elective question PLEASE!!

[andwhat]

I was wondering.. what if I do my Anesthesiology elective rotation along with the same hospital in which I am doing my core rotations? well heres the kick.. theres no residency program.. but I can get really good letters from Anesthesiologists.. but I dont know if they will carry any weight. as it is not an Anesthesiology program that is part of a University affiliation, or well known program.. so my question is.. is it worth doing my elective rotation at a place where there is no residency program? or is it better to do my elective in a program which offers a residency program which I can apply to? help please!!!!

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[aparikh1]

If there is room in your schedule, do 2 weeks or a month at your core hospital with no anesthesia program to gain experience, then do an elective at a place where you think you may want to go, and impress them! If you can only do one month, go to a place with a residency program, that will show them you're interested and took the time to go there.

 

[2ndyear]

I was in a similar position, no residency at my home school, but great attendings. I opted to follow the anesthesiologists around a lot on OB, especially since we were up all night anyways, and hang out in ECT during the large numbers of hours you can hang out on a psych rotation. I could have gotten letters from my home school's attendings, but didn't. I did an elective instead and got what I am told is a really good letter, from someone relatively known in the field. I would go with doing an away rotation at a place you may want to go as early as you can, and start looking now! They fill up quick. I also thought it was advantageous to go somewhere where I had one on one contact with attendings and not just residents. Sure the residents are great and all, but remember, you need a letter. Also it is obviously better to spend as much time as is possible with the same person. If you already know you want to do anesthesia, then this rotation is mainly about getting a letter. Show up early, stay late, and read. Come in every day having read on cases and more. Read West and baby Miller cover to cover and take notes. Bring them to the OR. Ask questions about difficult concepts. Hope this helps

 

[andwhat]

for the outstanding perspective.. well one thing that I have heard is that doing an elective rotation with a program which has a residency program almost ensures at least an interview, if not a residency.. well good luck guys.. and things should go well.. just a minor rotation now.. and then its off to Anesthesia! cant wait..

by the way please what is West and baby Miller?
thanks!!

 

[drfeelgood]

Baby Miller = Clinical Anesthesia 5th ed. by Stoelting and Miller

West ... I have no idea. Might not be practical to read baby miller in the OR since it's a standard size textbook.

Try the MGH Handbook on Anesthesiology for intraop reading... that is when... the patient is cruzin at 40,000 feet and on autopilot. (VSS)