NZREX Observerships - Must Do's

That is a question we keep asking ourselves, or at least I kept asking myself during my observership. What must I do to make the most of this opportunity.

This  is generally what people do during an observership:

• Shadow Consultants
• Ask a lot of questions (relevant questions, ofcourse)
• Present cases
• Attend ward rounds daily
• Go to the weekly Grand Rounds (a good place to meet some more docs )
• Be disciplined, well dressed, well informed, etc.

It is important not to forget why you are doing this Observership. Most of us think that doing the Observership will help us prepare for the NZREX. Thats so not true! Not if all you are going to do is follow the points mentioned above.

To exploit your Observership to the fullest extent here is what you've got to do:

Try to get an Observership at North Shore Hospital, Auckland. This is where the exam is going to be held! Also, some of your examiners are going to be consultants at North Shore. Not that you can get exam questions out of them, but these are the best people to tell you what is expected from a candidate. If you're in good terms with one of them, you can ask them to evaluate you while you take a history or do a physical examination. There are a whole bunch of reason why you should Observe at North Shore, some of them are mentioned below.

Catch hold of a Medicine Registrar (or a House Officer). They can be very good critics! Speak to one of them and team up with another NZREX candidate to simulate exam conditions. You can do a physical exam on a friend while the Registrar watches or plays the 'Examiner'. The ideal examiner would be an ex-NZREX candidate. So keep an eye out for IMG house officers. This is by far the most important thing you must do during your observership. Note: Please respect the fact that they will be sparing time for you from their busy schedule, so don't push it too far. This can severely hamper chances of candidates doing an observership after you and then there will be a time when they would learn to say NO! Please know your stuff before you ask someone to test you.

Look for mannequins at the hospital. Some stations on the exam could test skills like suturing, IV line insertion, indwelling foley's catheter, etc. Most Hospitals, especially the teaching ones, have a academic department that conducts courses to train their staff. These departments have mannequins :) You may have done these procedures on real patients, but performing these on mannequins could be a different ball game altogether. Talk to a Registrar and get them to take you to one of these room and practice on mannequins. While i did this, i realized that the IV catheters used in the hospital are very different from what we used back in my home country. This is not something i would like to learn at the time of the exam! P.S. The North Shore Hospital academic department has reserved their mannequins on mondays for NZREX candidates, please take advantage of this opportunity and get some practice before the exam. You don't have to be an observer to take advantage of this opportunity.

Check out the Outpatients Department Rooms (OPD rooms). The exam will be held in OPD rooms and it would be a good idea to go take a look at them and get a feel of it. See where the instruments are placed and get a hang of it. Use the sphygmomanometer, ophthalmoloscope, otoscope kept in the room and please, please, try to adjust the bed up and down. That is not something you want to waste time figuring out during the exam!

Follow these steps and I'am sure that you will be very happy at the end of your observersip and feel very prepared for the exam. In that case please don't forget to say thanks in the comments below :)