a year off?

[trotter]

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Hello,

Just wondering if anyone here has taken a year off from med school or knows someone who has.

I am considering taking a year starting next month (essentially between 3rd and 4th year). I am toying with this idea for a number of reasons. I have recently decided to pursue a competitive field and feel unprepared to apply at this point. I thought that some research in the field may bolster my application. Also, I love to travel, and feel that this may be a great opportunity to combine some sort of medical work with international travel and spanish language education. For the most part, graduating a year later doesn't seem like it should be big deal, particularly if it isn't a result of any academic difficulty (I've done pretty well in med school so far).

Some concerns are: how do PDs view taking a year off? Will this hurt my app? How do people go about finding a good research project/international activities to get involved with? How do people finance such an endeavor?

Any general advice or experiences would be appreciated.....thanks

 

[PiccoloPlaya]

Save that year off for when you're in med school.

 

[domukin]

Save that year off for when you're in med school. You'll need to run away from this hell-hole every once in a while.

Um, I thought he was in his 3rd year. 😕

 

[Blake]

I know a resident who took a year off to do research (between 2nd and 3rd year) and it helped him greatly. He matched in his dream specialty (yea, he figured out what he wanted quite early) and he's now a PGY-4. I think it's definitely something positive if you want to get a specific residency. Come on, which program director would complain about a student dedicated to the field ? I might take the same path, but after 4th year. Good luck anyway 🙂

 

[skypilot]

My advisor took a year off between med school and residency to take care of his newborn baby while his wife established her career as an attorney. It must have worked out because he is a professor of Cardiology now.

I have heard that a year doing research is a great way to land a residency in a specific field.