Journey to DMS | Chapter 9
I got home from the on-campus residency training at Lincoln Memorial University a few days ago and I am exhausted!
The 4 semester LMU Doctor of Medical Science program requires 1-2 weeks on-campus for lectures, ultrasound presentation, and final project presentation.
We spent 8-12 hours in class and lab every day last week. We had lectures from emergency physicians on opiate use disorder, risk management, psychiatric emergencies, and EKG interpretation.
Most of our time, however, was spent learning the basics of bedside ultrasound. This was awesome and I’m excited about incorporating ultrasound into my regular practice.
The core curriculum revolved around the eFAST exam, also known as the Extended Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma. eFAST teaches how to assess for bleeding within the peritoneal and pleural cavities. It involves imaging the liver and gallbladder, spleen and left kidney, heart, bladder, and lungs. We also learned how to image the thyroid, salivary glands, uterus, and ovaries. We touched on musculoskeletal imaging and ultrasound-guided injections/aspirations.
It was really something else to be able to image internal organs and structures in real time. Needless to say, it adds an entirely new dimension to the physical exam! We were also able to practice with handheld ultrasound scanners which were quite impressive. The course was taught by an experienced radiologist.
It was also great to meet my classmates whom I’ve met weekly for the preceding 9 or so months. We had a great time going to dinner and even had time for a hike in the beautiful Cumberland Gap.
We spent the week at LMUs DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine. We had the building to ourselves as the medical students were on summer vacation. The LMU PA students were training across the campus in a different building. Several of my classmates teach at the LMU PA program.
Several meals were provided. LMU has a decent cafeteria and a Chick-Fil-A on campus. The communities of Harrogate and nearby Middleboro, Kentucky are pretty small. I had my fair share of hush puppies, fried okra, Brussel sprouts with bacon, and catfish. I wasn’t able to make it to Bojangles, however…
Despite being an experienced clinician of almost 10 years, I came home with over 10 pages of notes and a whole new skill (ultrasound). The travel was brutal, however. It took me 3 planes and all day to get to Harrogate, Tennessee, and back again.
We have the option to return to campus in December for more final project presentations and graduation. I would like to do this but I don’t want to think about making that trip again right at the moment!
I’ve enjoyed reading your posts and am looking forward to the next update.