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Toccoa
May 11, 2007 15:15:48 GMT -5
Post by dlollar on May 11, 2007 15:15:48 GMT -5
I really enjoyed my time in Toccoa. As someone interested in surgery who felt their MCG gen surg experience was lacking, I was pleased to have alot of one on one time in the OR with my attendings. Dr. Meadows and Dr. Fernandez are very different in terms of personalities and strengths but they complement each other well and you can learn alot from both of them. In the con category: the housing was the worst I have experienced, bar none. At one point they actually tore all of the toilets out of the building, and when I expressed a desire to relieve myself was told by the maintanence guys to use "the third tree from the left". In addition, the rooms are dorm rooms with very little furniture (desk and hanging rod) and they are a good 20-25 minutes from the hospital or clinic. I think the clinical rotation made the commute worth it but be forewarned: the housing sucks.
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Toccoa
Jan 14, 2008 11:55:00 GMT -5
Post by peggysue on Jan 14, 2008 11:55:00 GMT -5
Location and living: You stay at the COllin's Lodge of North GA Tech in Clarksville. I20 to exit 172. Go right (north) 17. Follow. Just at the south end of Toccoa, if you keep going straight by the Walmart, you will be on 17alt. Follow until it dead-ends between a Kangaroo & Exxon at a light. You will go through the light and turn left at a stop sign onto 385/441historic. Just after it turns into 35mph, take a right onto Hwy 197 (sign points that way for North GA tech). The housing is dorm... twin beds (but at least you can't feel the springs like the call rooms at MCG). Hallway bathroom. Sink in room. Desk, closet. Descent floor space. Overall they seem to keep it clean, but I have seen ants. Whitewash concrete block walls with country accents (kind of creepy at times). And it's nearly a half hour away from the hospital & toccoa clinic. With call over the weekend, I drove over 300 miles during the 1st week (not counting the drive up there), so be prepared.
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Toccoa
Feb 5, 2008 20:43:43 GMT -5
Post by peggysue on Feb 5, 2008 20:43:43 GMT -5
So rotation breakdown is that you do 1 week with each of these and then repeat (in random order):
Dr. Fernandez week = M/W/F surgery in the mornings starting at 7:45 and then Toccoa clinic in the afternoons (all of which is 20-25 min from housing). Tues/Thurs round on any Pt's in hospital and then clinic all day (9-5) in Lavonia (45 min from housing). He will talk to you about coding and surgical technique. In Lavonia you'll also see a lot of people that followed him from when he was practicing in Elberton.
Dr. Meadows week = M/W/F surgery mornings at 7:45 & Toccoa clinic. Tues/Thurs Toccoa clinic all day(9-5). All days might have clinic &/or surgery at the medical spa in Toccoa during lunch/afternoon. He's really big into wanting you to anticipate what he wants. For example, if you are not scrubbed into surgery, have the surgical note finished before they get to closing.
Midwives week = On call all week, M-F morning. Round on L&D patients and then Toccoa clinic all day. Midwives handle pretty much all the vaginal deliveries. Generally they advocate lower intervention during labor/delivery.
Weekend call = Friday afternoon through Sunday night. I did 2 weekends of call. You shouldn't have to do more than every other weekend. They expect you to work out with whatever students are there for who's on call which weekends. There are usually 1-4 students (medical students & PAs) there at any one time.
Overall, I got to participate in 8 vaginal deliveries & 4 c-sections. Everyone at the offices were friendly. Everyone has their own personalities and way of doing things (in other words, don't be surprised when you're asked to do something you learned one way in a different way with a new person). The hours are a bit longer than at MCG, but you get a lot of great exposure & hands on experience (paps/breast exams/etc), and it's not like you really want to go back to that creepy dorm at night anyways. I really enjoyed it and think it's a great rotation for anyone who wants to do a lot during their Ob/Gyn rotation. If the housing was better & closer, I would have no hesitation at saying that it would still be my top pick knowing what I know now.
And your last day of the rotation is the Wed before the Friday test because they want to give you that extra day to study.
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