PseudoAmerican
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- May 12, 2023
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Sorry for the long post, but I am about a month out from finishing MS1 at a state MD school on the east coast and I am really torn about what I should do with my summer. Specialty-wise, I would like to keep my doors open for general surgery/trauma surgery/surgical critical care, anesthesia, EM. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Here is the run-down of my options:
Option 1: An 8 week wilderness medicine clinical externship program at a medical clinic in an iconic national park out west. The clinic provides primary care/urgent care/occupational health services to park visitors and locals, and deals with emergencies in the park as they arise. May have opportunities for going along for search and rescue incidents. While participating in the externship, I'd be living on a campsite in a tent for the entire 8 weeks, with access to bathrooms and the basic necessities.
pros:
- would give me very unique talking points come time for residency apps
- I would be in a really cool location and would get to do a lot of hiking, climbing and outdoor recreation, which aligns well with my hobbies and personal interests
- will meet a lot of different people, from mountaineers and climbers to tourists and locals
- I would seemingly get a lot of hands-on clinical experience in a very unique clinic setting that I will not gain exposure to during med school, which is an academic medical center with a level 1 trauma center
cons:
- not related to surgery, but may have exposure to some pre-hospital trauma patient management
- Research will be difficult to balance, but I might be able to manage doing something remote like a retrospective chart study or a case report if I can get organized before leaving for the externship
- I'll be living in a tent for 2 months (I'm not necessarily opposed to this and I think it will afford a lot of time for personal growth and reflection)
Option 2: Stay at my home institution and work as a TA for gross anatomy for Doctor of Physical Therapy students, about 2 hours per day Mon-Friday. Would probably try to do some shadowing in other specialties while getting on some research projects, but I have not organized any research projects with a PI as of yet
pros:
- Make some money/get some elective credit as a TA
- have a lot of extra time on my hands, get to interact with fellow students and hang out with friends
- More time for research projects if I can arrange them
cons:
- won't have a unique experience to talk about
- will not be as fun as Option 1
- the national park opportunity will never be available again
- research is not set up at the moment, but I have some past research experience as a first author of a book chapter and a presentation related to my undergraduate thesis research project
Option 1: An 8 week wilderness medicine clinical externship program at a medical clinic in an iconic national park out west. The clinic provides primary care/urgent care/occupational health services to park visitors and locals, and deals with emergencies in the park as they arise. May have opportunities for going along for search and rescue incidents. While participating in the externship, I'd be living on a campsite in a tent for the entire 8 weeks, with access to bathrooms and the basic necessities.
pros:
- would give me very unique talking points come time for residency apps
- I would be in a really cool location and would get to do a lot of hiking, climbing and outdoor recreation, which aligns well with my hobbies and personal interests
- will meet a lot of different people, from mountaineers and climbers to tourists and locals
- I would seemingly get a lot of hands-on clinical experience in a very unique clinic setting that I will not gain exposure to during med school, which is an academic medical center with a level 1 trauma center
cons:
- not related to surgery, but may have exposure to some pre-hospital trauma patient management
- Research will be difficult to balance, but I might be able to manage doing something remote like a retrospective chart study or a case report if I can get organized before leaving for the externship
- I'll be living in a tent for 2 months (I'm not necessarily opposed to this and I think it will afford a lot of time for personal growth and reflection)
Option 2: Stay at my home institution and work as a TA for gross anatomy for Doctor of Physical Therapy students, about 2 hours per day Mon-Friday. Would probably try to do some shadowing in other specialties while getting on some research projects, but I have not organized any research projects with a PI as of yet
pros:
- Make some money/get some elective credit as a TA
- have a lot of extra time on my hands, get to interact with fellow students and hang out with friends
- More time for research projects if I can arrange them
cons:
- won't have a unique experience to talk about
- will not be as fun as Option 1
- the national park opportunity will never be available again
- research is not set up at the moment, but I have some past research experience as a first author of a book chapter and a presentation related to my undergraduate thesis research project
