Back to Ortho
Monday, I went back to an orthopedic office for my clinical rotation. This particular ortho office is different in many ways from my previous ortho rotation. Instead of one tech and one x-ray room, this office has four techs and two x-ray rooms, and the volume of work being done is significantly higher. The actual work being done is very similar, but I’m seeing a greater variety of things being done at this site. Unlike my last ortho rotation, I’m seeing weight-bearing feet and ankle exams, and a variety of different positioning techniques.
Clinical rotations in ortho offices have advantages and disadvantages. I’m not sure that I’m really ready to call them disadvantages, but they are peculiarities that are difficult to get used to.
Advantages:
Lots of exams… it’s almost non-stop on most days.
A majority of the patients are mobile and conscious :)
You get a good opportunity to work on your speed and proficiency
Disadvantages:
There is no standard technique for a specific exam. If you are dealing with several different doctors, each of them will likely want some exams done differently.
You won’t see the overall variety of work that you see in an outpatient or hospital environment.
Since school started back in the area this week, I have seen athletes from several of the local schools in for sports-related injuries. Since I’m a sports photographer for the local newspaper, I know a lot of these kids. This is one of the reasons I’m leaning towards working in orthopedics when I graduate from this program. I plan to continue my work as a sports photographer, and I would like to work in an environment where I’m providing imaging for those athletes if at all possible. I will, of course, be at the mercy of whatever jobs are available when I get ready to graduate though.
I don’t have another special rotation until late september. I’ll be spending two weeks working a second-shift rotation in a hospital. That should provide some excellent trauma experience. When I start that rotation, I hope to blog those experiences each night after clinical…