Surgery in the Summer

Surgery in the summer is a bit of a different beast compared to surgery in the rest of the year.

There's less OR time, more people are on vacation, the sun is out most of the day, there's no snow. Days are a bit shorter since there are fewer patients to round on. Even when the hours are pretty long, the warm weather and sunshine somewhat counter-acts the never-ending exhaustion. The balance of responsibilities shifts away from being in the OR to doing consults or clinics.

The downside is that experiences are a bit limited. There's not always enough ORs, consults, or clinics to go around. Surgeries that do happen tend more towards the emergent or urgent, as elective procedures get deferred to the fall when OR time increases.

For those with no interest in becoming a surgeon - like me - it's a pretty good deal. There's a decent amount of time for studying and less time standing in an OR seeing procedures I'll never participate in again. A bit more learning for my long-term career interests, less of a service component. Had some decent impromptu teaching as well, tailored to my career interests. For those who are seriously considering surgery, it's a time to avoid. Too few opportunities to shine or get hands-on learning with direct relevance to a career in the OR. Lots of sharing of experiences with other students, given limited work to do. Physicians are on vacation all the time, meaning few chances to spend more than a week with a single physician, and less time to impress any one of them.

Hard to do much about this when your clerkship schedule is already set, as it is for most people starting their 3rd year in September, but something for me to keep in mind when it comes to planning electives and/or setting up rotations for my residency. To survive surgical rotations, pick the slow times; to thrive, busier times are better. As a non-surgeon, I'm happy with survival.