Applying to Residencies in a Specialty You Have Not Yet Rotated In

[sisko]

I'm foreseeing a problem that hopefully someone can help me out with...

From what I've read on here, you apply to residencies early 4th year. And the ideal situation is that you will have rotated in that specialty, done well there, and perhaps also done away rotations in that specialty at specific programs to which you plan to apply.

Well, I'm looking at the curriculum for NSU from their website (as an example) and I see that there is no EM rotation at all during 3rd year, nor are there any electives. If I am interested in something like EM or Anesthesia, or maybe Dermatology or Plastics, I would have no opportunity to rotate within these specialties until 4th year. So at a school like this (not sure if it is the norm), a student might have one opportunity to complete one rotation of their choice as the very first rotation of 4th year before applying for residency.

Unless I am missing something, this seems like an awful setup. You might be applying for a residency in a specialty that you have not even had a chance to rotate in yet. I would assume that looks bad to PDs, and I would not blame them for thinking that way. Also this seems to obliterate the concept of "audition rotations"... unless you have electives starting in 3rd year, how can you fit them in before applying for residency? So...

• Is it as bad as I assume to apply for a residency in a field you haven't yet rotated in?
• Is doing so a rare occurrence?
• Is the availability of 3rd year electives at a school vital if you want to match a non-core-rotation specialty?

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[kbeitz]

http://www.austingme.com/residency-programs/emergency-medicine/how-to-apply/application-advice
http://www3.aaos.org/about/diversity/pdfs/Orthoresidency.pdf

Answers for EM and Ortho. (see below for more information on when)

 

[costales]

It's not July. You can't apply in ERAS or register for the match before mid-September, and the Dean's letter doesn't go out until October.

 

[NurWollen]

I think this is more or less a common problem for a lot of schools. At my school you can do an EM elective 3rd year, but sometimes not early in 3rd year. The problem that people run into in a field like EM is that people start applying for audition rotations in Jan-Feb of their 3rd year in med school, for rotations that take place in the following summer. If you start your first audition rotation in July at the beginning of fourth year, and discover that you hate EM, it would be hard to cancel your other audition rotations and to find audition rotations\ that late in whatever specialty you decide on.

My plan is to see if I can shadow some different specialties next year. Like say I'm on an inpatient IM rotation, see if I can make friends in the hospital in other fields- say EM or Anesthesia- and shadow them. I'm just a second year though, so if some 3rd or 4th years would like to chime in, I'd be all ears.

 

[sisko]

My plan is to see if I can shadow some different specialties

Yeah, that seems like the only way to go about it if you can't rotate in time

 

[sisko]

It's not July. You can't apply in ERAS or register for the match before mid-September, and the Dean's letter doesn't go out until October.

Again I'm just going off of what I have read, but they say it's in your best interest to apply as early in Sept. as you can and that the Dean's letter doesn't really matter or they won't wait on it to decide on interviews. Apparently some specialties (General Surgery, etc.) have some Nov. 1 deadline which is earlier than other specialties (FM, etc.). I'm confused.

 

[costales]

That is correct. Some programs start downloading the 1st day ERAS opens, so you'll want to get everything in and hit "submit" as soon as possible. The Dean's letter is basically out of your control (except that if your school offers you a preview, read it carefully - sometimes people make mistakes and stupid typos). Many programs scrutinize the Dean's letter for class rank and eval comments that are pertinent to them. Unless you're a stellar applicant or have inside connections, it's foolish to make assumptions as to what people might or might not do during the residency application/interviewing process.

As far as electives, there is always time if you plan ahead during 3rd year (even if your school doesn't allow you to swap/delay a core). Be aware that some specialties require prereqs (e.g. surgery core, medicine) and some places may have start/end dates which are different from your school schedule.

 

[DermatoFIGHT]

Does not matter. Programs lots of times do not even look at applications until October. Submit apps to those fields, you can always withdraw the applications later on. Not a big deal.

 

[Buckeye(OH)]

I applied for a specialty that I never rotated in. Fortunately, it worked out.

 

[sisko]

I applied for a specialty that I never rotated in. Fortunately, it worked out.

Hmm, good to know that's possible

 

[costales]

It is highly specialty dependent. Certain programs want "proof" of exposure and dedication to their field.

 

[Druggernaut]

It is highly specialty dependent. Certain programs want "proof" of exposure and dedication to their field.

Yeah, though I can't imagine you'd be on level footing with other applicants if you were applying without doing a rotation in that specialty. But since the OP used it as an example, you really need to rotate in emergency medicine in order to apply, as most programs require two specific letters of recommendation that can only be filled out by a place with an EM residency where you've rotated. I'm sure exceptions exist, but they're becoming more and more rare.

 

[costales]

Yep, this is true in EM.