Written by: Lea Tessier, McMaster Medical School c2023, Hamilton Campus 1. How did you get to the elective/core? Did you need a car at this location?
Commute (city bus from Hamilton.) 2. What were your accommodations like? Did you get any funding from the school (MacCare etc?) No accommodations from MacCare, as I was just a few kilometres short from being eligible. 3. Describe a typical day at your elective/core. Take the bus at 7:00 AM, arrive at 8:30AM. Review patient list, officially start at 9AM. Lunch at 11:45AM-1PM, eat and work on notes during lunch. See the last patient at around 5PM. Finish up notes and preceptor does some improvised teaching until 5:40PM. Take the bus at 5:50PM, arrive home at 7PM. 4. What level of responsibility/exposure did you have as a medical student? It is a small clinic (only 1 preceptor and 1 nurse), so my exposure and level of responsibility is relatively high. I see all the patients and write the notes/letters. I have not done phone calls yet. I obviously do not order or prescribe things without reviewing with my preceptor. 5. What is your most memorable experience from this elective/core? We were consulted for a child with ADHD and ODD. When we saw him, he was one of the most striking cases of pediatric anxiety/depression/defiance that my preceptor has ever seen. His parents seemed heartbroken. They tried everything; community resources, psychiatrists, school support... There was a sliver of hope when my preceptor told them that he has seen a similar case that had good outcomes. It made me feel optimistic and hopeful for the parents. Their gratitude and eagerness to work with him was very obvious. 6. What was one thing you didn’t like about the elective/core? The fact that I don't qualify for MacCare/Funding for housing/airbnb. Taking the bus is cheaper than paying gas (although it does add up), but time is money. I know that spending about 3 hours commuting per day is going to burn me out much faster than I would have otherwise. 7. Has this elective influenced your career decisions? If so, how? It made me realise I do not want to do Pediatrics! I love children, but I cannot exclusively see children. Doing a physical exam on a screaming toddler is by far the most challenging thing I have done in medical school so far. 8. Do you have any recommendations for things to do/explore/eat in the local area? I would not know. Unfortunately, I don't have time to explore! 9. What’s one thing you wish you knew before doing this elective/future advice you have for students doing an elective here in the future? Half of your patients will be "behavioural" consults - aka. ADHD/ODD. 10. Would you recommend this elective/core to current students? If you are interested in pediatrics, absolutely. My preceptor is very kind, the clinic is so small (so lots of independence), and it feels very low pressure. 11. Anything else you want people to know/would like to add about the experience? If you are interested in improving your history taking skills and practice writing letters, this is a good one. It's basically all you do! You work 9-5 (more like 8:30-5:30), never weekends, no call. For someone who is more interested in medicine/pediatrics, this may not be the one for you.
0 Comments
|
Downtown Burlington, Background Credits: hraadvisors.com
|