Location vs. Sites for Away Rotation

[2050vlsb]

Hi! I'm currently an M3, hoping to get some feedback on away rotations. I'm planning to go into internal medicine, and really hoping to go back home to CA for residency (currently attend school in the midwest). I've gotten advice that doing an away rotation as an M4 could, among other things, show interest and commitment to the area.

I'm wondering how important it is to do an away rotation at the actual hospital/site you're interested in, versus doing away rotations at hospitals in the area to show a geographic preference. For example, if I'm ultimately aiming for an academic program, would it still be reasonable to do an away at a community hospital in the area, e.g. Kaiser, more to show an interest in the area than in the specific program at Kaiser?

Appreciate any feedback! Thanks!

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[JJMrK]

Not totally sure about IM, but for surgical subspecialties the advice usually given is to rotate at programs at which you'd like to match.