West Coast Anesthesia Away Rotation

[peach0404]

Hi everyone,

I'm an MS3 planning on applying for anesthesia from a NYC school. I want to go out west for residency to be closer to family who live near SF (born and raised on East coast but family moved out there a couple years ago). I'm wondering if away electives will help or harm and where I should do them.

Step 1: 249
Clerkship grades: H in surg and psych, HP in peds and family med, other grades not available yet
Research: lots of experiences, no pubs/abstracts

Anyone have any info about UCSF and Stanford in particular? They're both very competitive programs and I'm wondering if it's worth it to do electives there or if it would benefit me more to do electives elsewhere and have a better shot at impressing. However they are also the closest schools to my family.

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[ProEra]

I would definitely recommend doing the aways. After going through my anesthesia rotations, you realize it's fairly straightforward to do well on rotations in this specialty. If you're looking in NorCal, also consider UC Davis. Plus, taking step 2 early and getting > 250 will help. But, as you know, trying to get honors in the rest of your rotations is the most important factor now.

 

[peach0404]

I would definitely recommend doing the aways. After going through my anesthesia rotations, you realize it's fairly straightforward to do well on rotations in this specialty. If you're looking in NorCal, also consider UC Davis. Plus, taking step 2 early and getting > 250 will help. But, as you know, trying to get honors in the rest of your rotations is the most important factor now.

Thanks for the info! I'm definitely planning on applying to Davis as well. However since it's significantly less competitive than UCSF and Stanford do you think it's necessary to do an away there? I figure I'd have a better shot at getting an interview there without doing the away than I would for the other two.

 

[MikeMerk-MtS]

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[Gas Bladder]

I did an away rotation at Stanford earlier this year. The program director was very specific that doing an away does not automatically grant you an interview. Anyone can bust their tail for a month, so they place strong emphasis on your whole medical school career, so the above advice in trying to do the best you can in the rest of your clerkships is a good one. I would recommend doing an away rotation if you want to get a feel for both the location and the culture of a program, and having something other than your home program to compare things to. It can be hard to get a true sense of programs during short stints in interview season, so an away gives you a much better picture if a program is the right "fit" for you. I would not do it just for the purposes of wanting to end up match there, as it seems like it probably does not help (in anesthesiology specifically).

If you want to go to an academic powerhouse program, I would also suggest you try to tie up some ends in terms of your research. Granted, I don't know your specific situation, but having experience that doesn't lead to some sort of tangible outcome like even an abstract or poster presentation doesn't mean a ton. Places like to see that you start something and finish it. Just my 2 cents!

 

[by604]

I'm just gonna go ahead and 'bump' this thread up. I'm curious if there are any other opinions regarding west coast anesthesia aways in general

 

[koan]

UCSF will not automatically offer an interview if you do an away there. However, I know a current resident who said the primary reason she matched there was her away rotation performance.

 

[AGenericUserName]

I was accepted for an away at UCSF with similar stats and with being from the north east. I unfortunately had to turn it down because I did not fathom how high rental/room prices actually were until I started looking. Decided I couldn't afford to live in the Bay area and maintain the lifestyle I enjoy. I ended up not doing any aways out in Cali....and got no interviews at the 2 or 3 places I did apply (southern CA).

 

[peach0404]

I did an away rotation at Stanford earlier this year. The program director was very specific that doing an away does not automatically grant you an interview. Anyone can bust their tail for a month, so they place strong emphasis on your whole medical school career, so the above advice in trying to do the best you can in the rest of your clerkships is a good one. I would recommend doing an away rotation if you want to get a feel for both the location and the culture of a program, and having something other than your home program to compare things to. It can be hard to get a true sense of programs during short stints in interview season, so an away gives you a much better picture if a program is the right "fit" for you. I would not do it just for the purposes of wanting to end up match there, as it seems like it probably does not help (in anesthesiology specifically).

If you want to go to an academic powerhouse program, I would also suggest you try to tie up some ends in terms of your research. Granted, I don't know your specific situation, but having experience that doesn't lead to some sort of tangible outcome like even an abstract or poster presentation doesn't mean a ton. Places like to see that you start something and finish it. Just my 2 cents!

Hey I was wondering how you figured out housing when you did your away rotation at Stanford? I've been in contact with the clerkship coordinator there and there's a strong possibility I'll be doing an away rotation this summer, but I have no idea where I'd live. Also I'd be at the Kaiser Santa Clara Hospital rather than SUMC... any suggestions?

 

[mybubbles627]

I was accepted for an away at UCSF with similar stats and with being from the north east. I unfortunately had to turn it down because I did not fathom how high rental/room prices actually were until I started looking. Decided I couldn't afford to live in the Bay area and maintain the lifestyle I enjoy. I ended up not doing any aways out in Cali....and got no interviews at the 2 or 3 places I did apply (southern CA).

Wow that's kind of harsh. Is this true for going from West to East coast? I am currently at a West Coast school and plan on applying all over including East Coast. Do I have to do an away rotation on the East coast to get interview offers?

 

[anaesthetic]

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