Away rotations in psychiatry...

[STRESSEDOUT000]

I am interested in doing away electives to improve my chances at some relatively more competitive programs, but also to have the opportunity to explore my interest in Psychiatry at health systems other than at my home institution. However, I am worried that doing away rotations at certain institutions will give admission committees the impression that I am more interested in those programs or programs in the same geographic region. In reality, I am open to going almost anywhere for residency. So...I was wondering if you thought doing away rotations at a particular institution might hurt my chances at interviewing/matching at other institutions. Currently, I am thinking about doing an away rotation at Einstein in NY and UCLA-Harbor (although I am applying to aways all over the place) -- Einstein because I am curious to see how the practice of psychiatry differs in the Northeast (I go to school in the South), and UCLA Harbor because it has some interesting electives I haven't seen offered at any other institution. However, I can see how doing away rotations at these institutions might give the impression that I am only interested in programs in NY or LA, which is not the case.

Of note, I do think I need to do away rotations to improve my chances at matching. (But maybe you disagree...). The reason for this is because I received a low score on Step 1 and otherwise have mediocre "stats". However, my faculty evals are consistently good, and I know I can secure good/excellent recommendations from faculty I have already established a rapport with. Moreover, I am planning to give myself extra time to study for Step 2 to improve my stats.

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[wolfvgang22]

You're over thinking it. Do away rotations if you want, where you want and stop worrying. Do your best work each day wherever you rotate.

 

[newbiegal]

I did an away and will admit I got 2 interviews out of it because I applied to both the combined and regular track program. Like you my stats weren't great. I'm kicking myself because I wish I would have did that second away at another institution but I let the $$$ deter me. Away rotations aren't necessary for psych as I've been told, but it can open the door at programs that you may not otherwise receive an interview. As Wolf mentioned, you need to do your best work! Don't stress yourself over this minutiae because no one is thinking about it but you. Have confidence. That will take you a long way.

 

[notdeadyet]

The only thing aways tell a program is that you're likely interested in that program. It won't harm you anywhere and it can help IMMENSELY at the program at which you rotate.

I think folks get a lot of bad advice about away rotations. The conventional wisdom used to be that if you were a strong applicant that you didn't need them. That may or may not be true depending on the applicant and the program.

But if you're really interested in a program and can swing the away, I'd strongly recommend doing it. Programs pay a lot of attention to residents that are "field tested." Particularly for stronger programs, where most of the applicants strongly being considered have good scores and did well in medical school. Most would much rather take someone they know firsthand performed well clinically than someone from a somewhat better school or with a somewhat higher Step 1.

 

[Monocles]

Everytime an away rotation thread comes up in this forum I have to pop my head in and throw my two pence.

Unless you are clinically or interpersonally awful, you should absolutely do an away rotation.

I went to a state school in the Midwest, low-average step scores, unimpressive clinical grades, essentially bottom quintile of my class. However, I ended up applying for an away rotation at a well known institution in the northeast and ended up getting the rotation! Then even more miraculously I got high honours with distinction on that rotation, got a letter of rec out of it, and essentially got wayyyyyy more interviews than I would have ever gotten otherwise.

tl;dr YES you should do an away rotation, especially if you are an average/below-average applicant on paper like me. But if you're a 250/250 AOA superstar, then maybe not because you are more likely to hurt yourself at that point.

 

[wander and gold]

sorry to hijack this thread; long time lurker here. I'm also interested in doing one or two psych aways but not sure how I want to plan my fourth year

I am a student from a decent program in Northeast, average step 1 and clinical grades, currently doing my third year clerkship in northern california (we have the choice of doing the full or half a year of clerkship out in california). My fiancee is from Dallas and her immediate and extended family are out there so we would love to move there or other major TX cities but we are open to going elsewhere too (e.g. SF or DC). I'm crossing my fingers for UTSW and def would like to do an away there. Would it be a good idea for me to do another away at Austin or Houston to let schools there know that I really want to go to TX, or at programs in SF or DC so I "diversify my portfolio"? Thank you for your thoughts!!

