First day of rotations

WOW!
Today was my first day on rotations as an M3 and I started out with peds.
We got there at 730 this morning and I found out that I was on call. So I spent most of the day just trying to figure out where I am supposed to be when.
The cool thing though is that I got to see patients!
I saw some cool stuff: meningococcal meningitis, spina bifida, pneumonia, pediatric lupus nephritis, amniotic band syndrome and tick paralysis.
It was a long hard day but it was fun.
Jean.

<!–emo&<_dry.gif envious

Jean,
My worst day on clerkships was better than my best in the classroom! Be prepared to put in some long, hard hours as an MS-3…but always bear in mind (quoted from Dr. Allen Kirk - Chair of Transplantation Surgery NIH/Bethesda), “there is a profound difference between tired and unhappy”. You will be tired, damned tired - hopefully as happy when you leave half-dead as you were when you started.
Best of luck & success to you! Oh, by the way, please visit the other med student forum and list yourself, your school and your class year - we’re having an OPM member roll-call of med students, physicians & OPM alumni physicians. This way, the people who are still pre-meds will have a better idea of who the resource people are & hopefully feel more comfortable approaching us.

QUOTE (starayamoskva @ Jun 16 2003, 10:36 PM)
WOW!
Today was my first day on rotations as an M3 and I started out with peds.
We got there at 730 this morning and I found out that I was on call. So I spent most of the day just trying to figure out where I am supposed to be when.
The cool thing though is that I got to see patients!
I saw some cool stuff: meningococcal meningitis, spina bifida, pneumonia, pediatric lupus nephritis, amniotic band syndrome and tick paralysis.
It was a long hard day but it was fun.
Jean.

Hi there,
I started with Peds as my first third-year clerkship. It is the best of both worlds because you get a little bit of medicine and you get to find out where everything is located. You also get to work-up your patients well. Learn to do a good pediatric and neonatal exam. This may be your only opportunity to hone these skills. The kids also have great toys that you can enjoy when you are done with your work.
Natalie cool.gif

Jean,
Congrats on starting rotations. It sounds like you had a great day! I’m jealous! smile.gif
Did you really not know you would be on call until you got there? Are things always that uncertain? I’m just worried since I have two kids.
Keep us updated on how things go!

QUOTE (starayamoskva @ Jun 17 2003, 03:36 AM)
WOW!
Today was my first day on rotations as an M3 and I started out with peds.

Howdy!
Looks like we're in the same boat. I start with Medicine on Monday. I'm still brain dead from Step I but am really looking forward to doing some clinical stuff again (I've been a paramedic for, shall we say, awhile).
Take care and have fun!
Jeff Jarvis, MS-III
UTMB
QUOTE
Did you really not know you would be on call until you got there? Are things always that uncertain? I'm just worried since I have two kids.

Pam, it varied by rotation for me. On some rotations the group of students was asked to work out the call schedule among themselves. Someone *would* be asked to take call the first night, and you are very popular if you volunteer to do that. (I actually packed and planned to do this more than once, knowing that it would earn me brownie points with my colleagues, but didn't ever have to do it.) On other rotations, call schedules were assigned in advance but could often be switched - although it would probably be very tough to get someone to switch for the first night. tongue.gif
The amount of advance notice you get about anything related to a particular rotation will also vary a lot, in my experience. There may be places where the clinical coordinators are well-organized, and get in touch with the students far in advance of the first day of the rotation, but I did not find that to be the case. (ahem, this is a mild understatement)
This is the unpredictability of third year that I have eventually adapted to but really drove me nuts initially, and I don't have little kids or child care issues. Try to befriend folks in the classes ahead of you who are dealing with the same concerns, and find out how they are doing it. You'll also find out more in the next two years about how rotations work at your school, and what the expectations are. It's probably a good situation for preparing for the worst, and being pleasantly surprised.

Hi there,
Our call as medical students was done somewhat alphabetically. On every rotation, I was on-call the first night. I just took an overnight bag and planned on staying in. This is one of the major hurdles for non-trads with kids but it is one that must be overcome along with unexpected child ill and the like. I can tell you from the experience of others in my class, the single med students with no kids rapidly lose sympathy for you. It is just a fact because everyone's personal outside time is precious. Folks will pitch in to help you but you have to be prepared to return the favor and then more. Depressing thought but you will come to understand their feelings.
Natalie