Hi All
As a second year medical student with only a few moths to go before I am really let loose on patients- I am to choose my clinical school for 3rd year (possibly 4th year as well). By "choosing" I mean placing my top 3 preferences in a mysterious SOM hat with the 400 odd other students hoping to get their first preference. I have been wondering if the clinical school you get really matters, as the content taught at all of the eight(?) places on offer is meant to be at the required standard. The smaller, more rural schools sell themselves as able to offer unmatched "hands on" experiences that you wouldn't get in the larger tertiary centres; while the larger hospitals offer rare and wonderful diseases and a strong academic presence, as well as the opportunity to get to know some of the sub-specialty gurus. Now as the intern year is "supposedly" a fair ballot system, contacts should have nothing to do with chances at getting a training spot later on...or will they?
With the increasing numbers of medical students and the well known bottleneck for specialty training places, I am all too aware of the need to set yourself apart from the crowd, or at least develop some competitive edge. I was wondering how others felt? Are clinical experience so early on likely to influence career opportunities? Has any one had a great (or terrible for that matter) experience training either at a major hospital or outer/rural centre?
I realize that what you get out of the training spot ultimately comes down to what you make of it and as I really have little choice in where I end up anyway, it is more for discussions sake. But I would be interested in what you think...
Cheers,
Rob
G'day Rob
I was thinking of the same questions sometime ago because I too have to decide on what hospital I would like to go next year.
Fortunately after talking to a couple of clinicians, the general consensus is no matter where you go, if there's pathology, you'll learn. You might not get spoon fed in some hospitals :) but if you're willing to look those conditions up in textbooks, spend plenty of time with patients, learn the processes in hospitals, those will really impact your career options.
Because in the end, it is your efficiency as an intern, resident, registrar that will differentiate you from the rest. Consultants will pick you out from the crowd within weeks of starting off in their unit, and if you don't show you have the goods (which you learn from uni), then you'll be left behind.
That's just what I've gathered from the opinions from current training doctors :)