Dissection

HOSPITAL / ROTATIONS / TIPS / ADVICE

A GUIDE TO 4TH YEAR MED

ISSUE 1

CONTENTS 3. From the editors 4. Tips & Tricks 6. Gold Coast University Hospital 7. Robina Hospital 8. The Wesley Hospital 9. Southport Private Hospital 10. Gold Coast Private Hospital 11. Pindara Private Hospital 12. Tweed Hospital 13. MIPS 14. Special Thanks

FROM THE EDITORS: INTRODUCING DISSECTION Looking to dig just a little deeper and figure out what hospital is the right fit for you in 4th year? Well, today is your lucky day.! Your annual Guide to 4th Year Medicine finally has an official name - DISSECTION. Time to get out the scapula and slice through all the knitty-gritties with choosing the right hospitals.

We have h detailed reviews of all the hospitals avaliable in both Brisbane, North and South Gold Coast.

ENJOY! Happy reading from your comms team.

Daph, Amar, Jeet, Radhi, Albert,& Jordan

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TIPS AND TRICKS

Before your rotation begins, take time to review your notes from previous issues about that rotation.

Be sure to draw on this body of knowledge as you demonstrate your diagnostic and clinical skills.

Get to know your ward team – who they are, what they do and how your role interacts with each of them. Having a good working relationship with the ward team is highly valued in the clinical setting.

Since you never know when you’ll have extra time, don’t go anywhere without something to read. Keeping journal articles or reference materials with you will afford you the opportunity to study, read up on a patient, or prepare for your next set of rounds.

With the amount of information that you will get bombarded with and asked to retrieve, a little notebook is invaluable to jot down things quickly and more professional than using electornic devices

Obtain a map, if necessary, and locate the essential areas, such as the patient floors, operating rooms, labs, cafeteria, etc. Knowing your way around will reduce some of the anxiety associated with being at a new place with new people.

Well Dressed. Punctual. Manner.

Your impression on the first day will set the tone for the rest of your rotation. It is easier said than done.

Put that extra effort in the first day to ensure you strike gold.

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TIPS AND TRICKS

This will help you remember your experiences and process your feelings. When it’s time to choose a specialty, your journal will help you reconcile your experiences with your expectations and goals.

While you're only 2 years away from graduating, there is so much yet to learn.

Don't live in the fear of getting grilled when asking questions. Your genuine interest in the rotations will be appreciated by the staff.

If you know individuals who have done this rotation, ask them for pointers. Find out what they felt were the greatest challenges and the most rewarding experiences. Pay particular attention to their comments about people you may be working closely with.

Monitor your patients’ charts daily.

Research patient problems using journals, reference manuals recommended by your team, and Internet sources, such as Medline or UpToDate. This will help you prepare for rounds.

You will not only be challenged academically but physically. Early wake up calls, long hours and criticism. It will have everything but make sure you still try fit those things in life that make you happy amongst the workload

While the year might be divided, you will still see familiar faces in your same rotation. You all will be experiencing the same, so take the time out and grab a coffee and de-stress. If your next rotation is one that has been attended by your mate recently, gather some knowledge.

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Gold Coast University Hospital is a large tertiary hospital exhibiting multiple specialties, allowing students from both Bond and occasionally, Griffith, to see how a large hospital operates. It is particularly interesting when you get to see rarer cases and bigger procedures than what you would see in smaller hospitals as well as very good teachings scheduled weekly. Commuting is very easy if you live near Southport, however it is less accessible from Bond with the added inconvenience of having to pay for parking/public transport. The cafeteria and surrounding areas offer good food options during lunch breaks. However, GCUH have more students per team so there are less opportuntiies to interact and get to know clinicians. You may feel ‘lost in the crowd’ as there are so many staff members and students. You only get to do Ob&Gyn, Paediatrics and a bit of Psychiatry at GCUH. Gen Med and Gen Surg are done at Robina.

1 HOSPITAL BLVD, SOUTHPORT QLD 4215

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Robina Hospital A SYNOPSIS

2 Bayberry Lane, Robina QLD 4226

Nestled in the quiet suburb of Robina, there’s a lot to love about this small hospital close to Bond. It’s easily accessible with free parking, rotation hours are usually very good and due to the small number of students, there are so many opportunities to learn and do things. With a smaller hospital, there are many chances for you to get to know clinicians and teams better; especially through the regular teachings they offer you during rotation. However, with this comes the dilemma that there isn’t much of a change in environment after ‘BVH’ and some cases get repetitive.

A SUMMARY

Student’s going for the GCUH/Robina option for Y4 will be given General Medicine/General Surgery at Robina Hospital (with 2 weeks of vascular surgery at GCUH), Paediatrics/Ob&Gyn at GCUH and 2x4 weeks of Psychiatry at either sites. GCUH/Robina are great options for students’ wanting to stay on the coast and wanting to stay close to the University.

There are decent teachings every week and lots of opportunities to learn and interact with the clinicians. It is also a good opportunity for students’ wanting to stay in QLD for their internship as you get familiar with the QLD health system. Overall GCUH/Robina is a decent site for your year 4 placements and is a popular option among most students.

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The Wesley overall has a had a positive impact on my education and experience at Bond and here are a few reasons

You can work around you interest What I mean by this is, you can request to be on particular theatre lists or spend time in a particular discipline for a few weeks based on what you are interested in. The coordinators are lovely and allow you to have some autonomy when it comes to your education and what you see in hospital.

You are taught by doctors that actually want to teach you Too much have I heard stories of medical students just standing in the corner twiddling their thumbs feeling useless in a team.

