When to do 4th year sub I.....

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hello!

I'm a 3rd year planning on going into peds. I realize that alot of people do their sub-Is early enough so that they have the grades and LORs for the residency application. I was thinking about doing electives in general peds clinic early and then do the sub I later on, maybe after interviews. I do feel like I could get good letters by working in the general clinic.

How do you guys feel about this? Is there a pretty big disadvange to doing this?

Also, when are letters of recommendations due? I've tried pretty hard to look for this. I should let you guys know that the MSPE is going to be released in october rather than november this year.

Thank you for your help!

Originally Posted by crazyhands

hello!

I'm a 3rd year planning on going into peds. I realize that alot of people do their sub-Is early enough so that they have the grades and LORs for the residency application. I was thinking about doing electives in general peds clinic early and then do the sub I later on, maybe after interviews. I do feel like I could get good letters by working in the general clinic.

How do you guys feel about this? Is there a pretty big disadvange to doing this?

Also, when are letters of recommendations due? I've tried pretty hard to look for this. I should let you guys know that the MSPE is going to be released in october rather than november this year.

Thank you for your help!

If you do well in a sub-I where you're given significant responsibility, this is your best bet for a detailed letter with examples from someone who's seen you work hard in a longitudinal fashion. I'll be honest, it's hard to shine in a busy clinic setting where, lets be honest, patients need to get seen quickly and efficiently, and there's not tons of time for teaching and crosstalk. You will get to see some patients first and present them, but depending on the clinic the attendings might change daily. You know the setting best though-- if its known for being a good "audition" rotation, then go for it. I would ask you though why you would choose the clinic over the sub-I. For letters from your own institution, you need to get them in with the rest of the application. There's a little more wiggle room for away rotation letters, since those can be sent directly to the PD of a program you're in love with from a faculty member there if so desired, an "internal letter"

Good luck.

Along the same lines, is it a major disadvantage to not have done a sub-I yet if you get good LORs from non-sub-I rotations? The peds sub-Is at my school this year were very popular and not everybody was able to get one, but I was assigned one in February... Would it be better to do an adult sub-I and get a letter or peds electives for LORs?

Originally Posted by mdpdgirl

Along the same lines, is it a major disadvantage to not have done a sub-I yet if you get good LORs from non-sub-I rotations? The peds sub-Is at my school this year were very popular and not everybody was able to get one, but I was assigned one in February... Would it be better to do an adult sub-I and get a letter or peds electives for LORs?

Peds sub-Is would be best, but if all those are taken then go with the peds electives. Depending on the elective, you can probably still find ways to stand out and get some solid LORs.

along the lines of when to schedule a sub-I...
has there ever been instances when you plan to audition at several sites and end up getting a "rejection letter" (for residency) from them before you can even audition? would it be better to schedule auditions really early?

Originally Posted by soko23

along the lines of when to schedule a sub-I...
has there ever been instances when you plan to audition at several sites and end up getting a "rejection letter" (for residency) from them before you can even audition? would it be better to schedule auditions really early?

How many sites are planning to audition at? I would question any more than 2. Remember, audition rotations are meant to be for that dream "reach" program or a program you just "HAVE" to match at because of personal/family reasons. October/November are good months to target finishing your audition rotation by.

Originally Posted by michigangirl

How many sites are planning to audition at? I would question any more than 2. Remember, audition rotations are meant to be for that dream "reach" program or a program you just "HAVE" to match at because of personal/family reasons. October/November are good months to target finishing your audition rotation by.

Really only 2 auditions??? I have friends who are trying to get into surgery or EM who are doing nothing but audition from July to January!

EM and surgery are vastly different from the pediatric match. EM and surgery typically have more applicants than spaces, while pediatrics often has empty slots. Certainly, most programs fill, but you're much more likely to scramble if you're applying to EM or surgery (or a surgical sub-specialty) than if you're applying to peds.

I want to do 2 aways in the fall and my brother is getting married in Sept so I scheduled elective for that month so that will have a more flexible schedule. I currently have my Sub-I scheduled in January because my program is in a smaller city and many times the peds team only has a handful (read 4-8) patients on the floor at a time but in then winter with RSV/Flu they get more patients so I wanted to have the ability to manage more patients at once. Is this bad reasoning? I feel my LOR should be solid from attendings I had as an MSIII and those I researched with in a peds subspecialty at a big center.