Another away rotation question ...

[Complications]

Hey All,
My school only allows two aways in one area (i.e. surg). I'm doing two aways this fall in gen surg. My question is this. There's another program that I'm really interested in ... I thought about doing an away in GI in January. The program is really small ... I thought it might be away to get a look at it, and since they interview only a small number of people I thought it might get me an in. Any thoughts?

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[Winged Scapula]

Hey All,
My school only allows two aways in one area (i.e. surg). I'm doing two aways this fall in gen surg. My question is this. There's another program that I'm really interested in ... I thought about doing an away in GI in January. The program is really small ... I thought it might be away to get a look at it, and since they interview only a small number of people I thought it might get me an in. Any thoughts?

Correct me if I'm wrong...its a GI rotation, but you'll be applying for surgery?

If that is correct, January is late to be doing a visiting rotation at a place you might want to interview at. After all, the vast majority of surgical interviews are done by early to mid January - or basically right after you start your rotation there. Many places invite all their audition rotators to interview, but generally only those who have clerked in the department (ie, GI doesn't count for surgery). As you know, the deadline for applications to general surgery is November 1, so you would have already applied to the program by then, and probably would know if you have an interview there even before you leave for the GI elective.

My two cents...

 

[njbmd]

Hey All,
My school only allows two aways in one area (i.e. surg). I'm doing two aways this fall in gen surg. My question is this. There's another program that I'm really interested in ... I thought about doing an away in GI in January. The program is really small ... I thought it might be away to get a look at it, and since they interview only a small number of people I thought it might get me an in. Any thoughts?

Hi there,
It is not imperative that you do an audition rotation in a program unless you feel that you are a marginal candidate for that program. If you have a strong interest in a program, apply and let them know of your strong interest during the interview. A GI rotation is not going to help you much if you are interested in matching in General Surgery unless your GI attending is the brother of the General Surgery PD. (Even then, you may never be discussed).

If you are a marginal candiate for a General Surgery categorical match, then apply to a large number of programs across the board. You need to have at least 15 to 20 solid interviews so that you have plenty of programs to rank. If you do not get enough interviews, apply to more programs and apply early. The earlier you get your ERAS application in, the earlier you get interview invitations and the earlier you know if you have to add programs.

If your Step I score was marginal, take Step II as early as you can and do very, very well. This will not erase a poor Step I but it will help your application if you have taken this exam early enough and done well.

If you are not a marginal candidate, then you do not need to do an audition rotation at all. You can do a second look after your interview and get more of an idea of a program outside of the pressures of interview day.

Good luck!
njbmd

 

[SLUser11]

When I started to look for away rotations, I realized that there are alot of factors....for me it was money. You have to find a place to stay for one month, which can be hella-pricey, especially in big cities........

My solution was one rotation in my home town at an academic center (Nebraska Med Center), where I could stay with mommy and daddy and sleep for free, and another rotation at a community program that offered free housing to visiting students (Mich State- Kalamazoo....my brother's there for ER). This allowed me to get a sample of two very different programs and still afford my cocaine habit.

In the end, I didn't ask for a letter from anybody on those rotations, and I didn't rank either one very high....but I got a taste of what I DIDN'T like, and the rotations definitely shaped my vision of the perfect program. Anyway, I felt I was competitive enough to not need to "audition" anywhere....if I had to, I guess I would have shelled out the big bucks to get my foot in the door somewhere.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Anyway, I felt I was competitive enough to not need to "audition" anywhere....if I had to, I guess I would have shelled out the big bucks to get my foot in the door somewhere.

Hmm...Sounds sort of "cocky" to me!

 

[MossPoh]

I like the little cocaine habit reference........sad thing is I read over that like it was nothing at first and did a double take

 

[Complications]

I like the little cocaine habit reference........sad thing is I read over that like it was nothing at first and did a double take

That's hillarious ... I didn't notice it either.

 

[Winged Scapula]

I missed it too...

SLUser better watch out! I'll post hold him for encouraging drug use (see the debacle I've created in Anesthesiology forum).

 

[Doc Ivy]

Hmm...Sounds sort of "cocky" to me!

Nice.

SLUser, karma is sweet.