Unless you have the call
schedual
in advance, be prepared to spend the night at the VA just in case. Bring
any equiptment
you might need to a H&P (ie otoscope/opthalmoscope).
How was the driving and parking?
ok, a bit of a walk when the
weather
is bad.
You must move your cars for overnights at the VA.
How bad were the on call hours?
not bad, learned a lot. q4 at
JCVA
overnight, q5 at SLUH and you are usually home by 9:00-10:00.
What were your weekday hours?
Work rounds start at 7:30, usually
pre-round on 2-4 patients. Notes can be written after rounds usually. At
SLUH lots of
lectures during the day (too many!). Usually leave by 5:00. Medicine has
a lot of H&P
required to turn in. These can be time consuming - budget your time.
What were your weekend hours?
Saturday or Sunday off unless have
Saturday call. Usually done early.
What should we know about the attendings and residents?
Most are
pretty friendly. Most offer tons of teaching!
Did you learn any new procedures or skills?
ABG's, paracentesis
What books were useful for the shelf exam?
Pre-test was
excellent.
NMS good but too long
Ferri's is a must have for the floors.
How was your shelf exam?
7/10
Did you have enough time to study for it?
The range of topics is
so broad you could always study more. But you can study enough, just
don't put it all
off until the end.
What pearls of wisdom should an incoming student ABSOLUTELY know?
How would you rate the stress level?
tolerable
Are you now more or less interested in this specialty as a career?