 

[MidwestMD2015]

I was a medical student in the Midwest; I did an away rotation on the west coast and one on the east coast during my fourth year.

It was fun to have a change of scenery, get an inside look at other departments, visit friends, and explore different interests in psychiatry (forensics and consults). I ultimately interviewed at both programs, and they were near the top of my rank list. I matched somewhere else that I liked better, but I have very positive feelings towards those other departments.

Still now, as a PGY-3, I occasionally refer back to some of the patients and experiences I had on those rotations. It was a formative period in my medical education, and I made some friends along the way.

If you have the time in your schedule and can afford the extra costs of an away rotation, I say do it -- there are some great experiences and fantastic learning to be had. Happy to answer any questions if it would be helpful.

 

[MacDonaldTriad]

I you avoid doing an away because you think it will hurt your chances, then definitely go and hurt your chances. If there is anything worse than having a resident in your program that you don't like, it is being a resident in a program that doesn't like you. There is really no lose here. Educators are good at telling who can cut it in a program and who can't. If someone thinks you aren't going to work out somewhere, you don't want to be there. Equally or probably more likely, maybe they will love you and you will find out it isn't your cup of tea. This is also golden data. It is expensive and it can only help open doors at one or two places, but that is an extra one or two places. I'm fairly removed from undergraduate medical education, but I understand that clerkship directors get very little data about rotators and have a hard time being selective. You only know that they are in good standing and what the school is. So it can be fairly wide open.

 

[uhmocksuhsillen]

sorry to hijack this thread; long time lurker here. I'm also interested in doing one or two psych aways but not sure how I want to plan my fourth year

I am a student decent program in Northeast, average step 1 and clinical grades, currently doing my third year clerkship in northern california (we have the choice of doing the full or half a year of clerkship out in california). My fiancee is from Dallas and her immediate and extended family are out there so we would love to move there or other major TX cities but we are open to going elsewhere too (e.g. SF or DC). I'm crossing my fingers for UTSW and def would like to do an away there. Would it be a good idea for me to do another away at Austin or Houston to let schools there know that I really want to go to TX, or at programs in SF or DC so I "diversify my portfolio"? Thank you for your thoughts!!

I'm in a similar position as you, except we're from California and want to stay here, but also want to increase chances at other places just in case. I've talked to one program director directly and a couple residents and they all suggested doing your aways at programs in the region you want to be in. The whole, going somewhere else to "unlock" a region you have no connection to is a bit overblown according to them, fwiw.

 

[wander and gold]

I'm in a similar position as you, except we're from California and want to stay here, but also want to increase chances at other places just in case. I've talked to one program director directly and a couple residents and they all suggested doing your aways at programs in the region you want to be in. The whole, going somewhere else to "unlock" a region you have no connection to is a bit overblown according to them, fwiw.

I've heard that one can do two away rotations at the same school if one is VERY interested in the school. I think that's putting too much egg in one basket for me... I suppose that it does make sense for me to do away rotations at two different schools in TX rather than doing an away (in my case SF or DC) "to 'unlock' a region," as you say

 

[splik]

I you avoid doing an away because you think it will hurt your chances, then definitely go and hurt your chances. If there is anything worse than having a resident in your program that you don't like, it is being a resident in a program that doesn't like you. There is really no lose here. Educators are good at telling who can cut it in a program and who can't. If someone thinks you aren't going to work out somewhere, you don't want to be there. Equally or probably more likely, maybe they will love you and you will find out it isn't your cup of tea. This is also golden data. It is expensive and it can only help open doors at one or two places, but that is an extra one or two places. I'm fairly removed from undergraduate medical education, but I understand that clerkship directors get very little data about rotators and have a hard time being selective. You only know that they are in good standing and what the school is. So it can be fairly wide open.

depends on the institution. here we only usually accept students for away rotations that meet minimum criteria and they must submit 2 LoRs ideally from psychiatry faculty, and their step 1 score. where I did residency, we similarly only accepted visiting students who we were interested in interviewing for residency (though we did accept visiting students not going into psych without this stipulation), partly to weed out the increasingly awful visiting students who had no hope in hell of ever matching there.