Away Rotations: UK

So Jeremy spent a month here prior to mine (Travis). I'm sure he'd be happy to let you know how he felt about things, but here's my feelings.

Pros
Lexington, KY - very cool place to live, affordable, people are friendly
Attendings are very knowledgable, friendly, and helpful (with very few exceptions)
Residents are cool to hang out with
You do (11) 8 hour shifts as a student
You get to see a good amount of variety and a good number of PEDS
Procedures abound
Get to be involved in Traumas (the good, the bad, and the ugly)
It's a required 4th yr rotation for UK, so very few people want to do EM, so you get to stand out and are involved more by the faculty/residents
You get to follow your patients through to disposition (not just be an H&P machine)
Radiology is at a reasonable pace with readings
The nursing staff is nice and helpful. Things usually get done at a reasonable rate

Cons
The ED has 3 EM residents, 2 off service residents, and then possibly another med student. So you can have to fight for patients
The end of rotation exam is a nightmare, but was recently changed and is undergoing changes to make it reasonable
Parking can be a nightmare
The hospital is old
The ED makes a dorm room look like the Biltmore Estate (Quarters are very tight, with a ED expansion under way now and a new ED coming in the future)
The computer system come over with the Mayflower. It is severely outdated and has only the most bare minimum of functions
The order forms are confusing and take some time to get used to
You only get to "tag along" with the sicker patients and not actually see them (unless you're agressive and take over the patient as the resident moves on to other patients)
The department has made a choice to go with Macs. (Two words for you: Beta Max)
The UK ED is a major dumping ground for most of Kentucky. The patients get accepted and then have to be reworked up by the ED before being dispoed.

posted by EMIG @ 11:11 AM Comments: 0