Written by: Harajay Kalra McMaster Medical School c2023, Hamilton Campus 1. How did you get to Oakville? Did you need a car at this location?
I lived near the area and walked or took transit. You can definitely commute from Hamilton though as it is very doable. I didn't get funding (MacCare.) 2. Describe a typical day at your core. There are two different possibilities of scheduling I saw in my time at OTMH in the ER. First there was the "acute" shift. You start your shift in the AB Zone for the first 4 hours, where you see more of the serious complaints that may need a hospital bed. These are the cardiac chest pains, the patients that need to be on monitors, and those that need repeat labs. This way you can pick up patients near the end of the 4 hour block and have the next 4 hours to follow up on them. You are next in the E Zone (D zone in COVID) where you look at things like falls, broken bones and lacs. This is where you'll get to do more of the procedural things. It's a lot more fast-paced here than in Zone AB. The other shift is that in the Rapid Assessment Zone. You will see patients more quickly here. This is also a place where you will have more of a chance to show your ability to provide a differential and a management plan. 4. What level of responsibility/exposure did you have as a medical student? History and Physicals mainly. You present a Ddx and can offer your thoughts on management. For hands-on skills you do sutures and setting fractures with splints. 5. What is your most memorable experience here? One thing I loved about the core was that I was able to see a mix of patient populations. As this is a community site, I got to see at least 1 to 2 paediatric patients every shift as well as some of the bread and butter ER things. One of my more memorable experiences was trying to negotiate a good pediatric hx of a possible seizure/syncope event. It really made me look towards my communication skills and was super fun to do! 6. What was one thing you didn’t like about the core? Its a new EMR and it was somewhat slow in getting things ready logistically. Also it felt like I was really slow at doing notes because the doctors would use Dragon and I would be typing away. 7. Do you have any recommendations for things to do/explore/eat in the local area? Not sure about the area, but the hospital is really nice! They have good food options (Shawarma, Thai food and Tims in the caf and a Starbucks and sushi place in the main lobby)! Good food, good vibes. 8. What’s one thing you wish you knew before doing this elective? This is not something that's specific to this site, but there's no consistency to the preceptors you have. You can ask to have more shifts with specific preceptors, which I totally recommend doing! In addition to this, there are no night shifts (which is honestly great) but if you are looking to explore the career it is not fully representative of the lifestyle. 9. Would you recommend this core to current students? Yes! I think it was really nice and all the preceptors were fun to work with. 10. Anything else you would like people to know? The hamilton scrubs are better than the oakville scrubs.
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Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital ER,
Background Credits: parkin.ca |