How many aways is too much?

[EternalMD]

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I wanted to get a feel for 2 places outside of my home institution for where to do aways however I have read that you don't need to do more than one. Including the one at my home institution, that would make 3 general anesthesia electives. So the question to the seasoned veterans would be if 3 is too much or if I should just go for the 2 instead (picking the #1 out of the 2)

 

[Ferdie]

you don't need to do any. not at all. not unless you really think you need to get a several-week-long feel for a place, or unless you don't think you're competitive enough (for whatever reason) to match at a particular place you're particularly interested in

 

[WhoopDeeDoo]

I did one away and it almost sucked all the life out of me. Haha. Okay, I was kinda sick during the away rotation. Anyway, it was a good way to check out another institution and I did learn a ton while I was there.

I think two away rotations is doable but I definitely would NOT do 3 months of general anesthesia during your 4th year. Unless they are going to let you run most of the case, what good are you going to get out of it? You might get bored and not want to do anesthesia if you do so much "watching."

I would recommend maybe doing an "advanced" or sub-i anesthesia rotation as an away rotation and then several institutions (e.g. Stanford, Emory, etc.) have multiple electives in Anesthesia e.g. OB, pain, Peds, CT, ICU and do one of those so that you can see more than just general anesthesia but get a feel for the department and institution.

Also, keep in mind the expenses you will incur during your away rotation. You will have to pay rent at your own apartment while paying for a place to stay during your away rotation. Plus, you will have to think about transportation, food, etc. My away rotation in San Francisco ended up costing me about $2000 extra for the month.

 

[RCRW]

Anesthesia programs expect that visiting medical students are trying to impress them. In my experience, if you do a visiting rotation and don't do an outstanding job and work far more hours than expected, they will think you are a slacker and it will hurt your chances of getting in.

If you want to do the visiting rotation just to check out a program and don't feel you need an extra boost to get an interview, don't do the rotation if you don't have the time/energy to do a stellar job. In that case, I would just arrange to do a "second look day" after you interview to help you get a better feel for the place. You can usually do whatever you want that will help you make your decision on a second look - float between ORs talking to residents, sitting for hours at the lunch gathering spot talking to whoever comes in, etc.

However, if you aren't a stellar candidate, kicking butt on a visiting rotation is a great way to get noticed by a top program where you might otherwise not have gotten an interview.

 

[y2janitor]

So if you think you'll get an interview at a program, it might not be worth it to do an elective there?

 

[EternalMD]

Thank you all for the advice so far.

I suppose that 2 months of doing an away and being on my game the entire time can get to be a bit tiring. Worse off, if I get put in a situation where as an MSIV I don't get to do much besides watch, I might hate it.

More than likely I will cut down my desire to do an away to just one big name place I was considering instead of the 2 and then let the stats take me the rest of the way.

Any resident or attending here that has medical students rotating through? If so, what do you expect out of the visiting students and how many would you say exceed your expectations?

 

[RCRW]

So if you think you'll get an interview at a program, it might not be worth it to do an elective there?

Everything is a balance between how much time you have to do away rotations, how competitive the program is, and how great an applicant you are. Remember also that an interview does not equal a competitive spot on a program's rank list.

In my experience, if you do well on an away rotation at a specific program you will always be more competitive in the program's eyes, because you become a known entity. The program knows first hand how you will perform and if your personality will fit in, rather than just guessing based on some LORs and an interview day.

 

[Ferdie]

So if you think you'll get an interview at a program, it might not be worth it to do an elective there?

basically, yes. unless you're cool with working your butt off. which is great.

 

[Plead the Fifth]

I did two aways, one at each of my top two choices. You definitely don't have to but I think it helped the faculty and powers that be to get to know me a little better. Luckily I was able to stay with friends and avoid expensive hotel costs. Make sure to factor in the cost.

 

[coprolalia]

How many aways is too much?

One is too many.

-copro

(We had a kid this year, nice guy, do an away rotation with us. In all honesty, he probably would've been ranked highly if he hadn't done this away rotation with us. Take that for what it's worth.)

 

[lord_jeebus]

If I were to do it again, I wouldn't bother with the hastle.

 

[climbingdocs]

Copro,
How bad do you have to be to screw up your chances? I figured if you do what you are told, have SOME personality you should be ok...right?

 

[coprolalia]

Copro,
How bad do you have to be to screw up your chances? I figured if you do what you are told, have SOME personality you should be ok...right?

It wasn't a personality issue. I have a lot of personality, and despite the fact that it pisses some people off from time to time I still get advanced in my program.

No. This was a nice, smart kid who decided he could "better" his chances of getting a spot with us if he did an away. Basically, all he proved to our clan was that he was a '****. No one expected him to be able to provide anesthesia like a CA-3 or anything, but he just demonstrated that he didn't have the basic savoir faire needed of an anesthesiologist. You know, the crap you can't teach (everyone who's been in this game for a while knows exactly what I'm talking about).

Usually, you find this kinda thing out midway through or at the end of CA-1 year. And, ineluctably, you have to let the person go, onwards and elsewhere to pursue a different medical career. All this nice guy did was give us the opportunity and benefit of seeing that he didn't have the "stuff" earlier, therefore providing us the ability to pre-emptively say "no" before we took him on.

Fair? I don't know. I do know that there is a certain anal, attention-to-detail, almost annoyingly "Type A" component to every good anesthesiologist personality. And, this kid just didn't have it. (Unfortunately, right now there is another kid in our first year class who probably ain't gonna make it either... but at least he got his shot in our program. I think if he'd done an "away" with us, he also would've been cut during try-outs instead of after he made the team... which scenario is worse, I'll leave you to decide.)

-copro

 

[vigocarpathian]

when you guys say "one is too many" are you saying that it isnt nec in the least or that it doesnt nec. help? Im only asking because I have a 205 step one score and I would like to match at baylor in houston or UT-houston, emory or jefferson memorial. Im guessing with that step 1 score it would behoove me to do an away at a couple of these school?