Importance of MS4 away rotations

[da8s0859q]

I know that EM tends to place a somewhat greater premium on med students doing an away or two than other specialties do, but for a variety of reasons, I'm considering not doing an away. My home institution does have an EM residency.

What I'm wondering is how much I might be risking my match day by doing this. On paper: Texas resident, Step 1 in upper 240s, HPs and an H in M3 thus far with two rotations left to be graded, several extracurriculars, no research.

I'd understand how this might keep me out of California / other west coast programs, but what about the rest of the country?

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[Aesculapius]

My n=1 when it comes to matching, but... why would you do this? It is 1 month of your life, out of 4 years of medical school and who knows how many tuition $. Why risk not matching into EM, or matching into the program that you would like to match at, when you can avoid it?

Also: most programs ask for 2 SLORs. How do you expect to get that with 1 rotation?

 

[JacobMcCandles]

I didn't do an away rotation and didn't have a problem matching. It wasn't ever really brought up during my interviews either.

 

[sylvanthus]

I don't think most require 2 SLORS, one yes. But, seems to me there are fewer programs that require 2 and it would be relatively easy to just not apply to those programs.

 

[Docuronium]

Why risk not matching into EM, or matching into the program that you would like to match at, when you can avoid it?

Fear not, not having an away rotation will not prevent you from matching into EM. Where this myth came from, I am uncertain, but will be leading an expedition soon to find its source.

I will agree that it might create a problem at the program you desperately want to match into, assuming it's very competitive.

 

[da8s0859q]

Fear not, not having an away rotation will not prevent you from matching into EM. Where this myth came from, I am uncertain, but will be leading an expedition soon to find its source.

I will agree that it might create a problem at the program you desperately want to match into, assuming it's very competitive.

I guess my biggest thing is that I can't tell if not doing an away would keep me out of out-of-state residencies in general. Things like Denver and CA programs, I would understand, but what about others? Vandy? Midwest programs? Salt Lake?

 

[cairn]

In my opinion, away rotations aren't necessary for matching. They can be helpful in figuring out what sort of program you want to be at or whether emergency medicine is right for you. But if you know you want to do EM, why not spend those 4th year electives doing things that you wouldn't otherwise experience and may make you a more well rounded future resident? I got a lot out of rotations like ophthalmology, derm, SICU, and Neuro ICU 4th year.
I interviewed everywhere but the west coast and skipping the away was not a problem.

 

[Dane07MD]

If you do some reading, you'll find that I am usually a proponent of the away rotation. I did two of them, after all. However, as a Texas resident with great numbers, you will not be hindered out of state. You certainly are strongest IN Texas, but the midwest, the SE, the East Coast, those areas won't forsake you. Denver, CA, maybe a little tougher, but also not out of the question at all. If you don't want to do one, fine. You'll be asked during interviews why you chose not to do one, and you'll just need to be prepared to answer that question.

I agree with above, it's a month and it might be fun to experience another program and city for a few weeks, if you won't be too incredibly burdened by the cost of an away rotation.

I know people who fear aways and they themselves realize they have a more introverted personality that they think may end up hurting them on aways. Nothing wrong with this either.

You could do an away, maybe two, but you still rank 10 or more programs. Maybe you have a predilection for the place you do an away, but at the end of the day, you'll match somewhere whether you choose to do an away or not.

I got 3 SLORs from my home institution. Getting one is free, two pretty easy, and even a third not too hard to come by. Don't let the SLOR factor scare you. I do think 2 says a lot more than 1 though.

 

[SepulvedaMD]

Maybe it's cause I go to a school without a program that I look at these threads crooked? Hmm...

I think that everything that needs to be said has been said.

Not doing an away in Cali will not keep you out, but it could. The question is, can you live with that?

The same would be true for other desirable places (Oregon, Az, Denver, Carolinas...insert other well known competitive spot with cool stuff to do outside of the hospital

Also, can we combine the many similar threads?

 

[da8s0859q]

The same would be true for other desirable places (Oregon, Az, Denver, Carolinas...insert other well known competitive spot with cool stuff to do outside of the hospital)

Maybe it's ignorance on my part, but I don't remember hearing that those other non-California programs -- like Oregon and Carolinas -- would be Cali-like in terms of difficulty of matching as an otherwise-acceptable Texas resident.

I understand that TX residents tend towards staying in TX and that some programs take this more seriously than others, but still.

 

[Docuronium]

I guess my biggest thing is that I can't tell if not doing an away would keep me out of out-of-state residencies in general. Things like Denver and CA programs, I would understand, but what about others? Vandy? Midwest programs? Salt Lake?

Will it keep you out? No.

I've got a friend in a quite competitive program right now (in a desirable location as well) who did 0 away rotations. Not from the area either.

A good evaluation on an away rotation sure wouldn't hurt though.

 

[Muscletoe]

Doing an away can be difficult, and it's probably not necessary to match. It can cause a financial strain, and you may have other things going on in your life that might keep you from leaving. However, it can help send a signal to programs that you're not just a regional candidate, and more importantly it can open your eyes to a different way of doing EM that you may not have had a chance to see yet. Also, if you think Vandy would be great--go to Vandy! You might find it's the bees knees, or you might find there's something about it that's not for you. The fact is that this is the time to invest in your future--make the most of it.

 

[OccupyTheED]

You seem to be a pretty strong applicant so I don't think it will hurt you. I personally did 2 and for me it was an opportunity to check out two of my top programs, make a great impression and make up for a red flag on my app. I wound up matching at a place where I rotated and I'm pretty sure that without my month there my chances wouldn't have been as good. In general I think the stronger you are on paper the less of a need there is for you to do aways. For someone like me it was absolutely necessary.