My first rotation of 3rd year: Internal Medicine.
I had requested this clerkship to be in slot #1 for a few reasons. First, I figured I would hopefully not sounds like a total idiot, having just come off of Step 1 studying; this unfortunately didn't matter and I now realize that I was going to sound like an idiot no matter what, but at least I tried. Second, I figured having this first would set me up well for all of the rest of the clerkships. Finally, I didn't think that there was any chance that I would like Internal Medicine enough to make it my lifelong profession, so why not take it first?
What I loved:
1) Amazing diversity of cases - Every patient was so different; loved seeing the rare and and interesting diseases I didn't think actually existed in my patients!
2) In patient setting - The really really really sick patients (meaning interesting/complicated cases) are all in-patient. So, the fact that the clerkship was 6 weeks in patient, 2 weeks outpatient was a BIG plus for me!
3) Knowing everything about your patients - IM doctors are the main provider for their patients. So, these doctors know their patients medical history inside and out. Unlike the other fields I have been exposed to, which only really care about the organ they specialize in, IM peeps look at the patients as a whole and know every little detail...its pretty awesome actually.
4) Flexibility on what/where you practice - IM has about 123928109 different sub-specialties and about 230432840 different settings you can work in. From a general internist that works mostly out patient to a cardiologist who does mostly in patient procedures, IM truly has so many paths. So, for someone like me who is indecisive on what they want to do, this is very appealing.
What I didn't love:
1) No pediatrics/obstetrical patients - Lets be real. I LOVE babies. I love teenagers. I love pregnant women. I love sexual health. So, the biggest thing that turns me off on IM is that this is the field that has none of these patients. Any time there is a kid, they are sent to family med or peds. Anytime there is a pregnant lady, they are sent to family med or OB/GYN. So, literally my two favorite patient populations are not included in IM. Big bummer.
2) No procedures. None. I literally did not do a single procedure on my two months of IM. I know there are some sub-specialities like cardio and GI that are more procedure-based, but getting to that means a lot of non-procedural rounding days. Don't know if I can handle that.
3) Talking, instead of doing: So.Much.Rounding. Literally all day is rounding. Sometimes it felt like we were discussing problems really thoroughly and spending a lot of time conceptualizing what was wrong with the patient, but that work didn't really translate into much improvement in the patients care. Obviously thinking about medical problems is important and the basis of medicine, but all day? It was too much.
So, overall...Internal Medicine was a great experience. I actually really did enjoy it a lot. I am unsure that this is my future profession, but I havent completely ruled it out!
