Does it look bad not to rotate at home institution?

[pseudoknot]

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I'm interested in both anesthesiology and emergency medicine, and I think I will need to rotate in both fields in order to decide. My school has told me that there is a good chance I wouldn't be able to get both of those in the first three months of M4. Would it raise questions if I were to do only an away rotation in anesthesiology, just for logistical reasons?

 

[chaucer]

I don't think it would be a big deal, but it will potentially affect your ability to get strong letters of recommendation from your home program. I think the benefit of doing a rotation at your school is that you can really learn the very basics, ask lots of simple questions, and get a little bit a confidence before you go and do an away, especially it's at a place where you're trying to impress. But if you have to choose between doing no anesthesia months and doing a month away, do the month away.

 

[RB16]

I don't think it would be a big deal, but it will potentially affect your ability to get strong letters of recommendation from your home program. I think the benefit of doing a rotation at your school is that you can really learn the very basics, ask lots of simple questions, and get a little bit a confidence before you go and do an away, especially it's at a place where you're trying to impress. But if you have to choose between doing no anesthesia months and doing a month away, do the month away.

How important is it to do an away rotation?

 

[Icefrog]

How important is it to do an away rotation?

Several of my attendings told me that it is not important to do away rotations, but to consider it if you are interested in a specific program, especially if it is very competitive. The reason is that in anesthesia, med students aren't that helpful to residents, and during an away rotation you can slip up once and hurt your chances at that program.

But if you are interested in doing an away, you should check to see if the program is receptive to visiting students... Some programs encourage aways, discourage them, or don't care.

 

[med2010]

Several of my attendings told me that it is not important to do away rotations, but to consider it if you are interested in a specific program, especially if it is very competitive. The reason is that in anesthesia, med students aren't that helpful to residents, and during an away rotation you can slip up once and hurt your chances at that program.

But if you are interested in doing an away, you should check to see if the program is receptive to visiting students... Some programs encourage aways, discourage them, or don't care.

Agree with above, only do it if there's a program you're particularly interested in or think would be one of your top choices. I did 2 aways, and while it was a lot, I'm glad I did it. My MS3 perception about programs were definitely wrong. The program I thought I would be malignant and overworked became my top choice, and the program I thought I would rank #1 ended up going unranked.

You can do little things to be helpful - working on preops, drawing up drugs, etc. Some may consider it scut but I think the residents appreciate it and will let you do more during cases. Also, I think working with the PD while you're on an away can definitely help you have a more recognizable name come interview/ranking time.

 

[yasha83]

I'm interested in both anesthesiology and emergency medicine, and I think I will need to rotate in both fields in order to decide. My school has told me that there is a good chance I wouldn't be able to get both of those in the first three months of M4. Would it raise questions if I were to do only an away rotation in anesthesiology, just for logistical reasons?

Not sure if it might raise a question, but it is one that is readily and reasonably explained (you just did so in your own post). However, if you didn't get enough exposure to both specialties in the early 4th year to rotate through both fields and determine which suits you better, you might wind up applying to both. I've had plenty of interviewers ask me if I applied only to anesthesia or if I applied to other specialties. This is a common way for them to get a grasp on your motivations and interest in the field you're applying to.

Also, if you don't do both rotations, how will you know if you're making the right choice when applying? I would suggest work within the framework of your institution and find a way to rotate through both as early as possible 4th year, be it at home or away. Making a decision on what you want supercedes the logistical questions the process might raise, IMO.

 

[MCYan]

one of the caveats of doing an away rotation, imo, is that it will be very hard for you to explain to another school why you chose to do an away at that particular school. I personally did not do any aways but I do know of some schools that value away rotations a lot. But I would rather be safe and not face that question than just to impress that one school I do an away at.

 

[DScully]

one of the caveats of doing an away rotation, imo, is that it will be very hard for you to explain to another school why you chose to do an away at that particular school. I personally did not do any aways but I do know of some schools that value away rotations a lot. But I would rather be safe and not face that question than just to impress that one school I do an away at.

Another way to avoid this question is do your away rotation during your third block as M4. When you interview, other programs won't see that you did an away at another institute because your transcript will only show grades for your first and second block as M4. As long as you don't volunteer that information, I doubt they will find out.

 

[jamba1984]

Another way to avoid this question is do your away rotation during your third block as M4. When you interview, other programs won't see that you did an away at another institute because your transcript will only show grades for your first and second block as M4. As long as you don't volunteer that information, I doubt they will find out.

Perhaps but it may show up on the deans letter, if the school sends updated transcript up to that point. Really depends on the school.

 

[DScully]

Perhaps but it may show up on the deans letter, if the school sends updated transcript up to that point. Really depends on the school.

Agreed.

At my school, the updated transcript won't get sent unless you ask for it.

 

[lazylikeapanda]

Anesthesia programs care that you've done an anesthesia rotation so that you have a general idea about the field. If you can't do a rotation at your home institution then do an away. The important thing is for you to decide that anesthesia is a good fit for you and to get letters from an anesthesiologist to meet the application requirements.

Before I was applying, my med school anesthesia adviser recommended that in addition to getting anesthesia LORs to target attendings from other specialities as well to demonstrate that we can play well with others.

Things to keep in mind about residency apps
1. most anesthesia programs are looking for decent human beings with good communication skills, few programs like DB's.
2. Most programs like applicants that have interests outside of medicine/anesthesia i.e hobbies. The most common interview question I got was "What do you like to do for fun?" Which I replied "eating"
3. Programs like applicants who show potential for passing the Anesthesia board (inferred by passing STEP exams, clerkships)
4. Programs want applicants to demonstrate that they have a general understanding of the field and can articulate why anesthesia.

When selecting applicants for interviews they plugging in numbers like scores, grades, and strength of an LOR into their algorithm. When ranking they so review numbers again, but the big things they care about is if the applicant will work hard during residency, can faculty/staff/other residents get along with the applicant, and if the applicant can fit into the geographical location.

 

[lord_jeebus]

I didn't rotate at my home institution (although I ended up matching there). I don't recommend this strategy.

The main difficulty was that I didn't have the same access to faculty as a visiting student as I would have if I had just rotated at my home institution. I wasn't able to approach the chairman for a letter (he would have had no information to base it on) and my advising was limited to the few attendings I had had contact with prior to 4th year. The senior faculty at the place I rotated were not interested in working with me much, and letters of rec from them were out of the question. At my home institution this would not have been a problem.

 

[yasawa]

I'm interested in both anesthesiology and emergency medicine, and I think I will need to rotate in both fields in order to decide. My school has told me that there is a good chance I wouldn't be able to get both of those in the first three months of M4. Would it raise questions if I were to do only an away rotation in anesthesiology, just for logistical reasons?

I wouldnt worry too much about it. Are you required to do any anesthesia your 3rd year? When I was an M4, there were so many of us matching that some people didnt fit in their anesthesia rotation until october. What those students ended up doing was taking call/shifts on the weekends. The key is to work with the same attending that way you can still get a strong letter. One of my friends took three overnight calls with the chair and didnt do his subI until the end of sept/beginning of oct. As far as aways go, I think that they are a good idea. However, I wouldnt do them unless you have had enough anesthesia experience under your belt. You work with so many different attendings that you need to be on top of your game everyday. Hope that helps!