Due to demand here on SDN, I've created a feedback database for medical students completing ophthalmology rotations: http://www.eyerounds.org/rotations.htm

You may remain anonymous.

Due to demand here on SDN, I've created a feedback database for medical students completing ophthalmology rotations: http://www.eyerounds.org/rotations.htm

You may remain anonymous.

Thanks for the contributions! Keep them coming. :thumbup:

Thanks to GrandMasterB for the idea. ;)

Question about away rotations -

One of the attendings in my home school's ophthalmology dept said he and others involved in student/resident education (at other institutions) discourage away rotations because little is gained by the student in the relatively short time frame of one month. (ie. by the time the student figures out how the department works, the month is over.)

any opinions on doing away rotations:
necessary or not? (esp. if your home school has a 4th yr optho elective)

There has been a lot of discussion on this issue; you may want to search old threads... The fact of a matter is there is no simple answer. In my experience, both fellow applicants as well as clinical advisors seem to be evenly divided on this issue. If you decide to do an elective you better make sure you can shine, i.e. know basic eye anatomy, physiology, pathology, basic exam, ddx, etc.,etc. No one will ever be impressed with a medical student standing in the corner and simply observing. Remember, in a competative field like ophtho it easier to exclude rather than include people. You also run a risk of just "getting on someone's bad side", i.e. someone on the ad com may dislike you for whatever reason; even if you otherwise do an excellent job. On the other hand, if you are interested in a particular program (especially if it is not top tier), doing a rotation may be enough boost for a successful match.
Case in point: if you decide to rotate, make sure you know your stuff.

Seems like everyone I've spoken with did one or more aways. Its a great idea if you are interested in a certain program, also if you want a chance to work with a certain person - this is especially helpful if your med school has weak to medium strength Ophthalmology department.

In my opinion, the whole point of an away is to get to know the Residency Coordinator and/or chair and figure out how to wow them and get a letter from the chair. Also gets you a courtesty invitation, which can be very halpful at competative programs that might otherwise overlook your app.

One more thing to consider, if you are really interested in a place, you may visit and decide you don't want to go there - which is a very useful piece of info that you might not have gotten on the interview trail. This is actually very common.

For those who have completed away rotations, please contribute to the database on EyeRounds.org! You may remain anonymous and no login required.