Jump to content

EM Clinical Rotation


Recommended Posts

Hello,

 

I wanted to gather some opinions/advice on pros/cons of an EM rotation. Should one do a smaller ER (just you and the physician) or a Level 1 trauma center (you, other PA students, med students, Residents). Some people seem to prefer the larger centers and that their "would not be any cool things at the smaller hospital". I have both types of rotations set up. Just wanted to see what others think. I apologize if this post is in the wrong place. Thank you for your help.

 

Have a nice day,

 

TV

I can't really offer more than observations from the lvl1 trauma center I transport to. I notice that whenever we bring in a serious patient there is a great deal of competition over procedures etc.

 

While it's true that at a smaller ER EMS might not bring in the "cool stuff" people will walk through the doors with all sorts of things that belong elsewhere. The public doesn't differentiate between the small ER and the Trauma center... all they see is ER.

to be honest it seems more like they each have their pros and cons which makes them unique...i think it would depend more on your learning style....personally I like more of a one on one set up so the rural facility seems like a bonus. sure I would "love" to see some of the crazy stuff at a trauma center but then again so would all the other students there. having both set up seems like agreat idea....that way you can side by side compare

  • Moderator

I did trauma surg( as the only student on service) at the level 1 trauma ctr for wa dc(5 weeks), a community er selective(12 weeks), a peds er rotation(5 weeks), and a suburban er rotation( 5 weeks).

what makes an em rotation good is lots of pathology and few or no other students there + good preceptors. that can happen in either rural or urban environments. talk to students who have done the rotations before if possible.

  • 3 weeks later...

Just to throw in my 2 cents, when I chose my rotations last fall I was more tempted by the big city hospitals vs the smaller rural hospitals. Now that I'm 6 rotations deep, I've noticed an undeniable pattern. My best rotations have been in the middle of friggin nowhere. And, more significantly, my WORST have been in downtown big city hospitals. I've had awful run-ins with residents, been chewed out by know-it-all nurses, and completely thrown to the wolves by absent and spacey preceptors.

 

My ER rotation was one of my best rotations because it was a small country hospital with a level 1 trauma center 30 mins away. There was only one MD/DO on at a time which meant the PA student was an integral part of carrying the work-load. The nurses were SO nice (they even let me practice IVs on them), the anesthesiologists took me under their wing and let me practice intubations on their surgery patients, and the OB-GYN docs taught me everything they could about ER women's health whenever they were called in. We saw some cool traumas and were able to stabilize them before they were med-evac'd out, so I didn't miss out on that completely. ALL the lacerations that walked in the door were mine to sew up.. everyone was great and I loved it.

But that was just my experience :)

 

Good luck with yours!

Just to throw in my 2 cents, when I chose my rotations last fall I was more tempted by the big city hospitals vs the smaller rural hospitals. Now that I'm 6 rotations deep, I've noticed an undeniable pattern. My best rotations have been in the middle of friggin nowhere. And, more significantly, my WORST have been in downtown big city hospitals. I've had awful run-ins with residents, been chewed out by know-it-all nurses, and completely thrown to the wolves by absent and spacey preceptors.

 

My ER rotation was one of my best rotations because it was a small country hospital with a level 1 trauma center 30 mins away. There was only one MD/DO on at a time which meant the PA student was an integral part of carrying the work-load. The nurses were SO nice (they even let me practice IVs on them), the anesthesiologists took me under their wing and let me practice intubations on their surgery patients, and the OB-GYN docs taught me everything they could about ER women's health whenever they were called in. We saw some cool traumas and were able to stabilize them before they were med-evac'd out, so I didn't miss out on that completely. ALL the lacerations that walked in the door were mine to sew up.. everyone was great and I loved it.

But that was just my experience :)

 

Good luck with yours!

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to the Physician Assistant Forum! This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn More