4th year electives

[jd star]

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I'm a 3rd year med student and I have a strong interest in ONE particular program because it's the only peds program close to where my husband is and also I've heard great things about the program... I have 5 electives in my 4th year where I can do anything and anywhere I want.

Do you think I should do all of these electives in Peds and Peds Subspecialties? And what specialties would best prepare me for residency? And at this school, they say you are allowed to do 3 months of electives there - should I do all 3 months at the same place in different peds specialties? What are the best months to do electives (for the MD match)?And is it safe to be "putting all your eggs in one basket"? It's not a "top ten" program and I have great numbers so far.

Sorry for all the questions... my school doesn't help us much when it comes to 4th year electives and residency concerns. I really appreciate any advice out there...

Thanks 🙂

 

[MM9]

I'm a 3rd year med student and I have a strong interest in ONE particular program because it's the only peds program close to where my husband is and also I've heard great things about the program... I have 5 electives in my 4th year where I can do anything and anywhere I want.

Do you think I should do all of these electives in Peds and Peds Subspecialties? And what specialties would best prepare me for residency? And at this school, they say you are allowed to do 3 months of electives there - should I do all 3 months at the same place in different peds specialties? What are the best months to do electives (for the MD match)?And is it safe to be "putting all your eggs in one basket"? It's not a "top ten" program and I have great numbers so far.

Sorry for all the questions... my school doesn't help us much when it comes to 4th year electives and residency concerns. I really appreciate any advice out there...

Thanks 🙂

I wouldn't go overboard with all Peds electives. Do what you think would be interesting and not necessarily all in Peds. You won't have many more opportunities to explore other fields of medicine. Outpatient rotations in various specialties are always nice: Derm, Sports Medicine, Rheumatology.....
All of these things will prepare you in some way for residency. The extent to which you can really "prepare" for residency is questionable. If you do decide to go Peds elective crazy, make sure your home school lets people that. Some schools have a cap on the # of electives allowed in one department (including away electives).

In my opinion, Sept > Oct > Aug > Nov are the best away-elective months. I'd avoid June and July since the home residents are still getting it together. If you wait until Nov/Dec the rotation might get in the way of your interviews. Also, depending on the location and specialty, the patient volume in Peds is proportional to the temperature. You need some patients, but too much volume can hurt your experience.

If your program is East Coast, PM me and maybe I can give you some specific information.

Good Luck.

 

[14022]

I would only do one month at that program, and definately no more than two. The more exposure you have, the more likely you are to mess up. I dont think doing a second month would really give you much of an advantage over someone who spent only one month there. Too much interest can come off as desperate and annoying and may hurt your chances. If you have great numbers, I would NOT do a sub-I as your away rotation. You have a lot of responsibility as a sub-i and it will be difficult to do that in an unfamiliar place. Sub-I's are also under a lot more scrutiny than that during other 4th year electives. Therefore, I think a sub-i has more potential to hurt you than a regular elective.

I would do a subspecialty that you truely enjoy. You will not have as high of expectations and it will be easier to impress. I would recommend doing the elective in Oct > Nov > Sept > Aug. I did an away in Nov, and it did not hurt my interviewing. Many programs dont even start offering intervieiws until mid to late november and i have classmates that scheduled all of their electives for january alone.

And about "putting all your eggs in one basket," it is never wrong to do this if it is the ONLY "basket" you have. And from what it sounds, it is the only program close to your husband so it is your only "basket." Peds is generally a warm specialty that will consider family factors in choosing their residents, especially if it is not a "top-ten" program. A top program will want a great resident with no family ties over a mediocre resident with ties, but if your numbers really are great like you say, then it should not matter regardless. Just relax, have fun with 4th year, and hope for the best. If you are yourself and make them know youre interested without going overboard, you will be fine.

 

[abcyxz]

my faculty and residents advised me like this:

if u have a strong academic record and there are no reasons for a place to not want u, then think hard about going there cause all it can do is really hurt your chances (u run into the one person that doesnt like u, u have a bad week, etc etc)

i firmly believe you dont have to rotate thru a place to be ultra sure of getting a spot there. if you are a good student and apply there, the more u explain about yourself, your goals and passions, the more they get to know you -- thats key.

best of luck

 

[14022]

my faculty and residents advised me like this:

if u have a strong academic record and there are no reasons for a place to not want u, then think hard about going there cause all it can do is really hurt your chances (u run into the one person that doesnt like u, u have a bad week, etc etc)

i firmly believe you dont have to rotate thru a place to be ultra sure of getting a spot there. if you are a good student and apply there, the more u explain about yourself, your goals and passions, the more they get to know you -- thats key.

