in a bind...

[LotaPower]

Not sure how many others out there like me...

I attend a Medschool w/o an EM residency program. I've spent tons of time my 3rd year in the ER (while on call in ob/med/peds etc.) and developed a good relationship with almost all of the docs in the ER. I was talking to one of them today and he suggested that I should do a month at home and learn the ropes of an ER... and then do no more than 2 aways. I'm considering this heavily because I believe that I can get an AMAZING LOR if I do a month at my home ED.

on the other hand, I've seen multiple opinions on this board and even from some of the senior students at my school that I would be much better off doing 3 aways at programs WITH an EM residency...mostly because letters from a residency program hold more weight and that faculty at my home program are probably "unknown" to many PDs.

I'm stumped and at the same time worried. It's crunch time and I have to make my 4th year schedule and this decision is really bothering me. What route should I take? (if it means anything, I'm hoping to go to one of the chicago programs or stay in the midwest)

ayuda me porfavor!

thanks all

 

[The White Coat Investor]

You clearly do not follow this board TOO closely. Most people on here will recommend you do 2-3 EM rotations as an MS4. 1 at your home institution, and 1-2 away at places you'd like to match. 4 is nuts. 3 is almost nuts. Especially if your goal is "one of the chicago programs or stay in the midwest." Spend your fourth year in Europe, not the ED.

 

[doc05]

3 aways, or even 2, is excessive for EM. As popular as it is, EM isn't really that competitive and you should focus on enjoying 4th year and saving your money for interviews. I would only recommend 2-3 aways in the case of a very marginal candidate, or for someone going for ortho (where aways count for a lot more). good luck.

 

[kungfufishing]

1 home rotation to figure out if you like it and 2 aways for letters is reasonable. Away rotations arent as much auditions as they are opportunities to obtain good SLORs.

 

[Hercules]

Not sure how many others out there like me...

I attend a Medschool w/o an EM residency program. I've spent tons of time my 3rd year in the ER (while on call in ob/med/peds etc.) and developed a good relationship with almost all of the docs in the ER. I was talking to one of them today and he suggested that I should do a month at home and learn the ropes of an ER... and then do no more than 2 aways. I'm considering this heavily because I believe that I can get an AMAZING LOR if I do a month at my home ED.

Here's a thread from last week where it was pointed out that even a great LOR from a EM attending not attached to an EM residency is not worth much:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=180682

 

[grouptherapy]

email a PD. express interest in the field/program. ask for his/her advice.

 

[FoughtFyr]

email a PD. express interest in the field/program. ask for his/her advice.

Or go to SAEM's website and get a "virtual advisor". I had great luck with that program. My advisor turned out to be last year's ACEP president!

Anyway, I was in the same boat. His advice to me was to only do two EM rotations, one at a slower paced, community based EM residency institution as early as possible in the year. That way, according to him, I was likely to get a strong letter from an institution with an EM residency, thus one that carries some weight. He thought that "home" letters from schools wthout EM residencies weren't all that meaningful. Plus, doing the rotation early in the year meant that I would be judged against lots of "off-service" interns still trying to figure things out - easier to "shine" that way. Then he suggested doing my second rotation at a program I was very interested in.

I followed his advice to the letter, going to Resurrection in Chicago in July and then following with Indiana in Sept. / Oct. Resurrection gave me the skills necessary to rock my rotation at Indy, and gave me a great SLOR to boot. I ended up at my #1 program - your milage may vary.

- H

 

[LotaPower]

You clearly do not follow this board TOO closely. Most people on here will recommend you do 2-3 EM rotations as an MS4. 1 at your home institution, and 1-2 away at places you'd like to match. 4 is nuts. 3 is almost nuts. Especially if your goal is "one of the chicago programs or stay in the midwest." Spend your fourth year in Europe, not the ED.

where did I suggest doing 4 EM months?

 

[bartleby]

It depends what you mean. EM isn't competitive in that if you're a US grad, chances are that you will in fact match somewhere. The question is which somewhere. If you are looking to go to a "name" program or are looking for a specific geographic area in demand (W Coast, Northeast, etc), you'd be amiss to think you're going to breeze into the first program that strikes your fancy without going through some legwork.

As popular as it is, EM isn't really that competitive