First 4th Year Elective After Returning from MPH?

[scorm]

Does anyone have elective advice for someone starting 4th year after finishing up an MPH (between year 3 and 4)?

Is it best to delve right in and pick an elective in your speciality (sub-i) in order to get a LOR for application time, or would it be best to start off with a basic elective (ambulatory, EM, medicine) to get your bearings, and THEN go for specialty subi/aways?

I'm afraid I'd be rusty after having taken a year off before 4th year and might need to take a couple weeks to get back into the mode. On the other hand, will taking a basic elective first end up hurting me in the long-run because I would only be able to do 2 speciality electives (instead of 3) prior to ERAS apps?

Hopefully this makes sense and someone can share some wisdom


TLDR
- MPH between MS3 and MS4
- Returning to MS4 possibly feeling rusty
- I will be able to finish 3 electives before ERAS application is due. I will need 1, maybe 2 LORs.
- Should 1st elective be non-specialty related to get back into clinical mode
- Or should I just go straight into my sub-I/aways to maximize my specialty exposure prior to ERAS apps?

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[Cytarabine]

I did a gap year between 2nd and 3rd, which isn't quite the same, but my inclination would be to just jump into the subI, preread if you feel like you need a refresher. There's limited time 4th year for application stuff and I'd want to make the most of it

 

[URHere]

Do you know any attendings who would be willing to take you on unofficially for a few weeks before your MS4 year starts? If you can go on rounds, see a few patients, and get back into writing notes, I think that would be a good thing to do before jumping into a sub-I. I did something similar during my PhD years and it helped make the transition back to clerkships very smooth, even after 4 years away. Ultimately, I agree that taking a sub-I early is the best plan, but it would be good to get your feet wet first if at all possible.

Another suggestion would be to at least skim a Step 2CK book and read relevant chapters before your first sub-I to refresh your clinical knowledge a bit. Good clinical knowledge may at least partially make up for a few awkward days re-acclimating to patient care. Good luck.

 

[scorm]

Thanks for the advice guys. I talked with one of my attendings and they said they'd let me come in for a week prior to electives to get into the swing of things. I think doing that in addition to reading up in CK like you guys said should work well. I'll be sure to update this thread with the results!

If anyone else has any experience with this, feel free to share