Summer Electives

Bluebell55

So I'm starting to think about my summer elective for 2010, which is compulsory. Anyone has any ideas of where to go, where did they get good experience, skills, etc??
What stood to people, and was enjoyable??

My options are wide open, from staying in Ireland to going wherever the road takes me!!

Vorsprung

Any ideas on what you might want to do in future? What rotations have you done so far?

Bluebell55

Still have a pretty broad idea of what I want to do- General practice, Emergency Medicine, Obs and Gynae, all on the short list really.

Have done 3 GI rotations, a respiratory rotation, GP rotation, 2 anaesthetics rotations, and a surgery rotation, all since September...

Was thinking about going to oz, since not doing the USMLEs?? But see there are some good opportunities in the UK too for electives..

Doing a few here over the summer off my own back, have 2 sorted so far, and maybe another if i can find one!!!

sam34

Bluebell55 wrote: »

Doing a few here over the summer off my own back, have 2 sorted so far, and maybe another if i can find one!!!

others may disagree with me, but i would say this...

just do the minimum that you need to do, (it used be six weeks in my day)

this summer is the last long period of free time and holidays that you will have for a long long time, so enjoy it

you will be spending many many summer days and nights working your ass off in hospitals in the future

you are only young once

make the most of this holiday period

the next year at college is going to be very difficult, you should be well-rested before tackling it

and anyway, tbh i dont think you learn too much during an elective that you wont learn in final med or your first week of internship.

thats my 2cents :pac:

drzhivago

sam34 wrote: »

others may disagree with me, but i would say this...

just do the minimum that you need to do, (it used be six weeks in my day)

this summer is the last long period of free time and holidays that you will have for a long long time, so enjoy it

you will be spending many many summer days and nights working your ass off in hospitals in the future

you are only young once

make the most of this holiday period

the next year at college is going to be very difficult, you should be well-rested before tackling it

and anyway, tbh i dont think you learn too much during an elective that you wont learn in final med or your first week of internship.

thats my 2cents :pac:

agree completely
last great summer holiday you will have

if you think you will be working in Ireland forever and you have the money now go to OZ, you will see the same things, same sort of healthcare model, same language and in your off time a lot to do ina country you may never get such a long period in again

Dont kill yourself with the electives they are a load of *****

Amnesiac_ie

Well I only did one elective; it was in Malawi and it was a fantastic experience. I'd throughly recommend any medical student, no matter where you think your future lies spending time working in the developing world.

I'd advise against doing an elective in Ireland. I mean, that's what clinical rotations are there for isn't it? I think it would be a boring waste of your last summer!I had friends who did electives in NZ, Australia and Canada and the feedback was universally good.

If you ever see yourself applying for training in the US I think it would be extremely wise to do an elective (or two) in America. When applying to "the Match" in years to come for extremely competitive residency positions letters of recommendation from American based specialists and proof of elective experience in the States is a big advantage. Many centres will accept student electives without USMLEs. But again, if training in the States is even a possibility in your mind, do the bloody exams now while the source material is still fresh!

Bluebell55

Yeah, I do want to enjoy this summer too, im only losing out on a few weeks, and hopefully will gain more from the experiences....

As for the US, iv pretty much decided I don't want to work there, and any training I will do, I will do it anywhere but there!!!

But re electives, I thought having done the USMLE was pretty much a pre-requisite if u want to do an elective there.... maybe thats something I could look into...

But definitely think going abroad is the answer, whether it be Oz, Africa, or now the US... suppose the UK is pretty similar to here!!!

tallaght01

Do balls-all if you can

You will never again get 3 months of holidays in the summer until you retire.

If you can get away with going in for an hour a week, that's what you should do.

UNless you're going somewhere exotic for a totally unique experience. Other than that, spend your summer doing something better than working in a hospital!