4th year schedule advice requested

[suckerfree]

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Hi,

so I was hoping for a little feedback on my 1st semester of 4th year schedule, the part that will show up before I have my interviews. I have a step I of 211 and all passes in all classes/clerkships w/out any repeats/failures of any kind, and I'm at an MD school. All electives etc. will be at my home institution.

4th year 1st semester:
1) 1st 6 wks Family clerkship (don't ask me why, long story)
2) 4 wks Ambulatory Clinic with a famous pediatrician (only time of year I can take this)
3) 4 weeks general pathology - blood bank, clinical path, etc.
4) 4 weeks medical examiners office
5) 4 weeks Academic Path (we TA and help teach path to M2s, this will be during Nov/Dec which I was told was the prime time for interviews).
6) Xmas vacation/interviews in Nov/Dec, early Jan

I will also have taken Step II CK at the beginning of the year by the end of my ambulatory medicine block and expect to do well.

Should I replace the medical examiners office rotation with any other path elective? We have dermatopath, or I can even create my own elective in Peds path at the local children's hospital. I was planning on doing these other 2 path electives along with a psych AI and a peds Heme/Onc clinic month, and a surgical month after Nov/Dec interviews all during the 2nd semester. I will also have very good letters of rec from 2 pathologists, 1 dept chair, and my psych AI, and the pediatrician.

I appreciate any feedback. Is this too many or too few path electives for the 1st semester?

Thanks!

 

[deschutes]

Looks like a good balance to me. I believe as long as you have your rec letters all ready, it doesn't matter what you do within the limits of your med school curriculum. Most people try to take as many slacker rotations as possible since after all, it is 4th year. It's nice to have path electives during interview season, since staff will generally be even more understanding of your having to take time off to go interview.

One thing I would have done if I had more elective time is to do the non-path things, like diagnostic imaging. If you do eventually end up choosing path (seems like peds is on your differential 🙂 ), you'll have all of residency to learn path.

 

[suckerfree]

thanks for the response. Peds is not on my differential, otherwise I would do my acting internship in Peds Heme/Onc for a month instead of the psych AI. I'm still considering doing that just because heme/onc is very interesting to me, but the slacker in me is going for the psych AI instead w/ no call vs. the Peds heme/onc AI w/ Q4 call, longer hours, and the cases are much more involving. I'm really seriously considering just making up 2 electives in 4th year though, 1 for Peds Path, and the other "Hematopathology". I know that some people say 4th year should not be an intern year essentially, and you want to do other things you might not have the chance to do later, but really, I know the way my mind works and I'll get a hell of a lot more out of my 1st year residency if I have a stronger background. Plus, I've had all of M3 to be exposed to the other disciplines and if path is the only thing I love and am interested in, then I see no point in devoting time towards anything else; this would make for the most enjoyable M4 for me.

Thanks again for the feedback thus far.