Fourth Year Scheduling

[stankem]

Hey everyone, my schedule advising hasn't been the greatest and I had a couple of questions for people who've been through the process..

we're required to take an ICU elective at my school..should i ideally be taking this before interview season or just take it in spring?
Also with a relatively good computer profile does it make sense to do two aways? i want to get out of my region so i'm hoping this shows that. my worry is i have the tendency to have a hard time initially in completely new situations so I might be prone to looking like a jackass at first. Anyone feel like letters they got from the aways were a big credit to their app? I'm thinking of doing some lighter electives on the away so don't know how much that shows the programs.

And does it matter to schools if you release your step 2 score or not? my school says it looks shady but our IM program is relatively IMG heavy so i think that perception might be skewed.
Thanks for all the help, hopefully I can pay it back in kind next year

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[IM Substance P]

Hey everyone, my schedule advising hasn't been the greatest and I had a couple of questions for people who've been through the process..

we're required to take an ICU elective at my school..should i ideally be taking this before interview season or just take it in spring?
Also with a relatively good computer profile does it make sense to do two aways? i want to get out of my region so i'm hoping this shows that. my worry is i have the tendency to have a hard time initially in completely new situations so I might be prone to looking like a jackass at first. Anyone feel like letters they got from the aways were a big credit to their app? I'm thinking of doing some lighter electives on the away so don't know how much that shows the programs.

And does it matter to schools if you release your step 2 score or not? my school says it looks shady but our IM program is relatively IMG heavy so i think that perception might be skewed.
Thanks for all the help, hopefully I can pay it back in kind next year

I think a strong letter from an ICU rotation would go a long way for your IM application. That's the advice I got, and I believe it to be true after inerviewing.

I didn't do any aways. I had a strong computer profile and felt like I had more to lose than to gain.

IMHO, the Step 2 thing really comes down to a matter of preference. I wanted to get it out of the way, so I took it right after third year. As a bonus, I improved on my Step 1 score.

In my interviews, my Step scores didn't come up every time. But when they did come up, my interviewers definitely talked a lot more about my Step 2 score. I think the bump in my performance went a long way to securing the interviews I did.

 

[Frugal Traveler]

I think a strong letter from an ICU rotation would go a long way for your IM application. That's the advice I got, and I believe it to be true after inerviewing.

I didn't do any aways. I had a strong computer profile and felt like I had more to lose than to gain.

IMHO, the Step 2 thing really comes down to a matter of preference. I wanted to get it out of the way, so I took it right after third year. As a bonus, I improved on my Step 1 score.

In my interviews, my Step scores didn't come up every time. But when they did come up, my interviewers definitely talked a lot more about my Step 2 score. I think the bump in my performance went a long way to securing the interviews I did.

Great advice

I think an ICU rotation is a good idea early in the year because if you do an AI, you will be potentially exposed to some critical care medicine (step down, transfers to your team from the ICU, etc). It also trains you in a different way because the floor usually has problem-based assessments while the ICU has system-based assessments (cardiovascular, pulm, etc). ICU knowledge can also be useful on consult services because you will get called on ICU patients. This rotation will teach you a good portion of medicine for your fourth year.


One of things about away rotations is that they can be expensive. Interview season can be expensive enough. In retrospect, it would have been fun to get away and see another institution. They can be two-edged swords as well (help and hurt). If you are doing lighter services (like consult), then be enthusiastic and a nice person. The real question when you do aways at another institution that they ask the residents about you is "would you want to work with this person at 2 AM."
The letters can be of variable utility. I wrote about this before, but it is like going over to your friend's house. The parents (attendings at the other institution) are going to be nice and write you a letter out of courtesy. It is hard to tell if it will be a great letter or not... some are! The main utility will be using that experience as a key to matching at that institution. If you have average scores or grades and you are quite personable and a hard-worker, then that would be very beneficial and potentially help you match there. Although an away rotation does not always equal an interview.

I would get Step 2CK out of the way early. Once the interviews start coming in and your grades do not matter, it gets easy to slack off. You want to be motivated and study for Step 2CK because the score can matter in ranking. If you have two strong Step scores, then that will be a bonus. I would also get Step 2CS out of the way as well.
You can omit when you take the exams on ERAS, but I think honesty is the best policy. Report the scores unless they substantially dropped or you failed (then talk to your adviser stat).

 

[stankem]

Thanks all for the advice, I will definitely be using it

 

[Cards21aceking]

I would also get Step 2CS out of the way as well.
.

Taking it tomorrow and it feels like pulling teeth trying to "study" for it.