The externship is informal, in that the extern can choose to spend any amount of time with any service depending on their specific interests or the deficiencies they feel they have in their clinical year. The emergency service is very busy, so there is a constant opportunity to participate in emergency visits, procedures, etc. There are didactic case rounds every morning, weekly lectures for the intern class, and other teaching activities the externs can attend. The externs are not given their own cases, rather they are expected to look for interesting cases (consults or ERs) that are coming in, procedures that are happening, etc. and get involved.
There are specialists in Internal medicine (5), Surgery (3), Neurology, Radiology, Critical Care (3), Cardiology, Ophthalmology, Oncology, Clinical Pathology, and Avian/exotic medicine. There are 20 experienced emergency doctors, as well as residents and interns. The hospital is staffed 24/7, and the technicians are highly trained.
The hospital is a 26,000 sf building with a recently added specialty center. Equipment includes MRI, CT scan, digital radiography, telemetry, ultrasound, endoscopy, laparoscopy, a full lab and advanced monitoring equipment in our surgical and procedure rooms as well as the ICU.
Students are expected to work 5 days a week. At least one weekend shift is recommended, especially if they are considering applying for the internship. The typical shift is 10 hours. When on the ER service, the extern typically starts the day in case rounds, and then follows a specific doctor through their ER visits and patient care. The extern does not typically have cases of their own, but can actively participate in procedures and discuss the patient care plans with the attending doctor.
No official housing is provided, but one of the specialists does rent out a basement apartment by the week.