I did an elective in the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital's Emergency Department. This elective was actually a blend of wilderness and emergency medicine. I got the experience of being a sub intern for two and a half weeks and got to go on the amazing 10 day adventure where I implemented my emergency response techniques and had fun! During the emergency weeks we were allocated randomly to different 8 or 12 hour shifts. Every student was attached to one attending, that favorable ratio allowed more teaching and discussion time. ...I got to assist during stabilizing critical cases and got to perform different procedures in the bays like suturing, ultrasounds, local anaesthesia and much more.

We then travelled to the Adirondack Mountains. Together with other residents and attendings we lived and interacted daily. They played the victims in the scenario and we got the role of the doctors; every time one student would be the doctor on call: he carried the responsibility of the attending: allocating resources and knowledge to stabilize, manage and evacuate the case; and we, students, were his residents. It sounds impractical and funny at the start, however, with a bit of suspension of disbelief the scenario will be as true as real life. ...We had scenarios ranging from multiple casualties with necessary c-spine stabilization and needle thoracotomies to femur fractures and animal bites. We also had to manage a disaster situation where we used the SPHERE standards to work out mass victim relief. At night we gathered around the camp fire and discussed different EM papers and enjoyed the magnificent Milky Way. With no doubt, I definitely recommend this elective to any medical student; as it gives you the knowledge and skills to manage every day medical emergencies and is terrific.