katakari

Yeah, I specifically looked for a low volume site to start out. You have to be a bit careful and know your limitations as people will let you work in almost any of these places. I was offered to cover a site with 70 visits/day. My numbers aren't anything special. I have had enough experience that I feel comfortable with my plans and procedural skills to successfully run a low volume rural ER, especially with good supportive back-up starting out. If you had a more specific question it would be easier to provide more information. Are you looking into doing ER yourself after 2 years of residency?

I will be doing single coverage ER this summer out of residency. From advice of those around me, and my own thoughts, the situation you describe is incredibly rare, especially in a low volume center like where I will be. With 5-15 patients a day just based on probability you won't see as many emergent cases. Despite this, I made sure back-up was good as well and there will always be a physician back-up in the community who is more experienced with procedures if I find that I need extra help. Then of course, knowing your principles, doing as much reading as you can, and having a good plan for these scenarios is optimal. Start with VL, know your airway algorithm, prepare for surgical airway, use techniques that maintain airway reflexes if you are particularly concerned. Simulation can't be understated for High Acuity Low Opportunity scenarios; take extra courses to fill in knowledge gaps. And lastly, something that often goes unsaid is that, unfortunately there is an understanding that due to nature of the location that these patients live that health care outcomes may not be as good compared to living across the street from a Toronto hospital. You just simply can't get Icatibant and a specialist with an airway fellowship to your patient in five minutes. But you do the best that you can to bridge health care disparities. The more you think about it, it's pretty backwards that the areas with the lowest amount of resources also have practitioners with the least formal training.

Any side projects that a student can start learning during clerkship? I have a few weeks off and am trying to arrange horizontals in joint injections, anesthetic injections etc. But I'm trying to think of anything else where a student could get involved. I have a contact for Botox but I feel like they would only let me shadow...

I have also heard derm, ophtho, ent etc. are harder to get as an FM resident. Although that was only a post through this forum. I did an ophtho elective after reading that, although I really enjoy ophtho and wanted to learn more about it anyway. I also did it in a city a few hours away just for the hell of seeing somewhere new. If you're applying FM, and you have FM electives already, why not?

If you are at Mac send me a PM.

This is not true, especially considering a proficiency based model of training.

Thanks. Does anyone have an example of which classifies as which? Is population size 100-200k too big to be a community emerg?

I'm still having a bit of trouble clarifying the differences between these two programs. From the blog post comments I am reading "If you just want to work in the ER a CCFP(EM) will suffice, if you want to have a serious career in academia and research then go through the FRCP." - does this hold true? I enjoy emerg but the main thing holding me back is the academic/research aspect of it. Are there any other things that set FRCP apart from CCFP-EM? I'm imagining it would be difficult to work in larger city centers such as Toronto without the FRCP, but this isn't a goal of mine. I understand with the CCFP route, there is still a risk of not getting the EM +1, but even then I seem to be reading that doctors can work in the emerg part time without the +1

Even at Mac Med he has people discussing his possible identity. If I did Western as undergrad, I would've put some effort in to it already.

Try this one. One of my friends, accepted applicant, VR 8, GPA 4.0. Competitiveness score of -18. The problem with a quantitative model is that it gives the illusion of expertise. Of course, every opinion here is a grain of salt, but I would not want anyone to think that any opinion is more than anecdote. It would be deceptive of a medical student to use fabricated statistics and numbers to convince a premed of a particular opinion.

Rejected. Not surprised lol as I bombed the interview.

Accepted to Hamilton!