Two away rotations or home program and one away

[Chip N Sawbones]

Hi all,
I'm an MS3 trying to match into anesthesiology. My clinical rotation schedule got all screwed up, and I'll only have two months of electives before I need to submit my residency application. I've got a big red flag on my record (narrowly failed Step I, only 200-205 on the retake) so I'm trying to do everything I can to make sure I match. Would I be better off doing two away rotations at places I'd like to match at, or should I do one month at my home program, hopefully get a good LOR from them, and only do one away? Would it look bad if I never did an anesthesiology rotation at my home program and didn't have a LOR from them? My home program is fairly competitive, so I don't have high hopes of matching there, and anyway I'd rather go elsewhere to be closer to my wife's family. On the bright side, I have been getting excellent evaluations from the doctors I work with, so doing away rotations at places I'd like to match at is likely to help me.

Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated. Yes, I've read all the doom and gloom here on the future of anesthesiology, and I'm still interested in it. It's still better than wiping noses and doing well patient exams in family medicine.

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[Hoya11]

Hi all,
I'm an MS3 trying to match into anesthesiology. My clinical rotation schedule got all screwed up, and I'll only have two months of electives before I need to submit my residency application. I've got a big red flag on my record (narrowly failed Step I, only 200-205 on the retake) so I'm trying to do everything I can to make sure I match. Would I be better off doing two away rotations at places I'd like to match at, or should I do one month at my home program, hopefully get a good LOR from them, and only do one away? Would it look bad if I never did an anesthesiology rotation at my home program and didn't have a LOR from them? My home program is fairly competitive, so I don't have high hopes of matching there, and anyway I'd rather go elsewhere to be closer to my wife's family. On the bright side, I have been getting excellent evaluations from the doctors I work with, so doing away rotations at places I'd like to match at is likely to help me.

Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated. Yes, I've read all the doom and gloom here on the future of anesthesiology, and I'm still interested in it. It's still better than wiping noses and doing well patient exams in family medicine.

Take step 2 early and do well. I would get a letter from your home program and do a rotation there. Try to get in there, it may not be as impossible as you think. Also do an away rotation at a lower tier school so they can get to know you and give yourself a chance of getting into a different place. Obviously the board failure is a big deal and I would give you overall a 30% chance of getting in anywhere. Apply broadly and be willing to go anywhere. Id also rank some IM or surgical prelim programs in case you dont get in with the plan of applying again after intern year. It would be great if you matched where your wife prefers, but understand that if you match at all youll be lucky and you dont have the luxury of being picky if you really want to do anethesia.

 

[Lysinee]

I think there were 70 unfilled spots in last year's match. If you're US MD and apply to 90+ programs (leave out programs that have a minimum 220+ score or first pass policy) out of the 130 I think you should get enough interviews to match somewhere.