jcwinegardner Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 I am in my didactic year at the moment, and we are starting to discuss the clinical year and our preferences for rotation sites. We have one elective rotation. Currently I am planning on working in EM, and my question is this: Which rotation would be most beneficial to working in an ED? My options are: ENT Academic Cardiology GI Pulmonology Neurology Pain Management Orthopedics Dermatology Radiology Research Urology/Nephrology Geriatric Thanks for your input! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted April 11, 2013 Moderator Share Posted April 11, 2013 Given those options, ortho. Trauma surg or peds em would be better though if you can arrange that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SocialMedicine Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 what is an academic rotation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepoPA Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 what is an academic rotation? I was wondering the same thing. What about Trauma/ general surgery/ gyn / peds? Are those options at all? Along with ortho and CT those were the my bread and butter back in my Trauma Days.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuma102 Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 ortho - learn to splint / reduce / suture cards - learn ekgs and, if youre lucky, bedside sono Geri- depends on location. if inpatient, you can probably see / absorb alot and see "the hard discussions" Derm / Neuro - derm for the steroid classes & suturing & I&Ds (you have to get the cyst OUT for the sebaceous cyst to not grow back!) Neuro for subtle exam findings that may be helpful in the ED. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcwinegardner Posted April 17, 2013 Author Share Posted April 17, 2013 I was wondering the same thing. What about Trauma/ general surgery/ gyn / peds? Are those options at all? Along with ortho and CT those were the my bread and butter back in my Trauma Days.... The academic rotation is geared for those who want to go into PA education, I'm not entirely sure what it entales. As far as general surgery, ob/gyn, and peds, they are all included in our required set of rotations. The ones listed above are simple some of the options for the elective rotation. Thanks for the advice guys, I really appreciate it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoRezSkyline Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Of those options, I'd agree that Ortho would be my first choice - preferably with some clinic time in addition to the OR, with a goal of honing your knee/shoulder/back exams, learning to splint, basic FX management (what you can just splint & ship out vs. what needs an ASAP consult), reading films, etc. My second choice would be Cards, because it's bread and butter for the ED and high-yield for PANCE as well - get your EKGs, ACLS stuff down cold. Derm doesn't matter so much for PANCE, but does play a big role in common ED complaints - but I feel like if you can do some DIY learning with a good visual Derm book & Google, learn what makes for a life-threatening rash along with the common stuff you can learn the rest on the job. As for steroid classes, I'll make it easy for you - I reverse-engineered it by learning three that are on the Walmart $4 list ($4 for certain quantities you can look up) in low/med/high potencies. If you just learn these 3 along with some basic info about what conditions need high potency vs., to avoid thin-skinned areas or any L/T use w/ topic steroids in general, when to use oral/IV over topical and how/when to taper you'll be in good shape as far as steroids go... Low Potency - Hydrocortisone cream 2.5% (Group VII for steroid classes) Med Potency - Triamcinolone cream 0.1% or 0.5% (Group IV/III for steroid classes respectively, your choice - both cheap) High Potency - Fluocinonide cream 0.05% (Group II for steroid classes) Good luck - EM is a great choice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SocialMedicine Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 academic rotation would be in last place for me. trauma surgery esp if it carries a lot of suturing and procedure experience would be a good move. geriatrics, critical care also nice ideas. at the end of the day you may just have to roll the dice or pick what will be most enjoyable for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAdamsPAC Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 All of the above can impact on ED medicine skills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAdamsPAC Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 All of the above can impact on ED medicine skills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jen0508 Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 I did a ortho (sports medicine) rotation, so saw alot of acute injuries, i became very comfortable in handling them. It was a helpful rotation for the ED. I would say probably 5 out of 20 patients i saw yesterday were fractures/sprains/strains. I also did GI, pretty helpful but not as much as ortho. Honestly general surgery was more helpful for ED abdominal complaints than gastrointerology. Looking back i would have done cardiology and neurology, which i view as bread and butter. To tell you the truth i'm weak in neuro and cards, neuro was always a snooze fest for me in PA school, and forcing myself into those specialties for 6 weeks would have probably served me well as a PA overall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jen0508 Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 I did a ortho (sports medicine) rotation, so saw alot of acute injuries, i became very comfortable in handling them. It was a helpful rotation for the ED. I would say probably 5 out of 20 patients i saw yesterday were fractures/sprains/strains. I also did GI, pretty helpful but not as much as ortho. Honestly general surgery was more helpful for ED abdominal complaints than gastrointerology. Looking back i would have done cardiology and neurology, which i view as bread and butter. To tell you the truth i'm weak in neuro and cards, neuro was always a snooze fest for me in PA school, and forcing myself into those specialties for 6 weeks would have probably served me well as a PA overall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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