Adriana Gomes: Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center, Fredericksburg

If you could write a “letter” to your second-year self about rotations, what would you say?

Everyone keeps telling you “It gets better.” You keep questioning if it ever will. You ask how this is possible when you are tirelessly dedicating yourself every single day during didactics, aiming to perform well on exams, and having the overlying doom of boards ahead.

However, like they often say, “it may get worse, before it gets better, but it will get better.” Look at didactics, dedicated and boards as steppingstones to “better.” Remind yourself of how far you have come, the years of school, work, time, energy, the dreaded MCAT, the anxiety, the disappointment, the excitement and everything it took to get to where you are today. Just like you overcame every obstacle in your way to get to where you are, you will continue to do so. Get excited about what is ahead, motivate yourself, prepare yourself, and push yourself to do the things you love everyday along the way because otherwise it will seem endless.

Rotations will give you a glimpse of what is ahead for you and what will be expected of you. Don’t get me wrong, it won’t be a breeze, but it will be another steppingstone in your road to becoming a physician. You will get to work in a multidisciplinary team to care for patients, to apply that knowledge we shoved into our brains every day of didactics and be impressed by how much you know, but also by how much you still must learn, understand and improve.

Starting third year will give you a sense of normalcy again! You will get into the rhythm of getting up, going to work, studying, but you will also have time to maintain a life outside of work and school for yourself and others! Obviously, this routine changes each rotation because the requirements change for each rotation and so do schedules. It will help you learn to adapt to changing schedules for residency, but also incorporate time for you!

Did anything surprise you about your rotation experience?

What surprised me the most about rotations was that at each site the experience people had in various specialties differed slightly, which can be good or bad. However, I don’t think that any site is particularly better than another. Each one has its pros and cons, but you will get a unique experience wherever you go!

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What stands out about your third-year rotations?

What really stood out to me during rotations are the misconceptions people have about different specialties. A physician in a particular specialty is obviously biased about their specialty, but it was so interesting to learn the unique aspects of each one and figure out how I would like to practice in the future. It is also very interesting to see how different personalities prefer different specialties. Rotations have been eye-opening to discover what I want my practice to be like whether it be the setting (clinic vs. hospital), pathology (general vs. specialty specific), short-term vs. long-term care, and whether having established patient relationships is important in your practice or not.

One of my favorite experiences so far from rotations has been being able to work directly with patients. I have gotten to have great one-on-one conversations with patients regarding their health, wellness and management after discussing with my preceptor.

There have been multiple times during the course of this year when patients have told me how much they appreciate that I take the time to listen to them, care about how they feel and what they are dealing with, and have even been asked me if they could see me every time they come back to the clinic (my response: “I’m flattered, but ha-ha give me a couple of years”). It is a rewarding feeling to know that you make a difference in someone’s life and in their health and I hope to continue doing so. Although it is nerve-wracking at first, rotations are the first step toward experiencing what we will be doing as physicians in the future. So, get excited for what’s to come, appreciate all you have learned, and know it does improve!

What do you want people to know about what rotations are, how they work and why they are important?

Rotations are a way to help you figure out whether you like inpatient vs. outpatient medicine, what specialty you may want to pursue, and where you feel like you will make a difference one day. But, more importantly, it will shape the physician you become while helping you realize what you are passionate about.

Third year has allowed me to learn to trust myself more, use what I have learned, have autonomy in caring for patients, broaden my scope of knowledge, develop, and perform practical clinical skills.