philosophy and my gut tell me that being well-rounded is more important. 3-4 years of a residency is long enough to get good at it. Now is the time to explore, I think...
Saba is good about "strongly suggesting" we do a surgical sub-specialty and enforcing this rule if your combined USMLE Step scores are below 440. They also suggest doing a sub-internship in IM or another field if you can find it. I think this forces students into uncomfortable roles. The role of the sub-I is the closest to being an actual resident. I know I was despairing having to do it, but it turned out to be really enjoyable... I do love being in the hospital, though.
I just finished up orthopedic surgery. I wouldn't have signed up for it unless I had a choice, but with my scheduling and my want to settle in one place (Baltimore) for a few months, it was the thing to do. Turns out, not only was it an enjoyable experience but it was highly relevant to my future practice in family medicine. With the 3 and a half clinic days a week, I saw my share of arthritic patients, mostly osteoarthritis in the knee or hip, some rheumatoid, some ACL or meniscus tears, dislocations, and post-op patients. I'm now an expert on reading arthritic radiographs. I can inject a knee confidently. I know how to manage the arthritic patient conservatively and, importantly, when to pursue surgery. I just learned the importance of this last point when, last week, listening to an episode of "White Coat, Black Art" (a Canadian medical radio show) they stated that the majority (something like 80%!) of knee and hip replacements are unnecessary. Wow.
I guess my point is that once you have a field in mind, it's possible to manipulate the elective into a relevant learning opportunity. I could have spent more time in the OR and rounding on in house post-op patients if that was my thing. I chose an outpatient cardiology elective instead of inpatient. You know, that sort of thing.
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