Advice for med student please

[nvshelat]

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Hey guys,

MS2 from NYCOM (NY Osteopathic) here with some questions for next year and beyond

1. If I don't have a chance to do an anesth rotation until 4th year, am I at a disadvantage? No electives in our sched 3rd yr 🙁
2. If I'm at a hospital that doesn't have an anesthesia residency program, would it still be likely I would get to learn a lot/do a lot by hanging out in the OR?
2a. Likely to get a LOR from this scenario? Need a LOR in this scenario?
3. My anesth. LOR should be from a specific anesth. rotation, yes? Not from just hanging out 1-2 times a week 😛

 

[fakin' the funk]

1. If I don't have a chance to do an anesth rotation until 4th year, am I at a disadvantage? No electives in our sched 3rd yr 🙁
2. If I'm at a hospital that doesn't have an anesthesia residency program, would it still be likely I would get to learn a lot/do a lot by hanging out in the OR?
2a. Likely to get a LOR from this scenario? Need a LOR in this scenario?
3. My anesth. LOR should be from a specific anesth. rotation, yes? Not from just hanging out 1-2 times a week 😛

I'm an MS3...here's my 2 cents.

1. No, most people don't do an anesthesia rotation until their 4th year.
2. Possibly...but you should do an away rotation so that you'll have residents and attendings to interact with, and get an LOR from.
2a. Try to get an LOR from a one-month rotation.
3. You're correct.

 

[gasmanDO]

1. Some NYCOM 3rd year surgery rotations allow you spend 2-4wks with the anesthesia team. Ask your senior classmates which hospital allow for this.

2. Better to get a LOR from a faculty member from a dept w/ a residency. You'll have time to get this by setting-up a showcase rotation in July/August rotation of 4th year.

3. For now, worry about step I. Set-up your third year to allow for exposure in anesthesia. Work hard in your surgery and med rotation next year to get good LORs from those disciplines as well.

4. Good Luck!

 

[Mental Gymnast]

Great reply, Gasman.

I have a follow-up question. Is an anesthesiology sub-internship required for gas residency or can it just be an elective such as cardiac anesthesia? I know that for surgery or medicine residencies you should be doing surgery or medicine sub-I's. But for anasthesia, can I do a medicine sub-I and then just an anesthesia elective?

 

[amyl]

never hurts to ask for a letter if you feel like you had a good feeling from someone. if your letter from a rotation is better use it. if one of the docs at your home institution went somewhere you are interested in you may want a letter from alumni...keep your options open.
you don't need a sub-I in anesthesiology for residency...i didn't do one...no one has asked. best of luck on step one...i agree you should focus on that right now. take the usmle step one as well, not just comlex.

 

[happyabe]

Great reply, Gasman.

I have a follow-up question. Is an anesthesiology sub-internship required for gas residency or can it just be an elective such as cardiac anesthesia? I know that for surgery or medicine residencies you should be doing surgery or medicine sub-I's. But for anasthesia, can I do a medicine sub-I and then just an anesthesia elective?

You should do an anesthesia elective during your fourth year of medical school, as early as possible. Do an anesthesiology elective during your third year as well, if possible. Also, you don't necessarily have to do a general anesthesia month. Cardiac is fine, though I'd recommend regional!

Cheers.

 

[Magnus67]

My medical school also lacked a gas residency, or any residency besides IM and FP. I guess it all depends on your docs, but i did way more than i could have ever imagined in a month. iv's all day, several intubations a day, lines, etc. I did way more "hands on" things than at my externship, which was at a great gas program. Coming from a more "private practice" based medical school i feel you skip from med student to being the resident, (with much lower expectations, which is nice😀) I almost feel bad now in residency when medstudents watch me do procedures that i was able to do in medical school because there were no residents.
So i wouldnt worry at all about doing a month at your home , but i would do an externship to get a more academic experience, plus you will get a feel of what residency will be like.

 

[Neigh2008]

I also come from a school without an anesthesia residency program and agree with Magnus that you have the opportunity to do many more procedures when there are no residents to "compete" with. I did my anesthesia rotation in July of my fourth year and because I decide late to do anesthesia and my school only allows you to apply to one program per time slot for aways, I did not do an away rotation. My anesthesia LOR came from the chairman for the dept at my home school without an anesthesia program. None of this seemed to affect the number of interviews I ended up with. I would try to do an anesthesia rotation as early as possible in your fourth year and do an away if you can, but don't stress over it. As long as you have a solid step I score, great LORs, and good clinical grades you should be fine.

 

[nvshelat]

I also come from a school without an anesthesia residency program and agree with Magnus that you have the opportunity to do many more procedures when there are no residents to "compete" with. I did my anesthesia rotation in July of my fourth year and because I decide late to do anesthesia and my school only allows you to apply to one program per time slot for aways, I did not do an away rotation. My anesthesia LOR came from the chairman for the dept at my home school without an anesthesia program. None of this seemed to affect the number of interviews I ended up with. I would try to do an anesthesia rotation as early as possible in your fourth year and do an away if you can, but don't stress over it. As long as you have a solid step I score, great LORs, and good clinical grades you should be fine.

So it's not like there was a rush to get the pts in/out by the private attendings, or they didn't mind teaching you? I'm trying to figure out where to set up my rotations for next year...I found out there is a place I can do them that has a anesthesia residency, it's just a bit of a drive

 

[Magnus67]

I would rate my experience as Private = more hands on anesthesia, "procedures" and Academic = better understanding of what i was doing "Knowledge" both are important, but it is nice to show up for a externship and be able to "not suck" at a few basic things, iv's, intubating, hooking up monitors, etc. I did work with a group of private attendings that really enjoyed having medical students a couple months out of the year, and REALLY like teaching someone that was interested in gas.

Its just too bad i forgot everything i learned during internship this year.😀