When to do a SICU rotation

[Chocolateagar04]

Hi,

Is it better to do a SICU rotation in beggining of 4th year or end of 4th year? I am looking to go into Anesthesia and so I was considering a SICU rotation in September.

There is one place with an available rotation but its a SICU Sub-I and to be honest I'm a bit intimidated by doing a Sub-I with critically ill patients so early in my 4th year.

One of the main reasons I want to do a SICU so early in my 4th year is because I feel like it will look good to Anesthesiology residencies I'm applying to as well as potentially delivering me a good letter of rec which Anesthesiology programs will value.

Does anyone have opinions on SICU vs. MICU w/ my Anesthesiology goals and where are some places that peopel did electives? Any positive or really negative experiences? Places I should stay away from? Thank you.

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[lazylikeapanda]

Hi,

Is it better to do a SICU rotation in beggining of 4th year or end of 4th year? I am looking to go into Anesthesia and so I was considering a SICU rotation in September.

There is one place with an available rotation but its a SICU Sub-I and to be honest I'm a bit intimidated by doing a Sub-I with critically ill patients so early in my 4th year.

One of the main reasons I want to do a SICU so early in my 4th year is because I feel like it will look good to Anesthesiology residencies I'm applying to as well as potentially delivering me a good letter of rec which Anesthesiology programs will value.

Does anyone have opinions on SICU vs. MICU w/ my Anesthesiology goals and where are some places that peopel did electives? Any positive or really negative experiences? Places I should stay away from? Thank you.

MICU vs SICU, doesn't matter if you're applying to anesthesiology. Both units have sick patients, kinda sick patients, and "why are you here?" patients. Program directors won't care which one you did. I would suggest that if you do an ICU rotation pick the one that has the reputation for liking to teach medical students, because after all, the reason why you're there is to learn and not actually treat patients.

As for SICU sub I early in the year, why not? Again, you're there to learn not manage a sick patients. The goals of your rotation should be to learn how to present in an organ system based format vs problem based, know what drugs patients are on and why, and the basics of ventilators/abg/nutrition. If you're aiming to get an letter of recommendation from a critical care trained anesthesiologist, I would warn you that the trend is that they attend only for a week at a time.

Most students get their letters when they rotate on their general anesthesia rotation.

 

[Soleus]

Hi,

Is it better to do a SICU rotation in beggining of 4th year or end of 4th year? I am looking to go into Anesthesia and so I was considering a SICU rotation in September.

There is one place with an available rotation but its a SICU Sub-I and to be honest I'm a bit intimidated by doing a Sub-I with critically ill patients so early in my 4th year.

One of the main reasons I want to do a SICU so early in my 4th year is because I feel like it will look good to Anesthesiology residencies I'm applying to as well as potentially delivering me a good letter of rec which Anesthesiology programs will value.

Does anyone have opinions on SICU vs. MICU w/ my Anesthesiology goals and where are some places that peopel did electives? Any positive or really negative experiences? Places I should stay away from? Thank you.

chocolate, even though it's not universally true, most anesthesia staff run surgical or neurosurgical ICUs, whereas pulm manages most of the medical ICUs, so if you are really hope-bent on getting a letter from anesthesia, I would look into what unit they're running at the institution you'll be at.

As for the timing in fourth year, I think getting the core rotations requiring the most work out of the way early is advisable. You want to learn your fourth year, but you also want to have time for interviews and, also very important, you need some R&R before you start residency. Also, like lazy said, you are there to learn and not manage patients. Even if you are a Sub-I, they are expecting you to learn and not treat patients.