Written by: McMaster Medical School c2023 Student, Hamilton Campus 1. Where and how long was your placement? How did you get to the elective?
I did a 1-week post-MF4 elective in plastic surgery at Etobicoke General. There is a way to take the GO bus and Toronto transit from Hamilton, but it's a really long commute. I drove myself and got around $100 from MacCare, which covered the commute cost from Hamilton. 2. Describe a typical day at your elective. I did 4 days in plastics since my preceptor was off that Friday and no other plastic surgeons were working. My days started around 8am and ended around 4pm, sometimes earlier. I had two days of half clinic, half minor procedures, and then two days of OR. The first clinic day was in a large clinic shared with other surgeons and allied health like nurses and physiotherapists. Here I got to see a couple patients and started learning how to present cases and work through management. There were quite a few hand-related cases such as trauma, carpal tunnel, and osteoarthritis. The second clinic day was in the surgeon's private practice, where we saw follow ups and consults. There were a number of skin cancer-related cases, such as melanoma of the nail. The minor procedure room consisted mostly of simple basal and squamous cell excisions. Patients are awake the entire time. Here I got to prepare the local anesthetic and do some suturing. Then the last two days were in the OR. These cases were quite varied. I saw ankyloglossia, Dupuytrens release, nasal reconstruction, and a vermilionectomy. Everyone in the OR was really nice and scrubbed in every time. The only other learner was a c2022 with anesthesia. My second OR day was with a different surgeon, who specialized in breast reconstruction, mostly related to breast cancer. I also scrubbed in for every case and helped cauterize and suture. I learned a lot about breast anatomy and fat grafting. The surgeon also gave me a pack of suturing supplies so I could practice during the breaks and take home. 3. What level of responsibility/exposure did you have as a medical student? Since it was one of my first post MF4's, I went into it not really knowing much and hoping to explore the career. I got a lot of surgical exposure and one-on-one learning the the surgeons. 4. What is your most memorable experience? My most memorable experience was how considerate my attending were. They really wanted to get to know me and helped me think through my career choices. His words of wisdom were meaningful and opened my eyes to the options in front of me. My main preceptor also had a lot experience heading a nonprofit and through hearing his stories, I gained a lot of insight into what it entails. 5. What was one thing you didn’t like ? Prior to this elective, I also did an ENT elective at St. Jos. Surprisingly, they overlapped a lot in the types of cases we saw since St. Jos ENT handles mostly head and neck cases. Since I was exploring surgery, I would have liked to have seen more diversity in types of procedures. However, after two weeks in surgical specialities I think it really helped inform my choices. 6. Do you have any recommendations for things to do/explore/eat in the local area? There are quite a few places with nice skyline views of downtown Toronto near the water. Otherwise I didn't really explore much else in the surrounding community. 7. 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? I wish I had read up more on hand and face anatomy (innervation, blood supply, etc.) I also would have liked to been prepared for common hand complaints that plastics handles. I would also recommend brushing up on skin flaps and grafts. I did not really know what to expect with plastics so I came in with not as much knowledge as I would have wanted. 8. Would you recommend this elective/core to current students? Definitely if you're exploring a career in plastics. The surgeons are always looking to teach and some are very hands-on.
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Etobicoke Wellness Center (next to the main hospital), background credit: spectrumlockers.com
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