Rotation Dreams

I am on my last day of my two-week block rotating on Urology (well, 3 days a week of Urology, and then FP clinics for the rest of the time). I always think it is so great when, after spending time in a specialty, I start thinking of myself as "one of them," or at least imaging what it could like to be a xxxx-ogist. I think this is part of the reason that I found it so hard, during my fourth year of medical school, to decide on a "specialty," because (with a few exceptions-- radiology, pathology, anesthesia [sorry, Hans]), I really liked just about everything (which is why I am here in Family Medicine, which is a great fit!)!

I have similarly had a great time on many of the "specialty" outpatient rotations we do as part of family medicine training (dermatology, ENT, ophthalmology,etc.). This Urology block, however, has probably been my favorite rotation of residency yet! The doctor who I've been working with has been out in practice for over 30 years, and is a wealth of information. He also has an excellent sense of humor, is very good to his patients, and is, additionally, very well travelled and well-rounded. In addition to getting a lot of prostate exam experience, learning vasectomies (a procedure I really want to do when I get out of residency), and learning how to competently manage a ton of urologic problems, including BPH, kidney stones, hematuria, scrotal masses, hypogonadism, incontinence, erectile dysfunction, prostate cancer and more, I have gotten to hear about and see pictures of a bunch of the countries he has recently visited and listened to Tom Lehrer's songs on his office ipod speaker system.

It has been a great two weeks! A few patients kicked me out of their rooms when the time came for the exam... I guess this was expected, and I sympathized with my male colleagues who often get rejected from women's rooms for GYN/cervical exams or deliveries. In any case, if I wasn't a family medicine doc, I think I could totally be a urologist :). I may come back for a few half days in August when there is not another resident on with him because it has been a joy!

In other "rotation dreams"... I have elective time in August and have been dreaming, for many years, of going to Alaska. When we put in our schedule requests for next year, I specifically asked for elective time during the summer so that, if I was able to go up north to be able to complete a rural medicine rotation, I wouldn't freeze off my rear end. After moving to CA from MN, I am somewhat worried about wintry weather, although perhaps I could again get used to it if I were to spend a significant amount of time up there. However, I've been told that, due to residency/clinic requirements, I am only able to take 2 weeks that block to spend away.

I have emailed and called a bunch of different places, including in Nome (where one of my medical school classmates, Marla, rotated last year), Bethel, and around Anchorage and Sitka, but I'm not having much success in getting "accepted," because I am not able to sign on for four weeks. I just submitted one more application and am communicating with a smaller private practice to see if they will be able to accommodate me. I have my fingers crossed. Let me know if you have any inside connections to doctors/practices up there, so that I can spend time in what I imagine is an unbelievable state with great opportunities for practicing medicine.