away rotations

[afugazzi]

Sorry if this is redundant. I've seen this posted in the FAQ but I was wondering if anyone had other thoughts on this. There is not one program in particular I am hoping to go to. Given this, is there value to doing an away rotation? I've heard people say it's just a nice thing to have in your pocket when you go to interviews. But I've heard other people say 1) it's risky, because you likely won't perform your best at a new hospital system, and 2) it potentially hurts your standing at other schools (who for some reason feel hurt you didn't choose to rotate there). And so unless there's one program you really want, it can't really help you. Which philosophy do you think is right?

Also, unrelated question: the FAQ mentioned that Step 2 is totally unnecessary if you performed well on Step 1. I've heard that is changing. (For instance, I believe UCSF requires you submit Step 2 before they will rank you). Is it now recommended to take Step 2 early regardless of your Step 1 score?

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[Elipsis]

These are good questions to ask. I took my step 2 CK and CS early just to get them out of the way because this is what they told us to do at my school. I would recommend that. Step 2 CK is easy after finishing all of your shelf exams and CS is just a scam to steal $1200 from you so there's no reason not to knock these things out as early as possible 4th year. I've heard about the trend of programs putting more weight on CK as well. I think this applies more to other more competitive specialties. However, my opinion is that giving programs completed exams early on in the application cycle makes you look disciplined and responsible.

Aways: The short answer to your question is that you don't need them for neurology. This is particularly true for you since you since you aren't amped up about any program in particular. I had a program in mind before the application cycle started, but I didn't do an away there and I still got the interview. If you are a good candidate for a particular program they will interview you regardless of any aways you've done. The one situation where you must do an away is if there is no neurology clerkship at your school, but this is common sense. Do an away rotation if you want to, but don't feel like you need to.

 

[afugazzi]

Thanks! This is very helpful. One quick follow-up about away rotations: my school doesn't technically offer a neuro subI, but they have an outpatient 4th year clerkship (and during 3rd year I did a month of neuro inpatient/consults). Do you think there is an advantage to doing an away neuro subI as opposed to a home institution non-subI 4th year clerkship?

 

[hoopie]

Advice I always got was that if you're a competitive applicant for a program, you might want to avoid doing an away because you have more to lose than gain, since you're likely to get an interview there anyway. Whereas there's always a chance that you make a bad impression and screw your chances if you do the away. Likewise, if you're not competitive for a program you have nothing to lose by doing an away there - if you really do well, you might get an interview and have a chance matching somewhere you otherwise wouldn't have. I'd say the one exception to doing one if you are competitive is if you really have your sights set on one program in particular and you're confident you will make a good impression, then you can kind of seal your chances. Still risky and probably not necessary, though.

As far as the sub-I, I pretty much had the same set up as you - 3rd year in-patient core rotation, did a 4th year outpatient elective, no home sub-I so I did a medicine sub-I instead. I am a competitive applicant for pretty much anywhere and I got all the interviews I wanted, and I think I'm probably set to match at one of my top choices. My not doing a neuro sub-I never once came up in an interview. But, I guess I could see where having done a neuro sub-I might have strengthened my application even more.