Residency, for many of us, is often a struggle between what we are doing and what we need to be doing.  What we can do or might do often slips from the collective mindset in the face of required rotations, research, and other necessary time constraints that we, as residents, face. There are always opportunities, however, to seek out new and interesting experiences, and it is of one such experience that I write about today.

As a part of my emergency room rotation, last year I had the opportunity to participate for several days as a member of the MedStar trauma helicopter transport team. Over the course of several days, I flew with several different flight crews, and had the great opportunity to assist in the care of a number of critically ill patients while en-route between hospitals.  Critical care transport is a highly specialized, high-stakes field of medicine with equipment and techniques which have become highly refined.  The medevac team consists of a pilot, a critical-care flight nurse, and a critical-care flight paramedic.  I discovered that a majority of critical transport is inter-facility, and throughout my time with the team, we transported between many of the greater Washington, DC area hospitals.  Another type of medevac flight is termed a “scene” flight, in which a flight crew is called to the scene of an accident to transport victims back to the trauma center.

I fully enjoyed my rotation with the flight team.  I found that I learned just as much on the ground between calls as I did in the air.  The team learned from me as well.  Initially they were surprised that a foot and ankle surgeon would volunteer for the rotation, and they asked a lot of intelligent questions about our profession.  It was a great opportunity for each of us to come to an understanding about the other’s profession (and before long they were asking me the best way to get rid of the heel pain which plagued them in their stiff work boots and who could I recommend to take care of the paramedic’s wife’s bunions).

This opportunity presented itself simply because I asked.  Although cliché, I was in the right place at the right time and I capitalized on the opportunity.  Within every training location, there are untapped resources that a resident can use to further enrich the residency training experience.  Opportunities are there; from the smallest community hospital to the largest inner city trauma center. It is incumbent upon the resident to seek out these opportunities and therefore make the most of this time between podiatric medical school and entering into the “real” world of private practice.  Develop relationships with attendings and residents from other surgical specialties –they will more often then not gladly let you scrub in or allow you to observe interesting cases.  Befriend members of the medicine teams—they will continue to teach you long after your internal medicine rotation has past.  Utilize your off-service elective months to add depth and breadth to your training.

Your residency training will be the best opportunity to experience any and all of the varieties of medical practice.  What you experience now will determine who and what you become as a physician.  The two or three years spent in residency, learning the art and science of podiatric medicine and surgery, is literally packed with opportunities to develop surgical and clinical skills, but it is you who must be bold and make it happen.  This is your opportunity, make the most of it.  Take the risk, the rewards will speak for themselves.