Im starting family med at houma in august and i was wondering if anyone else is starting at the same time and also anyone who can provide me with their personal experience there doing family med, i would greatly appreciate it. any other comments or suggestions in regards to the hospital or life there(what i need to bring or need to know etc) would also be greatly appreciated. thanks

Chabert Hospital in Houma is a great place to learn. Alot of hands on stuff. The Family rotation is a good one (clinic work) and you will find no better than Dr. DeLord. When I grow up I want to be him. Pretty much it. Finding a place to live is no problem . Liz Duke has a list of availables if you are interested. She takes great care of us budding doc's. Not alot of night life in Houma but that isnt what you are here for anyway. All the normal stores and places to eat though... Good luck to you...I did the majority of my clinicals in Houma and they prepared me well I believe....two thumbs up from me!!!!

do you know which would be a good book for family med? im starting with this as my first rotation so i'm not sure what to expect. can you give me a better idea of what i should be expecting? thanks mystic

I personally liked the blueprints group of books for common and concise things. Relax about the Family rotation. Dr. DeLord is very patient and will take his time with you to discuss things. You will more than likely be with 5 other students and typically they are 4th year so they know the ropes. They will help you along. The nursing staff in the clinic are pretty easy to get along with and your days will not be long ones. Generally you will be there from 8:30 til about 4 or 5. Some days less. No weekends or call. It is a very good rotation to get your feet wet but you will rapidly develop your one on one patient skills. It is a great rotation to prepare you for step 2 cs. If you have a PDA I would load it with some drug software because you are in fact going to be suggesting how to treat the patients. Otherwise a pharmacopia ( pocket one ) is often helpful. You will see mostly DM, HTN, High Cholesterol...but there are at times some very challenging cases of an urgent nature that present themselves...Lots of CHF, Old MI's and chronic bronchitis... All the stuff you will deal with on a daily basis in a family practice environment. Again...Dr DeLord is the greatest. When you get there, look at the letter he has framed in his office just to the left of the entrance. It will speak volumes as to the quality of the man you are being blessed to learn from. Good Luck.