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Away rotations
- Thread starter xrayspecs
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As I’ve stated on previous threads, only do away rotations if you have a “normal” personality. You can hide personality flaws in a few hour interview, but it’s hard to do that over a month.
I did 3 aways. I made some good connections and still keep in contact with some of the people I met... students and residents.
I didn’t match where I rotated, but the highest one on my list was #3, and I landed my #2.
I did 3 aways. I made some good connections and still keep in contact with some of the people I met... students and residents.
I didn’t match where I rotated, but the highest one on my list was #3, and I landed my #2.
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What do you mean by a "normal" personality? (Does it mean I don't have one if I have to ask?)
If you have to ask, you don't have one. Most med students don't, for what it's worth.
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Aways are very beneficial if you play your cards right, and mostly importantly as mentioned above if you have an easy-going personality and have the means to stay/act interested shadowing in the dark room. I did an away rotation at an institution that was geographically foreign to me, met the right people (PD, APD, and faculty on the interview committee), and got the ball rolling on a case report with a resident while I was there. I ended up ranking it first and matching there. My advice is to go for it!
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It’s hard to be a good medical student on radiology, it can be dreadfully boring if you are not the one interpreting the study. I always try to let students look at the images first, ask them what they think and then try to teach them through the case. Most residents and attendings don’t do this.
As someone above said, try to get some bonus points from asking around for research or a case report.
Overall, I would not recommend doing an away unless you can casually strike up conversations with a variety of people and they don’t seem too annoyed (ie, don’t have personality issues).
Some tips as a medical student on a radiology rotation:
1. Be on time (and early) to educational conferences. People will notice you are late. It doesn’t matter if the residents are late.
2. Offer to answer the phone or make phone calls. More likely than not, they won’t want you, but if you know everyone’s name in the room, the most junior resident will appreciate someone else being the secretary. By far the best medical student I ever saw functioning as a useful entity was a student who got good at communicating line and tube malpositions to patient’s nurses. Same student would look up histories on patients.
3. When an attending is pimping and the resident doesn’t know the answer or get it right, for the love of god, pretend that you don’t know the answer either. Shame on the resident for not knowing something they should but shame on you for making the resident instantly feel embarrassed. Find a better way to showcase your knowledge.
4. When the attending is reading something out to a resident, don’t point to something and ask if it is normal. If the you are side by side with a resident (and maybe an attending) dictating something this can be appropriate but not in a group setting.
5. Offer to help with research or ask if they have a case you can write a case report. Ask a number of different people as some of not most will not.
As someone above said, try to get some bonus points from asking around for research or a case report.
Overall, I would not recommend doing an away unless you can casually strike up conversations with a variety of people and they don’t seem too annoyed (ie, don’t have personality issues).
Some tips as a medical student on a radiology rotation:
1. Be on time (and early) to educational conferences. People will notice you are late. It doesn’t matter if the residents are late.
2. Offer to answer the phone or make phone calls. More likely than not, they won’t want you, but if you know everyone’s name in the room, the most junior resident will appreciate someone else being the secretary. By far the best medical student I ever saw functioning as a useful entity was a student who got good at communicating line and tube malpositions to patient’s nurses. Same student would look up histories on patients.
3. When an attending is pimping and the resident doesn’t know the answer or get it right, for the love of god, pretend that you don’t know the answer either. Shame on the resident for not knowing something they should but shame on you for making the resident instantly feel embarrassed. Find a better way to showcase your knowledge.
4. When the attending is reading something out to a resident, don’t point to something and ask if it is normal. If the you are side by side with a resident (and maybe an attending) dictating something this can be appropriate but not in a group setting.
5. Offer to help with research or ask if they have a case you can write a case report. Ask a number of different people as some of not most will not.
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My general impression is that aways are not necessary in radiology especially with great Step scores, research, grades, and letters.
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So you're literally in the room with an attending/resident the entire time you're rotating? I've seen those rooms, some of them aren't that big. I can definitely see how having a great personality would be essential - I would hate someone hovering over my shoulder all day if I was trying to do my job. Especially if I was slammed with work.
I don't know if I could make smalltalk for a month. Lol...
I don't know if I could make smalltalk for a month. Lol...
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Absolutely only do an away rotation if you are a "normal guy/gal". Most radiology applicants are academically qualified and look about the same on paper. What separates them out is personality. I'll take a normal dude/dudette with lower scores/accolades over a weirdo with 260+ Step 1, AOA, etc.
Answering the phone for a resident, looking up H&Ps, and conveying results to nurses is a HUGE way to garner good will with the residents. The phone calls are one of the most annoying things we have to deal with, especially when we are trying to concentrate on a study.
I also completely agree with keeping your mouth shut when a resident is getting pimped. Only answer questions when directly asked. You have all the time in the world to read up on stuff--that resident is just trying to survive.
Answering the phone for a resident, looking up H&Ps, and conveying results to nurses is a HUGE way to garner good will with the residents. The phone calls are one of the most annoying things we have to deal with, especially when we are trying to concentrate on a study.
I also completely agree with keeping your mouth shut when a resident is getting pimped. Only answer questions when directly asked. You have all the time in the world to read up on stuff--that resident is just trying to survive.
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lol it's kind of ridiculous how the term "normal" gets thrown around so much as if it were something to be desired. Besides, ask 100 people what normal means, you'll get 100 different answers. For me, "normal" people are kind of boring and superficial. "Weirdos" in my book can be nonconformists and are usually pretty cool because they dgaf what you think.
You shouldn't be deciding to do an away rotation based on what your personality is. If you want to do aways, go for it. I personally think 1-2 aways would be good for most people who want to do any in the first place.
FWIW, I know a couple "normal" people who did a bunch of aways and ended up not matching at any of them.
You shouldn't be deciding to do an away rotation based on what your personality is. If you want to do aways, go for it. I personally think 1-2 aways would be good for most people who want to do any in the first place.
FWIW, I know a couple "normal" people who did a bunch of aways and ended up not matching at any of them.
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To me,
Medical school normal =/= normal
Normal outside med school = normal
I hope that’s as clear as mud.
