Choosing A Base Site (Part 2)

To follow up on last week’s post on choosing a base site, this post is on things to consider when you’re deciding where you want to go.

We mapped out all our pros and cons and initialed the ones we cared about, then tallied it all up to see if the pros outweighed the cons. We ended up in Ashland, Kentucky, and I’m super grateful that it all worked out! :]

This is what our Pros/Cons board looked like. With some doodles on the side.

1. Site Director/Dean

To me, this may have been the single most important deciding factor, and I’ve heard from other students that they’ve chosen the region I’m in solely because of my site director. She’s just that amazing.

You want someone who’ll fight for your rights as a student, and who’ll make sure you’re getting everything you need to be doing done + help tailor your schedule to what your interests, and will be there to get on others’ cases if they’ve wronged you in any way.

You want someone who’s receptive and on top of things, because ultimately, s/he’s going to be the one determining your future for at least the next year, and you need certain exposures/experiences in order to do well on your audition rotations. Our site director does all that and more. <3 She “mom’s” us, as she puts it, and we adore her. :D

She also makes/gives us super adorable presents. :D These are my pocket monsters!

2. Company

Who’s going to be there with you? This was my second most important consideration, as I’m firmly convinced that I could potentially enjoy life anywhere, as long as the company is awesome. There were a couple sites I was initially interested in that I stopped considering because of the list of people who were also interested in it.

My friends and I wanted to stick together, and since everyone and their mom wanted our first choice, we ultimately decided to pick a different site where we’d have a higher chance of getting to stay together.

After all, how could I stand to abandon my friends after such a beautiful poem? We went out for froyo after he wrote this on my study board while I was gone.

3. Site Visit

If you went to visit the site, what was the vibe you got while you were there? Is it a place that you think you’d enjoy living in? Were people friendly?

Due to the way our exams were scheduled, my friends and I actually only went to one, and…it wasn’t the one where we’re at now, but we lucked out anyway. We did visit it after we’d signed our contracts though! That being said, if you get a chance to visit, you really should try to do so. :P

Who else would I carve pumpkins with? :O

4. Hospital Size

Personal preference, but I wanted a smaller hospital so that I’d get to do more. In my mind, I’d be more likely to be lost in the mix at a bigger hospital, and less likely to get to do anything, because there’d likely be a pecking order, and as a 3rd-year medical student, you are most certainly at the very bottom of it. At this hospital, I was first assist on every case while I was on my surgery rotation.

5. Residency Program

This can work with or against you. I’ve heard that this particular hospital rarely looks at applicants they haven’t worked with, so unless you do your rotations here or do an away rotation here, they’re less likely to pick you.

If the residents are nice (as they are here), you won’t have to fight them for procedures and hands-on experience, and they’re usually more than willing to teach and explain things to us. You’ll also get to see what their lives are like, so you can get an idea of what’s in store for you.

On the flip side, if you have super-gunner residents at your site, good luck with ever getting any hands-on experience. :/

6. Sub-specialty Exposure

This depends entirely on what you’re interested in going into. I wanted a place with a sports medicine elective option, and they didn’t have one, but you have to weigh in what’s most important to you, and factor in whether or not you’d mind waiting and just using your electives to get that exposure.

7. Preceptors

While researching different sites, I scoured the site evaluation logs to get an idea on what the preceptors would be like, especially in the field I was interested in. They were mostly positive here, so I figured I’d be getting a good education. :D

8. Didactics

We have didactics every morning at 7 a.m. Sometimes, this is great and super helpful…and sometimes not so much. Take from it what you can, and it provides you with a “slice of life” glimpse of future residency programs. I’ve also mastered how to get ready in about 5-10 minutes in the morning, so it’s not so bad.

9. Rural

Our original first pick was considered rural, which would’ve meant that we’d finish all our requirements in our 3rd year. Since getting that site was almost out of the question (22 students [not including the four of us] vying for 12 spots), we amended it to being in a region with an awesome site director (see #1).

She feeds us dinner and makes us super awesome treats. <3

9. Safety

Is it a safe area? Will you worry about dying if you’re coming home from the hospital late one night? What’s the crime rate like?

10. Housing/Cost of Living

How’s the cost of living there? Is it easy to find housing? How close is it to the hospital/your rotation sites, and how much will you have to travel each day? Where’s the closest grocery store? How expensive is gas?

Most of us all live in the same apartment complex. :]

11. Distance from Campus

This was more of a concern for me, mainly because I’m very far from home-home, so Please Save A Cat is my home out here, so I wanted to be able to visit during short holidays. (Plus, we get called to take tests at the school sometimes, and driving 10 hours round-trip would kinda suck.)

12. Free Gym/Food

Call me misguided, but I feel that if a hospital feeds you while you’re there and also provides a free gym membership to you, that’s a sign that they care about your existence. It also helps to save a good chunk of change. :] The cafeteria food here isn’t free, but we get a discount, and our preceptors are super nice and bring us to the physicians’ lounge to feed us.

13. Spouse/SO/Kids/Family

This is one I didn’t have to consider, since I didn’t/don’t have any of the above at all, or nearby, but if you do, you need to consider whether or not your spouse/SO can find a job there, if there’s a good school you can take your kids to, if there’s family nearby who can help you out if you need it, etc.

In the end, do realize that even if you don’t get your first choice, it’s technically just a year of your life. You can tough out a year!

Make the most of what you’ve got and you should get a great education and learning experience!