Clerkship electives to take...

SDN Members don't see this ad. (About Ads)

I was talking to a residency director about what would best prepare a med student interested in Optho. I said I thought path and radiology were already on my list to take. He said:

Neurology
Neuro-ophthalmology*
Radiology
Endocrinology
Rheumatology

I have 5 electives to work with as well as 1 surgical subspecialty. I think if I take Optho where I want to do my residency (1), Optho somewhere else for a lor(2), possibly neuro-optho for more experience(3), Neurology(4), Radiology(5), and Endocrinology(6) I would be in good shape.

I have an * by neuro-optho because you can only take 2 electives in one specialty at my school, so I don't know if I can fit this in.

Does anyone have any better suggestions for electives or am I on the right track here? Is rheumatology a good choice if neuro-optho is not an option? Any input will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Mark MS-2

PS I know this all depends on whether I REALLY love optho or not, but everything I've seen thus far has been great. I have shadowed 4 opthos thus far, and seen surgery as well as clinic.

Originally posted by DO chooser
I was talking to a residency director about what would best prepare a med student interested in Optho. I said I thought path and radiology were already on my list to take. He said:

Neurology
Neuro-ophthalmology*
Radiology
Endocrinology
Rheumatology

I have 5 electives to work with as well as 1 surgical subspecialty. I think if I take Optho where I want to do my residency (1), Optho somewhere else for a lor(2), possibly neuro-optho for more experience(3), Neurology(4), Radiology(5), and Endocrinology(6) I would be in good shape.

I have an * by neuro-optho because you can only take 2 electives in one specialty at my school, so I don't know if I can fit this in.

Does anyone have any better suggestions for electives or am I on the right track here? Is rheumatology a good choice if neuro-optho is not an option? Any input will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Mark MS-2

PS I know this all depends on whether I REALLY love optho or not, but everything I've seen thus far has been great. I have shadowed 4 opthos thus far, and seen surgery as well as clinic.

This is my biased opinion because I did neuro-op with Neil Miller and this sealed my convictions to go into ophthalmology. Neuro-op is great because medical students can see numerous systemic problems that are manifested and followed by ocular findings. I find this fascinating.

I highly recommend neuro-op for medical students who plan to enter ophthalmology. My 1 month neuro-op rotation helped greatly to expand both my examination skills and history obtaining abilities. By the end of the rotation, I could perform the complete ophthalmological examination and obtain Goldmann visual fields. I was very comfortable with the exam going into my residency. My experiences may be unique, but if you're motivated and able to work with the right people, you'll get more out of neuro-op than most rotations as a medical student.

Just my 2 cents. BTW, I'm planning to do a neuro-op fellowship; thus, I'm doubly biased.

Good luck!

as a corollary to the above question:

i'm planning to do my general ophtho. clerkship at my own med. school and then i'm going to do an away rotation (at what will likely be my highest ranked ophtho. program).

the question is, do i do a second GENERAL ophtho. rotation at the away school (to interact with more of the faculty of the department) or, do i do a SUB-SPECIALTY ELECTIVE (in my case, neuro-op) to get in depth exposure to neuro-op (and to hopefully make a good impression on the chief of the division of neuro-op)?

i suspect that a neuro-op rotation and a good letter from the chief would be most helpful, am i right?

thanks,

one question i forgot to ask in my last post....

i'm sure the rotation with neil miller at wilmer was a great experience. what other schools or physicians do you think would be great places to spend a month in neuro-op.

thanks,

Originally posted by 123doc
one question i forgot to ask in my last post....

i'm sure the rotation with neil miller at wilmer was a great experience. what other schools or physicians do you think would be great places to spend a month in neuro-op.

thanks,

Neuro-op at Iowa is awesome. You get to work with 3 distinguished faculty: Drs. Michael Wall, Randy Kardon, and Andrew Lee.

If you have the opportunity to come to Iowa, then I highly recommend spending one month with these professors.