Q&a With Mcgill Med Ambassadors

[soupefroide]

On 4/8/2022 at 9:25 PM, Klark said:

The vast majority of Med-Ps get 4.0 (source : was a Med-P) so no there are no scholarships offered to Med-Ps once they’re done with the preparatory year as far as I know (definitely not merit based at least).

Makes sense  Thank you!

[MedGoal2021]

Question to anyone who has done clinical rotations in surgery/ER/FM:

Hi, I am in FMD right now and I was wondering whether it would be worth it to invest in a suturing kit before entering clerkship. I don't plan on doing surgery, however I believe my manual dexterity falls below the average medical student's and don't wanna screw up much when such skills will be required. 

If so, which suturing techniques do you recommend I practice? Any recommended YouTubers, guidebooks, etc?

Thanks, 

Future MD

[AVSS HDS CSM]

6 hours ago, MedGoal2021 said:

Question to anyone who has done clinical rotations in surgery/ER/FM:

Hi, I am in FMD right now and I was wondering whether it would be worth it to invest in a suturing kit before entering clerkship. I don't plan on doing surgery, however I believe my manual dexterity falls below the average medical student's and don't wanna screw up much when such skills will be required. 

If so, which suturing techniques do you recommend I practice? Any recommended YouTubers, guidebooks, etc?

Thanks, 

Future MD

Hey,

This will mainly come up on your surgery rotations, and possibly on ER or rural FM depending on the luck of the draw (for example, I didn't have any suturing in ER or FM...). Comes up in derm electives, to close biopsy sites. It can also come up in ICU or IM if you happen to be putting in any central lines or such, but I don't think you will ever be required to do it if you don't want to. 

First piece of advice: Don't worry during FMD, this is a TCP and clerkship thing. Just focus on learning stuff and having fun. Mainly on having fun. 

Second piece of advice: Think about joining the MSS suturing club (not sure exactly what it is called these days) or attend their sessions. When I was there they had arranged a group order for suturing kits and materials, and they had guided practice sessions.

Now for some info: The most common things you might be asked to do are: Simple interrupted sutures, running subcuticular sutures (hard to prectice on models), or simple interrupted subcuticular sutures (for lap port closures). (Personally, I had also been asked to put in horizontal mattress sutures and drain sutures during surg rotations, but these are a teeny bit more advanced. Don't worry as much about these.) You also really need to know how to tie square knots and surgeon knots, both one-handed and two-handed ties, and it's best if you can manage it with either hand. This might sound intimidating, but it really just takes steady practice and making sure that you are starting with a good technique. Start off slowly, and focus on just having the right movements. There are countless excellent YouTube clips and online modules on suturing and knot tying, just search and see which ones work for you. If one is too confusing, just switch to another. The main thing is really practicing the technique consistently, with a piece of string or with suture material. Starting with a thicker string might be easier since you can easily see how the knots fall with each throw.

McGill will have a few suturing sessions scattered throughout TCP and clerkship, usually in advance of rotations that might require those skills. These are taught be residents and staff, and are super helpful. For many people, these are enough for establishing technique, and all that you need to do is consistently practice what you are taught at these sessions. 

Many find it helpful to have a suturing kit, these can be purchased online. They are pretty much similar, and they often aren't very good quality, but they can provide some good practice. But as I said at first, look into the MSS suturing interest club, that's really a great resource and they usually arrange a group order.

Don't worry too much, and just spend a bit of time practicing before your rotations. 

Best of luck! You will be fine!