{"id":494,"date":"2018-01-25T16:02:37","date_gmt":"2018-01-25T16:02:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/?page_id=494"},"modified":"2019-06-07T12:16:27","modified_gmt":"2019-06-07T17:16:27","slug":"how-to-ace-your-rotations","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/students\/rotations\/how-to-ace-your-rotations\/","title":{"rendered":"Rocking Your Rotations"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Rotations present a prime opportunity to learn about every aspect of providing care, from clinical tasks to department protocols and electronic medical records. They also give students the chance to make lasting connections that, with particular success, could eventually lead to a residency placement.<\/p>\n<p>Once you&#8217;ve scheduled your rotations, it&#8217;s time to make sure you&#8217;re ready to demonstrate your medical knowledge, learn as much as you can and make a great impression on your program director, attendings and hospital staff.<\/p>\n<h3>What to bring<\/h3>\n<p>Prior to your start date, email your preceptor questions on how to prepare for the rotation, such as the dress code and what you should bring with you on your first day. Here are some items former students found to be helpful during their rotations.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Tablet or smartphone loaded with\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/thedo.osteopathic.org\/2015\/03\/theres-an-app-for-that\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">medical apps<\/a>\u00a0for quick access to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.epocrates.com\/products\/features\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">medication guides<\/a>, medical\u00a0journals\u00a0and specialty resources.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/medfools.com\/downloads.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Scutsheets<\/a>\u00a0or index cards to track patient data.<\/li>\n<li>Physical exam equipment, including a stethoscope and pen light.<\/li>\n<li>Copies of rotation-specific books, such as\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/search?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;index=books&amp;keywords=Case%20Files&amp;linkCode=ur2&amp;tag=studentdocom-20&amp;linkId=54NWPFFXAA7RR6PY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Case Files<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/search?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;index=books&amp;keywords=Blueprints&amp;linkCode=ur2&amp;tag=studentdocom-20&amp;linkId=IHL3INYIUWEQ6YVL\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Blueprints<\/a>, to brush up on references for different specialties.<\/li>\n<li>Something to write with.<\/li>\n<li>Healthy snacks. You&#8217;ll need to keep your energy up!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Making an impression<\/h3>\n<p>You can make a good impression during your rotations by:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Showing up a half-hour early to ensure plenty of time to find parking and to find out where you are supposed to be.<\/li>\n<li>Creating a list of goals for the rotation, including skills you want to learn or practice.<\/li>\n<li>Wearing professional attire.<\/li>\n<li>Letting your attending physician know early on if you\u2019re hoping to receive a letter of recommendation. Some programs have specific requirements for students to fulfill before receiving a rec letter, so you\u2019ll want to learn what they are.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Getting clinical<\/h3>\n<p>Here are some steps to ensure a smooth transition from the classroom to the exam room:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>If you get stumped on how to treat a patient, make a note to read up on relevant case studies later. This will help strengthen your knowledge base and may help you contribute more to a patient\u2019s treatment plan.<\/li>\n<li>Teaching moments are important, but don&#8217;t expect your attending physician to give you a personalized lecture.<\/li>\n<li>Some students find it difficult to transition into a learning environment that isn\u2019t centered around a formal teaching structure, but rotations are a great opportunity to be self-sufficient and apply everything you have learned so far in medical school.<\/li>\n<li>Take the opportunity to engage with the teachers you have on hand &#8211; the ancillary staff, the attending physicians, the patients and their peers \u2013 by asking questions about their role on the medical team.<\/li>\n<li>Check in with your preceptor from time to time to see if you\u2019re meeting their expectations and learn how you can continue to improve.<\/li>\n<li>Be professional, especially regarding social media. Don\u2019t use your phone for personal calls or texts unless it\u2019s an emergency. Remember also that patient confidentiality is protected by law\u2014medical students have been asked to leave medical school for posting patient info online.<\/li>\n<li>Brush up on your tech skills by becoming familiar with the rotation site\u2019s electronic medical record system.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Accepting feedback<\/h3>\n<p>The attending physician doesn\u2019t expect you to know everything, especially when you\u2019re first starting out in rotations. Ask for help if you need it, and if you make a mistake, admit it honestly, learn everything you can from the experience and move on.<\/p>\n<p>You might not be accustomed to hearing negative feedback on your performance on a regular basis. However, accepting the feedback, even if you do not agree with your preceptor, demonstrates your willingness to improve your skills.<\/p>\n<p>The bright side is that not all feedback will be negative. Remember to get letters of recommendation from the medical staff who supervised you during your best rotations, especially the supervisor for the specialty in which you want to practice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rotations present a prime opportunity to learn about every aspect of providing care, from clinical tasks to department protocols and electronic medical records. They also give students the chance to make lasting connections that, with particular success, could eventually lead to a residency placement. Once you&#8217;ve scheduled your rotations, it&#8217;s time to make sure you&#8217;re &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/students\/rotations\/how-to-ace-your-rotations\/\" class=\"readmore\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":7804,"parent":456,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.4 (Yoast SEO v21.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Rocking Your Rotations - American Osteopathic Association<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It&#039;s time to make sure you&#039;re prepared to demonstrate your medical knowledge, learn as much as you can and have success during your rotations.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/students\/rotations\/how-to-ace-your-rotations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rocking Your Rotations\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It&#039;s time to make sure you&#039;re prepared to demonstrate your medical knowledge, learn as much as you can and have success during your rotations.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/students\/rotations\/how-to-ace-your-rotations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Osteopathic Association\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-06-07T17:16:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/rotation-rock.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/students\/rotations\/how-to-ace-your-rotations\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/students\/rotations\/how-to-ace-your-rotations\/\",\"name\":\"Rocking Your Rotations - 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