I am currently in the process of setting up my fall elective schedule for 4th year and was wondering what electives do program directors want to see on the application prior to me sending it out. I am currently thinking of doing a Pain elective, general anesthesia, sub-i, and 1-2 aways. i will do cards/pulm/nephro/etc during the spring semester.
My school only offers general/OB/pain/research as electives for anesthesia so i figured id do the ones that i could get the best letters from and learn from so that i can look better during my aways.
any recommendations or can i just stick to this plan?
also, does it matter that i do the cards/pulm/etc later on or should i do them earlier?
You should do at least one anesthesia elective, for a month, prior to applying for residency. (Duh.) Doesn't matter if it's at home or away, but a well written letter from an anesthesiologist helps greatly. It's not unheard of, though, for an occasional person to apply without such a letter -- though I think it would be a handicap.
Apart from that, do whatever other rotations you want. Do "radiology" and show up for an hour a day and spend the rest of the day at the beach. No one will really care.
Away anesthesia rotations -- you do not need one. It has the potential to help your application (say, get a foot in the door at a program you're interested in, or get a letter from a more well-known faculty member) and it has the potential to be very educational (you can see how things run at another institution and it gives you an idea of what you're looking for in a residency).
You will get to know the ins and outs of any program where you spend time for a month, and they will get to know you. Hiring decisions for the match are made with a great deal of trepidation (every program has gotten burned at least once by hiring a candidate who looked great on paper and sucked in practice) so if you really get along with them and they can see themselves working with you during your away elective, you have a great chance of being hired. So you can land a very good position by doing an away if you're lucky -- and if you actually happen to like the place where you did your away -- even if you don't have the best grades / scores / class rank / etc.
But aways are not by any means necessary. And I personally would not do more than one at home, one away for a total of two months. Any longer than two months and you'll die of boredom during your third month.
In NYC, I'd say if you want to spend a month, spend it at Sinai if job satisfaction trumps all other factors. If reputation is more important to you, spend it at Columbia. Alternatively, I think Penn would also be a reasonable place to do an away. Choose the month(s) you want and send in your request early (like, in January or February of your fourth year).
