What's Your Favorite Rotation ?

by Jarrod Shapiro, DPM
PRESENT Resident Editor
Botsford General Hospital
Farmington Hills, MI

Good day fellow residents. We’re just over six months into this year, and I was thinking back over the last two-and-a-half years of training, specifically my favorite rotations. I’ve had several memorable ones (good and bad), but I prefer to focus on the positive.

My personal favorite rotation was a month-long pediatric orthopedic rotation I spent in Washington D.C at the Children’s National Medical Center. As many of you know the United States has a national shortage of pediatric orthopedic specialists, so many of our pediatric pathologic conditions are referred to several regional medical centers. As such, the clinical exposure is extremely varied, and the volume is incredible. I had the opportunity to participate in conservative and surgical care for pediatric patients with congenital deformities, traumatic injuries, spinal dysraphisms, cerebral palsy, etc. We performed Ponseti clubfoot casts, braced children with spastic CP contractures, and operated on cavus feet and neurologic toe-walkers.

Additionally, I met some of the most dedicated and caring physicians. These folks could have gone into other orthopedic specialties and been paid a heck of a lot better. Yet, they had a true dedication to their work and a unique perspective on medicine. My rotation coordinator, Laura Tosi, MD, was a true inspiration. She was a very generous educator who treated not only her orthopedic residents but also her podiatric ones with true respect. Right now, I can picture her in the middle of her whirl-wind, overly-crowded clinic, sitting down and taking the time to council her patients.

Write in with your favorite rotation so far. What have you learned? It doesn’t have to be a podiatric rotation. Perhaps you enjoyed general medicine or radiology. For those of you looking for jobs write in with your progress. Good luck with the search.