4th year scheduling.. how many electives?

[Happy Penguin]

We are to turn in our schedule soon.. i just can't decide what do to with my time.. how many electives do i need? where should i do them?
any suggestions?

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[8744]

We are to turn in our schedule soon.. i just can't decide what do to with my time.. how many electives do i need? where should i do them?
any suggestions?

Keep in mind that nothing you do after November is going to have any impact on where you match. Take some good, solid rotations in the field you have decided on including an away rotation or two at programs where you have a decent shot of matching. I could have, for example, done an Emergency Medicine rotation at Vanderbilt but with my grades and board scores any interview I got would have been strictly "courtesy."

The idea is to get some good letters out of your early rotations.

Unless your medical school is hugely different than most, you don't have to schedule your entire year at the start of fourth year. This is important because the MICU rotation you were gung ho for in July might not look so attractive in March as graduation draws near and every sinew of your being cries out for you to slack off like the proverbial big dog.

I know because I just finished an MICU rotation which, while not as onerous as it could have been is not something you want to be doing in the last three months of medical school.

What are you thinking of going into? If you are planning on Family Practice in Monroe, Louisiana you can pretty much do nothing during fourth year and match there effortlessly. If you want to do Neurosurgery we are talking a whole different schedule.

 

[klubguts]

This depends upon your med school to some extent...i was required to take four rotations and left with four electives. I did two electives in July/Aug in areas related to my choosen specialty, then two others during the year (rads and gas). You can do them at your home location (if you are interested in staying there for residency or need to get some LORs) or rotate away if there is a certain program you really want to check out. I stayed at home, mainly because i needed LORs (which you can get away if you want), didn't have any specific program in mind to visit, and didn't want to spend the money (sort of lame, i know). You should also have some vacation time for interviews, which i scheduled in dec and jan. All this depends on what you are going in to. I would discuss these issues with an adviser in your specialty who knows you well. Best of luck.

 

[Happy Penguin]

thanks for the advice..
i am thinking of going into surgery (for now... still have medicine and family left to finish). i am gonna hate myself if i do sub-i (med) the last 2 month of 4th year?

and --can you tell me how you can gauge yourself and the level of the hospital you want to do away electives in? i mean i know i am not UCSF/Harvard material.. but is there a database of programs past admission record that i can use?

 

[klubguts]

I applied for general surgery this year. I am doing my med subI next month (not hating myself for it, it's okay). I don't know of any such database. The PD and chairman at my home school were very helpful in suggesting several programs at which I would be competitive based on my academic record. It helps if you have an idea of where you want to live (very important) and your career goals (academic vs. private practice). Your surgery clerkship director may also be a good person to talk to regarding these issues. Basically, talking with people is the best way i know of to find places at which you would have a realistic opportunity to match. good luck.