Does type of away matter?

[jackson1]

3rd year med student working on applying to some psych away rotations for next year. I'd like to do one or two of them to explore what different programs are like and hopefully make a good impression at a couple of my top choices. Does it matter what type of rotation you do? For example, does it make a difference if you do a sub-i vs an elective? Also, is it better to do an elective that's actually at the hospital in order to get more exposure or is it just as good if the elective is at an affiliated site? Thanks!

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[heyjack70]

3rd year med student working on applying to some psych away rotations for next year. I'd like to do one or two of them to explore what different programs are like and hopefully make a good impression at a couple of my top choices. Does it matter what type of rotation you do? For example, does it make a difference if you do a sub-i vs an elective? Also, is it better to do an elective that's actually at the hospital in order to get more exposure or is it just as good if the elective is at an affiliated site? Thanks!

My opinion would be to do a rotation at a site where you will be able to be exposed to multiple residents, and possibly multiple attendings. A consult rotation at a big hospital may fulfill these criteria; more than one resident and multiple attendings on the service. Make sure to let them know you're very interested in matching into their residency, or that it's your number 1. And try to get a letter of recommendation from the attending.

If you make a good impression, you could have multiple attendings and residents talking to the program director about how you fit in well and were a hard worker. I'm not a PD, but I assume this is the gold standard of recommendations.