Electives for ENT

[Melimelomed]

I'm a second year medical student at McGill University in Canada. I fell in love with ENT last year and I am pretty sure it is the speciality I want to go into. I did research all summer and I am trying to meet as many ENT doctors from my university as I can. I was wondering if anyone had any input on how I should plan my electives. I believe we get at most 4-5 4 weeks electives before the Canadian match. However, as there are only about 23 ENT spots in Canada every year, I really need to have a backup and I intend to apply to general surgery as a second choice. I was also wondering which are some good programs to do electives at in the US?
Anyone can help me?
Melanie

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[forbin]

As far as US oto programs go, almost all will provide you with excellent training. If you are planning to do some electives in the states, I would pick based on where you would like to live rather than a program's reputation. The main things for you to concentrate on right now are 1. Solid board score, 2. Good performance on MS3 rotations, and 3. Getting to work on some oto research (ideally having a publication or two by the time you're applying). Good luck.

 

[Melimelomed]

But in terms of electives, should I do most of them in ENT or should I try different fields? If I do an elective in plastic surgery at an institution I would like to interview at in ENT, will that increase my chances of being highly ranked there? As anyone ever been questionned because they had done too few or too many electives in ENT?
Thanks!

 

[Spiff]

But in terms of electives, should I do most of them in ENT or should I try different fields? If I do an elective in plastic surgery at an institution I would like to interview at in ENT, will that increase my chances of being highly ranked there? As anyone ever been questionned because they had done too few or too many electives in ENT?
Thanks!

You should do away electives at places you want to check out for residency and to get exposure to local Otolaryngology faculty. Your plastic surgery rotation will probably not have much bearing if at all on any hopes for Otolaryngology (unless you are getting some sort of extraordinary rec letter). You should do as many Oto rotations as it takes to get quality letters of recommendation from faculty, although you will probably be limited somewhat by your home institution's schedule policies. Oto research rotations aren't a bad idea either. Do elective rotations in other fields if you think you may want to do something else and/or if you think they will help you be a better Oto intern, keeping in mind that unless you do something totally egregious they probably won't affect your Otolaryngology aspirations.

 

[TheThroat]

You should do away electives at places you want to check out for residency and to get exposure to local Otolaryngology faculty. Your plastic surgery rotation will probably not have much bearing if at all on any hopes for Otolaryngology (unless you are getting some sort of extraordinary rec letter). You should do as many Oto rotations as it takes to get quality letters of recommendation from faculty, although you will probably be limited somewhat by your home institution's schedule policies. Oto research rotations aren't a bad idea either. Do elective rotations in other fields if you think you may want to do something else and/or if you think they will help you be a better Oto intern, keeping in mind that unless you do something totally egregious they probably won't affect your Otolaryngology aspirations.

If you want to do oto, don't do a away rotation in plastics. Use that time to do research, which will help you out more than any rotation. I would do 1 to 2 away rotations at most.

 

[Spiff]

If you want to do oto, don't do a away rotation in plastics. Use that time to do research, which will help you out more than any rotation. I would do 1 to 2 away rotations at most.

In case I wasn't clear, when I mentioned oto rotations I was referring collectively to any rotation home, abroad, or research related. For the record I agree that 1-2 aways at most is a good idea. Besides being expensive endeavors, away rotations are often lower yield than a lot of people would imagine. They are a good way to 1. get noticed at a place you would dearly like to go (either for better or worse) and 2. they give you a chance to see how otolaryngology is practiced at different institutions.

 

[saulsmith]

In case I wasn't clear, when I mentioned oto rotations I was referring collectively to any rotation home, abroad, or research related. For the record I agree that 1-2 aways at most is a good idea. Besides being expensive endeavors, away rotations are often lower yield than a lot of people would imagine. They are a good way to 1. get noticed at a place you would dearly like to go (either for better or worse) and 2. they give you a chance to see how otolaryngology is practiced at different institutions.

I have heard Oto-HNS is a small field where everyone pretty much knows each other, especially at academic centers. If you are not sure if you want to go to a program, but they have a great reputation and want to try and get a good letter of rec from a department head at that program. Is it possible to get a good letter on an away rotation and is it worth doing an away rotation there?

 

[TheThroat]

I have heard Oto-HNS is a small field where everyone pretty much knows each other, especially at academic centers. If you are not sure if you want to go to a program, but they have a great reputation and want to try and get a good letter of rec from a department head at that program. Is it possible to get a good letter on an away rotation and is it worth doing an away rotation there?

Yeah, it is a pretty close-knit group. If you are a hard worker, then getting a "good" LOR from an away rotation is pretty likely, but you pretty much can't get a "great" LOR just bc/ you are only spending a month there, and probably just a few days with the dept head (who would know the most people).