How to get the most out of your clinical clerkships:

Address each clerkship and rotation as if it were your "specialty choice."  This will make the experience more meaningful for you, so you're likely to learn more, as well as make your contribution to the clinical team more productive.  Remember: when applying for residency positions you may be seeking recommendations from these very physicians and residents.

Use clerkships:

• As a purposeful exposure to the basic specialties in medicine

• To experience the life style of the specialty practitioners

• As exposure to different types of diseases and interventions

• To experience working with your potential peer group

• For Career Exploration and initial decision making

Things to consider in terms of personal match with specialty

• Which do you prefer for medical practice--broad spectrum with common problems or a narrow slice with unusual conditions?

• What level and type of intellectual content in a specialty?

• What actual content of practice are you looking for?

• Regarding your personal skills--which do you prefer--Interpersonal communication skills, analytical skills, technical skills?

• Are you a morning person? Dragging by 8 pm? Night Owl? Any limits?

Also, pay attention to

• Any clinical situation that makes you uncomfortable or for which you feel unsuited.

• Do you prefer concrete problem solving or theoretical deliberations?

• How is your eye-hand coordination?

• Physician control vs. shared responsibility with patient

• Are you a team player - autonomous - a leader?

• What is your typical response to crisis?

• What is your academic performance?

The medicine:   Consider which has most salience to you.

• Diversity or variety of diseases

• Health maintenance or disease intervention

• Acute vs. chronic vs. terminal care

• Continuity of care or intermittent care

• Ages and genders of patients

• Diagnostic and/or management

• Interventions--curative or optimizing

• Interventions--"medical" or "surgical"

• Interventions--"pharmaceutical" or "procedural"

• The stress/rush of ICU/OR/ER/L&D