Advice re: scheduling welcome

[BlondeDocteur]

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For those of you who applied/are applying to the integrated plastics match as well as to general surgery, how did you structure the first few months of your fourth year? Ideally I'd like to do three plastics sub-is and 1 SICU sub-i in order to get a solid sub-i level letter for the gen surg match.

I feel the best thing for plastics is PRS-PRS-PRS-SICU, but I wonder if getting my only general surgery letter (besides an MS3-yr letter and chairman's letter) in October is smart? Did any of you submit a PRS letter to general surgery programs, and if so, how were they received?

We have to start applying for aways shortly so any advice would be very much appreciated.

 

[Plastikos]

For those of you who applied/are applying to the integrated plastics match as well as to general surgery, how did you structure the first few months of your fourth year? Ideally I'd like to do three plastics sub-is and 1 SICU sub-i in order to get a solid sub-i level letter for the gen surg match.

I feel the best thing for plastics is PRS-PRS-PRS-SICU, but I wonder if getting my only general surgery letter (besides an MS3-yr letter and chairman's letter) in October is smart? Did any of you submit a PRS letter to general surgery programs, and if so, how were they received?

We have to start applying for aways shortly so any advice would be very much appreciated.

I didnt do any sub i's and i wouldnt go over board unless you have to overcome something in your application. As far as letters it can be tricky in this match, but....

In general, you should obtain letters from the field you are applying to, just makes sense. I doubt gsurg pds are going to look more favorably at a SICU letter than a gsurg one, and most likely they will have no idea who that writer is (unless a trauma surgeon) and why they should care about his/her opinion.

I had two PRS letters and one from a trauma surgeon. Caveat about the gsurg writer is i worked and did research with him for 3+yrs, until he became chair of trauma at a well known school, so he knew me very well and had a great title at a uber respected program.

It was however very obvious that most gsurg programs were turned off by the plastics vibe. Most didnt even send a no thanks response let alone an interview.

I didnt schedule anything fancy except a fourth year PRS rotation on the chairmans service. I basically put all my eggs in the prs basket, gotta go all out and hope for the best.

 

[plastikosmd]

unsure about the g-surg sub-I, but I am all for plastic rotations...I did 3 back in the day and it allowed me get to know the progams, residents, attendings, location etc. that I was interested in. Probably they got to know me also, since I matched at one. Good luck

 

[BlondeDocteur]

Thanks Plastikos. That's the vibe my advisors have been giving me (to put my eggs in that oh-so-fragile plastics basket) but I suppose I'm just a bit more cautious than they.

It's also a frankly ******ed requirement at Columbia that you can't do more than 2 months of surgery (*anything* surgical) in 4th year without doing a medicine sub-i. SICU counts as "medicine," even though our SICU is run by surgeons.

 

[maxheadroom]

Thanks Plastikos. That's the vibe my advisors have been giving me (to put my eggs in that oh-so-fragile plastics basket) but I suppose I'm just a bit more cautious than they.

It's also a frankly ******ed requirement at Columbia that you can't do more than 2 months of surgery (*anything* surgical) in 4th year without doing a medicine sub-i. SICU counts as "medicine," even though our SICU is run by surgeons.

A month of SICU is a good idea, regardless. Getting experience with lines and learning vent management will serve you well as an intern.