Externship at Davis

I have neglected to mention on this blog a major development in my medical education. During fourth year, it is common for students to do clinical rotations at different medical schools. These away rotations are called externships; they serve as a sort of month-long interview for residency, allowing both the student and the program to check each other out before or during the interview season.

I applied for an externship at the University of California Davis in their combined medicine/psychiatry department, and that's where I am right now. In fact, today was my first day! I am looking forward to this coming month to gain first-hand experience in this combined field.

How are medicine and psychiatry combined in practice? What do my attendings' careers look like? What sorts of careers do the medicine/psychiatry residents hope to forge for themselves? Do I want to spend the extra time and money for this dual training, or can I achieve my career goals through another training route?

This coming month promises to be very informative.