GS pgy 2--how do i find a CA-1 spot?

[mellen5]

I am currently a pgy 2 in surgery looking to convert to anesthesia. i would eventually like to get into an anesthesia/critical care fellowship. what is the best way to find a CA-1 spot for july 2010? i feel like those positions come along by word of mouth...not necessarily advertised. i am looking mainly in the southeast but can go anywhere.

any tips for locating open spots or advice? thanks everyone.

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[dragonfly99]

If you want to stay in the Southeast, it might not be a bad idea to just cold call people...just fish for a spot. You could even make yourself a form letter/email that politely inquires about open spots, and then send it out to different hospitals. Of course, you'd have the small worry that it might get back to your current program, but if you stick to programs that are outside your immediate vicinity the risk is probably fairly minimal.
If you are on good terms with your surgery PD, maybe he/she could help you get an anesthesia spot at your current program.

There are places that seem to have spots open up fairly frequently...I think Maimonides in Brooklyn, NY has them sometimes, and I heard that Cleveland Clinic has from time to time.

 

[amyl]

vcu has spots via the match. seemed like a nice program when i interviewed there.

 

[bubalus]

Search through the forums. Reapply through the match and cold call every program you could be interested/willing to attend. Most of the 2010 CA1 spots are gone but there are still quite a few out there that have been held for people such as yourself, but they're not advertised. You've got to do the work yourself, and you have to start now.

 

[mellen5]

thanks for the advice. if i cold call, should i call whatever secretary, coordinator is listed as the contact person, or should i try calling the program director? i don't want to be presumptuous, but i don't want to get turned away easily either? what is considered protocol?