May Newsletter

May was an interesting experience for me. I had two two-week rotations and both of them were electives. I'm not sure if this is always the case, but both preceptors repeatedly told me I had all sorts of latitude on activities and duties since I was doing electives. I've had the past week off and have been trying to sort out which residencies I want to apply to. Once I figured that out, I was able to work on the more immediate step of applying for audition rotations at those sites so I can hopefully impress them and improve my chances of getting into the residency. I finally finished all of this so I just have to wait to see which ones will allow me a rotation. Next is packing to go to El Paso to work with a radiologist my uncle knows there, as well as working with my uncle, an orthopod, so I can have some clue of what I'm doing when audition rotations start.

July is designated as a study month at my school, which I assumed was standard practice among med schools, but apparently not. The bummer is that our "study month" eats up a potential audition month. I guess it will be good to have time to read up on orthopedics plus study for part two of the boards.

Life is hectic right now, as may be apparent from this hastily-written, brief newsletter, but it's all just a part of the process. What really got to me recently was looking at the various programs' weekly schedules for orthopedic residents and how very convoluted they can be. There is an 80-hour cap on the work week; earlier in med school, I was annoyed that the work week had been shortened because of the decreased patient contact and learning time. I may feel differently when I start next July. Regarding the work week, residents keep track of their own hours, and yes, there's an app for that. I just downloaded HoursTracker and it seems quite handy.

Scott