All posts by Megan O'Meara

November in Missoula, MT

I am so glad that I chose to do a WWAMI rotation in Missoula. It was an eye-opening experience in so many ways. I spent the month with Dr. John Trauscht, an oncologist with the Montana Cancer Specialists. I felt spoiled to have so much one-on-one time for teaching. I spent time doing a mix of inpatient and outpatient work, and had much more autonomy than I thought would be possible. Every day after clinic we would sit down to review cases from the day, and sometimes review peripheral smears and bone marrow biopsies with his 2-headed microscope.  We were able to generate learning points as well as new questions for me to look up in the literature. I felt like the learning was so high yield. The most amazing thing was the patients, who were so nice and down-to-earth. Dr Trauscht led by example in not over-medicalizing the conversations with patients, and he challenged me to do the same. Also, there was ample opportunity for exploring the area in my free time. There is a really neat ghost-town nearby, and futher out is Glacier Ntl Park. The town of Missoula itself is also super-fun. There are lots of cute cafes, boutiques, and local music venues. Overall, it was a fantastic experience. I highly recommend this site.