Applying to Numerous Programs at the Same Hospital

[HopefulDoc1984]

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Is it frowned upon by PD's if you apply to multiple programs at the same hospital. For example, if you are interested in rads and ortho and gen surgery would you be better off applying to a single program at 3 different locations or is it kosher to apply to all 3 at the same hospital?

 

[drizzt3117]

Is it frowned upon by PD's if you apply to multiple programs at the same hospital. For example, if you are interested in rads and ortho and gen surgery would you be better off applying to a single program at 3 different locations or is it kosher to apply to all 3 at the same hospital?

Umm, seems to me like you might want to narrow it down a little more than that...

 

[235009]

short answer is yes it is frowned upon

its also practically unheard of to apply to three different specialties ...the process is too hard and if one program finds out that you applied to two other specialties they'll definitely question your sincerity. it is pretty typical however to apply to two specialties if one of them is super competitive (ex: neurosurg, ortho, plastics) but you should still be wary of applying to two different specialties at the same hospital.

(disclaimer: my info comes from fourth years who spoke at various interest group meetings)

 

[drizzt3117]

I think if you're applying to two similar specialties, it's ok to apply to them at the same hospitals. I know people here that applied and interviewed to plastics and gen surg. I just think you'd want to narrow it down a bit and definitely don't apply to programs as diverse to rads and surgery. Most of the time you stay on one side or another of the procedural divide.

 

[Mr hawkings]

short answer is yes it is frowned upon

its also practically unheard of to apply to three different specialties ...the process is too hard and if one program finds out that you applied to two other specialties they'll definitely question your sincerity. it is pretty typical however to apply to two specialties if one of them is super competitive (ex: neurosurg, ortho, plastics) but you should still be wary of applying to two different specialties at the same hospital.

(disclaimer: my info comes from fourth years who spoke at various interest group meetings)

Does the same apply to doing electives in 3 unrelated departments in teh same school (not your own)? A lot of people use those away electives to informally show themselves to the program they want to end up in so would dooing 2 or 3 aways at the same place be frowned upon?

 

[drizzt3117]

Does the same apply to doing electives in 3 unrelated departments in teh same school (not your own)? A lot of people use those away electives to informally show themselves to the program they want to end up in so would dooing 2 or 3 aways at the same place be frowned upon?

Are you talking about away rotations? First of all, you should check your schedule to determine how much time you have to do away rotations. Next, while it's ok and common to do aways in different areas, you may want to find out what people at your school typically do, what people in the specialty(s) that you're interested in typically do, etc. I don't think it's that common to do aways in 3 different rotations and I think it would be especially weird to do 2-3 aways at the same institution in different fields, but <shrug>

I'm going into radiology and typically most people do a single away and a home rads "sub-i" I will probably do two aways more for my interest than anything else, because I have two programs I am especially interested in right now.

 

[Mr hawkings]

Are you talking about away rotations? First of all, you should check your schedule to determine how much time you have to do away rotations. Next, while it's ok and common to do aways in different areas, you may want to find out what people at your school typically do, what people in the specialty(s) that you're interested in typically do, etc. I don't think it's that common to do aways in 3 different rotations and I think it would be especially weird to do 2-3 aways at the same institution in different fields, but <shrug>

I'm going into radiology and typically most people do a single away and a home rads "sub-i" I will probably do two aways more for my interest than anything else, because I have two programs I am especially interested in right now.

The thing is i'm interested in an internal med sub-subspecialty as well as surgery. So i'm anticipating that i may want to check both (Plus IM) out not only in my core rotations, but as electives as well because the geographic location i do my residency in is almost as important to me as the specialty itself.
I'm sure that by the time i'm done with my core rotations,i would be able to choose one or the other but in case i still cant decide at that point, would doing 3 away in the same program hurt me? Assuming My school will allow it

 

[HopefulDoc1984]

Does the same apply to doing electives in 3 unrelated departments in teh same school (not your own)? A lot of people use those away electives to informally show themselves to the program they want to end up in so would dooing 2 or 3 aways at the same place be frowned upon?

i was told by a few PDs that if you cant do a rotation in the specialty you want at their hospital, you should at least do a different rotation at their hospital and try to meet the faculty of the program you are interested in as well as get a LOR from someone in the hospital.

 

[drizzt3117]

The thing is i'm interested in an internal med sub-subspecialty as well as surgery. So i'm anticipating that i may want to check both (Plus IM) out not only in my core rotations, but as electives as well because the geographic location i do my residency in is almost as important to me as the specialty itself.
I'm sure that by the time i'm done with my core rotations,i would be able to choose one or the other but in case i still cant decide at that point, would doing 3 away in the same program hurt me? Assuming my school will allow it

I'd try to shadow as much as you can and get in and do stuff right now since it's summer. There's a big advantage in knowing what you want to go into, or at least having a good idea, even if you might change your mind later. You'll also know a lot more about what you're competitive for after you have your step score.