best of luck

i agree to a point, but keep in mind that impressing the program isnt the only reason you do away electives

i did 2 aways at programs that i thought i would really like and rank 1 and 2

i found out that i loved one of them and ranked it #1

i found out i really did not like one of them and discovered a lot of unattractive qualities that i would not have learned with seeing it with only one interview....so i will not even rank that one #2

i also found that impressing people as visiting students was a lot easier than at my home institution, so for me it was pretty hard to ruin your chances, with one exception....my first away elective, i tried really hard to impress because i thought the program was really intense....i found out after a few days there that it was very laid back so i had to adjust quickly and be more laid back....when i talked to my attending at the end of the elective, he said that he thought i tried too hard at first and he was worried he wasnt going to like me, but after i relaxed, he liked me a lot....so if you find yourself trying harder than you need to, you need to be able to adapt to the personalities of those around you

 

[drewskovitch]

i got the same advice about NOT doing a sub-i as a visiting student, so i signed up for a pediatric consult month. buyer beware: having never done a consult month before, i did not realize that 90% of my time would be spent working with fellows. this made it a lot more difficult to get a feel for the residents and their program. that's not to say it can't be done - i was encouraged to take a day off and round with the floor team, and to always attend morning report, both of which helped me meet residents and find out what they're like.

 

[jd star]

thanks so much for everyone's help... i feel lost sometimes in this whole process and it hasn't even really begun yet.

my only open months for my 4th year are aug, nov, dec, and jan. i could switch it to have it be aug, sept, oct, and jan (would those months be better?).

the other thing is that i'm moving with my husband this summer to where his residency is and i want to be in the area as much as i can. but for august, i was planning on doing peds somewhere that is NOT my number one choice just to give me more experience, and then later going to my number one choice for a peds elective. i guess that seems like the best idea? and then just do my other electives in medicine and areas that i need to work on?

i don't think our school even lets us do sub-i's... i've never heard of anyone in the classes above me doing that. ??

and is it too early to ask people for LOR's?


thanks 🙂

 

[Cricket]

I was kind of in the same boat as you are...I'm doing peds too, am finishing up fourth year, want more than anything to stay in the city where I'm going to med school, with only 2 programs in this area. I decided at the end of 3rd year to go ahead and put all my eggs in those two baskets, because I realized that if I couldn't match here, than it didn't really matter to me where I ended up. So I did 2 rotations (sub-i's) at each of the 2 programs to give me the best shot of being able to get into one of them. We'll see how it works out, but it went really well, and I don't regret it for a second. One rotation at your top choice is probably enough though, but my numbers are pretty average so I wanted to kind of "overcome" that by giving me extra time to shine on my sub-i's. I'd go ahead and do 1-2 rotations at the top program you want, and use the other months to look at other programs.

January is pretty late to do "audition" rotations or sub-i's, simply because most all of the interviews have either taken place or given away. September and October are prime months, and it would give you November and December to do other rotations that allow you more flexibility to take time for interviews. You don't want to be continuously taking time off from a rotation at a place that really matters to you. Your idea to take August to get experience in sounds good.

I can't imagine your school doesn't allow you to do sub-i's...most 4th year rotations are by definition sub-i's...at least all of mine were. It's just a fancy term to describe a rotation where they give you more responsibility, make you take call, etc.

As for doing tons of peds electives, there's nothing wrong with that if you're 100% sure you're going into peds. I've done nothing but straight peds my entire 4th year, and have loved every minute of it. I don't really get the whole argument of doing electives in fields that "you'll never have the chance to do again"...I don't LIKE adult patients, or any of the adult fields, so why would I spend more time doing something I hate when I could be doing something I love?! No one tells somebody who's going into IM that they shouldn't spend the whole year doing adult medicine. So if you're going into peds because you love kids and can't stomach the thought of treating another adult patient, then don't. Do what makes you happy and what will prepare you best for residency.

And it's never to early to ask for LORs...you'll be glad you have so many to choose from at the end.

 

[StringBean]

Another good idea is to try to do an elective at your top chioce that will allow you alot of one-on-one time with one particular attending. Now, this will only work if you get along with them well & do a great job on the rotation but I'll tell you... there is nothing better than having someone on the inside to advocate for you... someone who has had the opportunity to get to know you well, how good you are, and if you'll fit into the program. From what I hear, the powers-that-be really what to know what people in their program thought of applicants... and if you gave a great impression to someone that is well respected within the program & they are willing to go to bat for you... you're in a great position!