12-26-2016, 06:48 PM
Rotation consists of two primary services for students, cranial and trauma for two weeks each. You have the option to take a few days to a week at Childrens. I highly recommend it, it is a major gem. Tons of operations, 2 to 3 rooms a day.
You dont have any clinic responsibilities during the rotation (though I elected to spend a couple days to get some more face time with a couple attendings that I had research interests in). Basically you just operate every day and attend teaching conferences (highly recommend the 3D skull base conference). No overnight call, but they want you to do a few nights with the moonlighter, who is a senior resident that they pay 500 bucks to take consults from 5 to 10. Awesome experience and chance to get to know your future chief. Basically you see the consults, present, write the notes, learn any procedures that pop up. Since the moonlighter has no service responsibilities, down time is chock full of teaching and socializing. Weekends they let you kind of work out your own schedule. My co subis and I alternated days.
In terms of ORs theres tons to choose from, usually 9 to 10 rooms going with a few less on Fridays. You arent expected to operate on the service you are on, and I highly recommend doing at least one scoli correction because its such a big case and the chief resident let me dissect as much of my side as I could before he finished his, the helped me through the rest. Great practice for closing too. Definitely see an aneurysm or two with the vascular guys as well as some cases with Friedlander (AVMs, Aneurysms) and Lunsford (tumors and GK). Take a day with Lunsford in clinic, he is a human encyclopedia of teaching goodness. Skull base cases are a sight to see, but you wont get to do much since they are endoscopic.
Morning responsibilities include collecting labs on trauma and presenting icu patients on cranial service.
Ask the coordinator about housing, a couple of the residents had spare rooms that they will rent you on the cheap near the hospital. A car isnt an absolute must since there is only one hospital and you can always bus it to Childrens or hitch a ride with a resident. That being said, you have substantial down time to explore Pittsburgh, and the areas of interest are scattered enough to make it convenient to drive.
You dont have any clinic responsibilities during the rotation (though I elected to spend a couple days to get some more face time with a couple attendings that I had research interests in). Basically you just operate every day and attend teaching conferences (highly recommend the 3D skull base conference). No overnight call, but they want you to do a few nights with the moonlighter, who is a senior resident that they pay 500 bucks to take consults from 5 to 10. Awesome experience and chance to get to know your future chief. Basically you see the consults, present, write the notes, learn any procedures that pop up. Since the moonlighter has no service responsibilities, down time is chock full of teaching and socializing. Weekends they let you kind of work out your own schedule. My co subis and I alternated days.
In terms of ORs theres tons to choose from, usually 9 to 10 rooms going with a few less on Fridays. You arent expected to operate on the service you are on, and I highly recommend doing at least one scoli correction because its such a big case and the chief resident let me dissect as much of my side as I could before he finished his, the helped me through the rest. Great practice for closing too. Definitely see an aneurysm or two with the vascular guys as well as some cases with Friedlander (AVMs, Aneurysms) and Lunsford (tumors and GK). Take a day with Lunsford in clinic, he is a human encyclopedia of teaching goodness. Skull base cases are a sight to see, but you wont get to do much since they are endoscopic.
Morning responsibilities include collecting labs on trauma and presenting icu patients on cranial service.
Ask the coordinator about housing, a couple of the residents had spare rooms that they will rent you on the cheap near the hospital. A car isnt an absolute must since there is only one hospital and you can always bus it to Childrens or hitch a ride with a resident. That being said, you have substantial down time to explore Pittsburgh, and the areas of interest are scattered enough to make it convenient to drive.