Question about Saba Clinicals

[Maxico]

Can anyone tell how are the clinicals in the 3rd and 4th year? How often do we have lectures and do the Saba profressors come teach us at the clinical sites or do we just work with an attending physician. Are we pretty much on our own and given a stack of work to complete or do we get instrucutions and demonstrations. Also I know in the 4th year we have to arrange our electve rotations. How does that work if I would like to do rotations in Texas.

Anyone in the 3rd or 4th year please let me know if the clinicals that you are in are exactly what you expected.
Thanks

[plabon]

yeah, i would like to know more about the topic as well. if possible some one please answer the following questions:

1. what is clinical like? how much work load? how do they evaluate your rotations?

2. who arranges them? what is the procedure?

3. are you on our own for USMLE step two? how useful are the rotations to prepare for step II? how much material are we required to cover on our own for step II?

thanks

[swinginislanddoc]

As someone currently in her first clinical rotation....

yeah, i would like to know more about the topic as well. if possible some one please answer the following questions:


1. what is clinical like? how much work load? how do they evaluate your rotations?

You are expected to work during clinicals. The rotation I have started in (I'm at St. Luke's in Kansas City) is a slower one in IM, meant to get you up to speed and ready to take on a heavier work load the next month. The rotation could depend entirely on the resident you are working directly underneath. I go in earlier than the resident, see my patients if assigned any (if not I just start seeing the pts on our service until I run into the resident). Then I round on all of the pts with the resident. Later we will round with each of the attendings on their pts. When I go in early I check on the pts, ask the nurses about the night, read consults and physicians notes on the chart, then write my own progress note. They don't always use your note for anything but it's practice and you can get constructive feedback. My current resident actually asks us for opinions and recommendations and I even answers questions from the attendings. Sometimes they will "pimp" you. It's all good though. I used to work as a nurse aid so it's still a little weird for me to have people (pts) ask me serious questions.

2. who arranges them? what is the procedure?

Your core rotations are arranged by Sandy Murphy in Gardner. You will arrange electives (i.e. 4th year rotations). Many people do them at hospitals they did their cores at. You will interview with Sandy at the end of your 5th semester and get an idea - just remember that what she tells you on the island is not set in stone.

3. are you on our own for USMLE step two? how useful are the rotations to prepare for step II? how much material are we required to cover on our own for step II?

If by "on your own" you mean studying on your own, then yes. You schedule it, you study for it. You should do most if not all of your cores before taking step II. Those would be IM, Surgery, Peds, Psych and OB/GYN. I've heard a lot of people don't have their Peds done before they take it, they just study really hard and do very well. Hopefully and ideally what will happen is that you will cover a lot of the topics you will be tested on. Also remember you will be tested at the end of each rotation, which will help guide you.

thanks

That's what we're here for! Best of luck everyone!!

~S

[plabon]

wow, thanks for the really comprehensive info, the best info i got so far. can any one shed light on how you go about getting elective rotations? details will be appreciated, as a future med school student we might not be able to catch on to things you might consider common knowledge.
thanks

[microphage]

[QUOTE=swinginislanddoc]As someone currently in her first clinical rotation....

ur melting in KC... I'm baking in Bakersfield, CA...

I'll be burnt, and you'll be soggy.

[swinginislanddoc]

That was very insightful Micro. :-P

As for getting electives - like I said many of them do them at the hospitals they've done some cores at. If you know another place you would like to do some you can ask Sandy (our coordinator) if she has info about how to contact them.

It sounds hard, but from what I hear it's actually pretty easy.

I also got in contact with an alumni currently working in the field I'm interested in via the Alumni page on the Saba website. He suggested looking at hospitals on there where they've taken Saba students before, especially if you're looking into a competitive field.

[wolfvgang22]

First, thanks S for your great reply...thinking about actually doing rounds sounds scary and exciting at the same time!
Also I know in the 4th year we have to arrange our electve rotations. How does that work if I would like to do rotations in Texas.

Regarding Texas rotations, be sure to read the rules for licensure on the texas board of medical examiners web site.
You will notice that if you do ANY clinical rotations in Texas without enrolling as a visiting student at a Texas med school you cannot get licensed to practice medicine in Texas. This applies for electives also, I believe. From what I have heard, this is not easy to do since Texas schools want to keep all their rotation spots for their own students.

If any IMG has done clinicals in Texas successfully, or know someone who has done clinicals in Texas (recently, not 10 years ago) and got a license in Texas please let me know as I'd love to do that, too! Thanks.

[swinginislanddoc]

Well I know a Sabanite that graduated in 1999 and did a residency in TX, but he's not practicing there.

[IntlMed]

thats a great question .. I would like to know if someone actually pulled off something like that in texas ..
Does SABA have any graduates (or current students) who actually did rotations in TX ??

First, thanks S for your great reply...thinking about actually doing rounds sounds scary and exciting at the same time!

Regarding Texas rotations, be sure to read the rules for licensure on the texas board of medical examiners web site.
You will notice that if you do ANY clinical rotations in Texas without enrolling as a visiting student at a Texas med school you cannot get licensed to practice medicine in Texas. This applies for electives also, I believe. From what I have heard, this is not easy to do since Texas schools want to keep all their rotation spots for their own students.

If any IMG has done clinicals in Texas successfully, or know someone who has done clinicals in Texas (recently, not 10 years ago) and got a license in Texas please let me know as I'd love to do that, too! Thanks.