(double-post from Pediatrics thread...)

Hello,

So I'm a confused MD/PhD student, and at our school we do some required 3rd year rotations before starting our PhD. So Peds was my first rotation, before I ever knew I would like it. I ended up getting a "high pass" (although our transcripts list this as Pass--I guess this gets addressed in the Dean's letter). What's worse is I did this rotation before I left for PhD-land, so I doubt I can get good LOR's from that 5+ yr after the fact.

My question is would it be advantageous to re-take Peds later in my 3rd year and (hopefully) excel in it, get strong letters, meet new attendings, etc. This was offered to me as one option by a "well-meaning faculty person".

The other option is to do extremely well in my 4th year Peds AI, and also some good peds electives early (which I hope to do regardless), but don't bother retaking the 3rd year Peds clerkship. This is what past and present students have suggested.

I'm planning my MS3 scheduling now, and I'm wondering what
others would do in a similar situation. Would residency programs wonder why my Peds rotation was done soooo long ago? Would they expect me to have retaken it to show I really am devoted to Peds by showing a more recent performance?

And while we're on the subject, what do you all think about MD/PhD programs that make you start part of your clinicals before your PhD? For example, what if you start with Surgery and end up wanting to go into Surgery later? That would suck, IMHO! :confused:


Thanks for your input!

would it be advantageous to re-take Peds later in my 3rd year and (hopefully) excel in it, get strong letters, meet new attendings, etc. This was offered to me as one option by a "well-meaning faculty person".
i think this would be a terrific waste of your time. do elective peds rotations - therefore you're proving your interest, your skills, and making new connections. at my school, the only difference between electives and 3rd year rotations are your level of committment and responsibility. and the increase in both of these is a good thing in my mind. don't repeat rotations, just address what you need from the new ones. that's my opinion anyway.

I agree with geekgirl - the electives and sub-I are probably a better way to shine. Also, I think peds and IM residency folks would understand why you have your core rotation so early, given your combined program, so you probably don't have to worry about that...

For your other questions about timing of rotatons. We start with the new M3's in July and do our 6 wk required internal medicine rotation (inpatient) and 1 two week block (at Iowa, there are 8 required 2 week rotations in oto, ophtho, rads, gas, lab med/EKG, ortho, uro, & derm). This takes us up to the beginning of the fall semester so we can start grad school like the normal incoming students.

Personally, I like it this way. I enjoyed getting into the hospital when M2 & boards material was still fresh in my mind. Plus, I personally felt it helped inform my research (but I'm doing clinical research anyhow so maybe it would be different if I was in the basic science lab). Also, having our medicine block allows us to volunteer at our local free med clinic (which a lot of our MSTP do). We also have a program called Clinical Connections (required for 4 semesters) where we work with a chosen faculty member one-on-one in order to see patients (and discuss science, research, academics, patient care in their field).

As you point out, a drawback is that you might not be able to get recommendations from your early rotations. If you are really on the ball, you could probably ask for a letter close to the time of the rotation, which would be filed in your dean's office until it's time to pull stuff together for your dean's letter / ERAS. If there is a way to reconnect with someone you worked with before (for example, through clinical connections, your thesis committee, or perhaps making sure your electives/sub-I are with them, if that's possible) may also you allow you the chance to get a letter from someone who has known you awhile and possibly in different capacities.

The final drawback is, like you said, that maybe you didn't realize you'd like something until later. I think the above advice from geekgirl still holds true. Plus, I don't think we have a monopoly on that - I know a lot of 4th years who realized that their 3rd year rotations may not have given them the full picture of a discipline - I've even heard of people doing 2+ sub-I's in different fields just to get a better picture of what's going on.