This past week I began my Ophthalmology rotation at the U. It's almost entirely shadowing residents and seeing them work up patients. We're supposed to do the following:
* experience most types of ophthalmic practice settings (i.e., outpatient, inpatient, emergency room, operating room);
* obtain adequate knowledge in the areas of ophthalmology most commonly seen in family practice (i.e., red eye, glaucoma, trauma, strabismus, neuro-ophthalmology, and medical ophthalmology); and
* obtain skills in basic ophthalmic examination techniques (i.e., visual acuity measurement, strabismus, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, tonometry, ophthalmoscopy, visual field examination).
I'm clearly not in Louisiana now. This is because our Team 4 deployment was suspended. The explanation is below:
We have just received news that the State of Louisiana is suspending
all state-based relief efforts effective October 26. This means that
the University component of Minnesota Lifeline, which was deployed
through a state to state relief agreement must end by October 26.
The Mayo Clinic as a private entity will finish the mission and staff
team 4 exclusively.
We are surprised by this unexpected turn of events, and want you to
know we sincerely appreciate all the efforts you have made to clear
your schedule for this deployment.
My very own U of M Internal Medicine Interest Group was featured as an "IMIG of the Month" in ACP's IMpact newsletter.
I've received word that I am on the U of M's MRC Team 4, set to be deployed to Louisiana between October 23 and November 11. The exact composition of the team is still undecided, but it looks like we will be a transition team between our mission (to provide primary care health services around the Cajun Dome emergency shelter in Lafayette, Louisiana) and the local public health agencies.
Another news blurb is here.
Here is the Cajun Dome's webpage. And here is where they are located, according to Google.