Thankfully, I’m yet to come across this at the Wesley as the doctors that take us do it because they elect to.

They take you under their wing and get you as involved as they can in the case, whether it is surgically or in clinic.

If you’re from Brisbane, it’s a great opportunity to come home After a couple of years on the Gold Coast, coming to the Wesley has allowed me to change it up a bit. You can spend at home if you’re from Brisbane, or if you’re not- it’s good change of scenery for a year.

Surgery, General Medicine and Women’s Health rotations are top notch

Tutorials are second to none Considering the number of students at the Wesley are less than in Gold Coast, the tutorials here are conducted on a very personalised basis.

Typically the students per rotation range from 2-6, which allows a much more intimate and engaging tutorial experience

If you’re from Brisbane, it’s a great opportunity to come home After a couple of years on the Gold Coast, coming to the Wesley has allowed me to change it up a bit. You can spend at home if you’re from Brisbane, or if you’re not- it’s good change of scenery for a year.

Case variety and Breadth The Wesley is a center of excellence for robotic surgery and occasionally has experimental procedures which are performed. You get to witness the latest happenings in the medical field as there is constant innovation occurring at this hospital. Another point pertains to the patients you see too. In addition to the “bread and butter” conditions i.e MI, Heart Failure, Pneumonia etc- I have been exposed to some reasonably rare conditions too, which once you see, never leaves your mind. Some patients I have seen include those with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, Coarctation of the Aorta, Ehler Danlos to name some rare genetic conditions and rare adult conditions like cardiac myoma, infective endocarditis and Gullien Barre to name a few.

Cons If you are interested pediatrics and psychiatry, you’re best off doing it else where If you have far to travel If you only want to put in cannulas all day

The Wesley Hospital

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The Southport Private Hospital (TSPH) is the only private mental health rotation available during 4th year. At TSPH, you will mainly come across depression and anxiety with a focus on maintenance treatment. Because of this, the placement itself is quite limited in regards to learning. I personally found that I learnt a lot more whilst in the public system as was able to see a large variety of cases.

Since TSPH is located in Southport, you need to commute there every day.

There is free parking available at the hospital and a carpark key fob can be organised on the first day. In the mornings, it can take up to 30min to drive from Bond University if there is heavy traffic.

PROS Free parking Friendly staff and doctors Good to see contrast between private system and public system

CONS Repetitive with little variety in patient presentations Located near Southport so need to commute Some patients don’t like having students sit in on consults, so you have to just have to wait outside Learning opportunities is quite limited

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Gold Coast Private Hospital Pros Flexible hours with (either am or pm shift) free food very friendly staff Free food Very friendly staff

Cons mainly placed with orthopaedic surgeons (unless you have interest in ortho, it's not helpful for exams at all) travel time and starts at 7am for theatre and means wake up at 5am everyday

Gold coast private had a really nice atmosphere and all the doctors were super welcoming! It was a bit of a trek to travel so early but in the end it's worth it, because the surgeons who take students are really keen on teaching and you are exposed to a wide variety of surgeries that you can't really see in robina

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pindara first-hand experience to give you an insight about Pindara Private Hospital

PROS: - Free parking is a 5 minute walk away (it can sometimes be a trek because you can’t park at the multi-storey carpark) - You get one on one with the consultant which you won’t get with a public hospital - All the consultants that are assigned with you have agreed to teach but in public they have no choice so everyone is really keen - In Surgery you have the opportunity to work with one of the fastest and best general surgeons in QLD, Dr Rutherford - Hours can sometimes be long for Surgery, however for paediatrics and general how medicine hours aren’t too bad

CONS: - General medicine you won’t learn as much as public because of how many patients you get - It is very self driven in general medicine, if you can’t be bothered you will get no knowledge out of it. You have to be proactive and see patients on your own - Some of the doctors aren’t that interesting, but you’re not stuck with them for long - It’s lonely because most of the time you are by yourself, unlike public system :( - Don’t get to do much clinical skills as public lilike cannulation, and suturing however I got lucky and got intubate patients and suture

REVIEW: I specifically asked for Pindara surgery and have no regrets. It was the best surgery experience I got, everyone including nurses were lovely to work with, and even though hours were long I thoroughly enjoyed it. For paediatric everyone got a 2 week stint in pindara and likewise you learn a lot but you just sit in with the consultant, in public you can have your own room and see patients. I haven’t had gen med but I’ve heard it is good as well, the consultants love teaching (most of them). You don’t learn as much but the hours aren’t too bad.

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tweed get to know the pros and cons of working at the Tweed Hospital

PROS: - Free street parking! (5 mins walk) - As part of the surgical rotation at Tweed, you spend 2 weeks in John Flynn hospital, where you get to see Vascular, Bariatric, ENT and Plastic Surgeries - Tweed is a smal hospital so you get to know everyone really well as you move through various rotations. It feels more like a community - You can use your downtime on the wards (part]icular on labour ward) to get some work done. The tea room where handover is each morning is good for this

CONS: - BYO lunch - the cafeteria is average - You need to drive/car pool to there - It can be hard to ďŹ t things in with long days but use your late afternoons and evening to get somethings outside of medicine done.

- Daylight saving time means getting up 1 hour earlier (only during 1st and 5th rotation)

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Good notes, good practice, good defence

Legible notes are good practice and support a good defence – so does MIPS 1800 061 113 | mips.com.au Medical Indemnity Protection Society | ABN 64 007 067 281 | AFSL 301912

SPECIAL THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING STUDENTS:

Monique, Tamanna, Chai, David, Ramil, Text Kav, Michael.

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