Post by csamsel on Aug 13, 2006 16:21:57 GMT -5
This rotation is a great rotation to learn a lot about some of the major
shelf exam conditions--namely COPD, Diabetes (Honk/DKA), EtOH, Parkinson's and
other elderly-diseases, Pneumonia, and drug abuse. You'll get a good bit
of patients that have more specialized diseases--such as cancers, acid/base
disorders, renal failure, CHF, AIDS, cirrhosis, sickle cell, pancreatitis.
These patients come to your service because they either have other comorbidities
better served by a general team or because it's unclear what these patients
really have (i.e. cancer versus PE).
It really helps you out shelf-wise because as the general medicine team you get tons of "dunnos" dumped on you and you have to figure out what they have. If you have good
interns and residents, they'll make sure you learn what tests are validated and tons of
pimping on differentials and deducing things that are the most likely--exactly how the
shelf exam is formatted.
The problem with general medicine at MCG is the same thing as the good, though--namely
that you get dumped on. You'll have lots of problem patients that no one wants--liver cirrhosis patients who are coughing up blood, going into DTs yet the GI team doesn't want
to take them because they hate dealing with EtOH abusers. Red med is also the team that gets stuck with tons of "gomers" that sadly no one wants--not their families, not any nursing homes. So they hang out forever waiting for social work to place them. You'll see lots of drug seekers, noncompliant patients who repeat, and persons trying to get disability by malingering.
Overall though, the bad part of Red medicine is something everyone needs to see. And even though you'll probably always be carrying a COPDer who smokes too much and a noncompliant diabetic, you'll learn a great deal about medicine because everyone has HTN, DM, CAD, GERD, etc. You'll become a quick worker and 5W is very central to all the other medicines and meeting rooms for Internal Med. Additionally, there is almost always a PharmD that works with the team and occasionally some Pharm Students from UGA--great way to absorb drug info and bounce ideas about meds off them.
I give the rotation an A-
Chase
shelf exam conditions--namely COPD, Diabetes (Honk/DKA), EtOH, Parkinson's and
other elderly-diseases, Pneumonia, and drug abuse. You'll get a good bit
of patients that have more specialized diseases--such as cancers, acid/base
disorders, renal failure, CHF, AIDS, cirrhosis, sickle cell, pancreatitis.
These patients come to your service because they either have other comorbidities
better served by a general team or because it's unclear what these patients
really have (i.e. cancer versus PE).
It really helps you out shelf-wise because as the general medicine team you get tons of "dunnos" dumped on you and you have to figure out what they have. If you have good
interns and residents, they'll make sure you learn what tests are validated and tons of
pimping on differentials and deducing things that are the most likely--exactly how the
shelf exam is formatted.
The problem with general medicine at MCG is the same thing as the good, though--namely
that you get dumped on. You'll have lots of problem patients that no one wants--liver cirrhosis patients who are coughing up blood, going into DTs yet the GI team doesn't want
to take them because they hate dealing with EtOH abusers. Red med is also the team that gets stuck with tons of "gomers" that sadly no one wants--not their families, not any nursing homes. So they hang out forever waiting for social work to place them. You'll see lots of drug seekers, noncompliant patients who repeat, and persons trying to get disability by malingering.
Overall though, the bad part of Red medicine is something everyone needs to see. And even though you'll probably always be carrying a COPDer who smokes too much and a noncompliant diabetic, you'll learn a great deal about medicine because everyone has HTN, DM, CAD, GERD, etc. You'll become a quick worker and 5W is very central to all the other medicines and meeting rooms for Internal Med. Additionally, there is almost always a PharmD that works with the team and occasionally some Pharm Students from UGA--great way to absorb drug info and bounce ideas about meds off them.
I give the rotation an A-
Chase
