Related To:
Medical students: Our doctors of tomorrow
I liked Dr Cavers’ March 2015 President’s Comment [BCMJ 2015;57:57] calling for doctors to get involved in teaching medical students.
I have been teaching for the past 9 years. I’ve always felt that it is my responsibility to teach skills that are not offered by any other physician in Canada to first- and second-year medical students. I teach them peripheral nerve root blocks (cervical, thoracic, and lumbar) and intra-articular injections to most joints in the body.
I always look forward to seeing their hands stop shaking after a few procedures and the gleam of delight on their faces when they realize they can do it.
My only regret is that I can only accommodate one or two students per semester, so the rest of the class misses the opportunity to learn an important interventional pain management skill that most ER physicians in BC do not offer.
I hope Dr Cavers’ call to get doctors involved in teaching UBC medical students resonates through the medical community.
—Etela Neumann, MD
Richmond