Interview after rotating at a program

[wannabeOBGYN]

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What is the general consensus on receiving interviews at programs where you have set up electives? I read that sometimes students can make a poor impression and ruin their chances of matching at a program if they don't shine, but I always thought you would at least get an interview invitation if you take the time to rotate with a program. I rotated with one place in August and I have one set up for January. I know that's late but I only had December and January available and they didn't take students in December, plus the coordinator said they do offer interviews through January so it's not too late.

At what point should I assume either or both of these programs have decided not to offer an interview? I am strongly interested in both of these programs so I don't want to just let things go until it's too late if I can help it. On the other hand, I know it's still October and some programs might be waiting for the MSPE, but both of these programs have been posted on the interview invites thread (albeit only 1-2 people each).

Thoughts? I did a search on this and didn't see anything of use, especially within this forum. Thanks!

 

[Quink]

"I always thought you would at least get an interview invitation if you take the time to rotate with a program."

The elective rotation was your choice and to your advantage (most of time....sometimes a poor impression was made). You are not doing a program much of a favor by doing an elective. Hopefully, you made contact with the coordinator when you were there and can give him or her a call or an email. Otherwise, it is not a given that doing an elective will automatically grant you an interview.

 

[wannabeOBGYN]

"I always thought you would at least get an interview invitation if you take the time to rotate with a program."

The elective rotation was your choice and to your advantage (most of time....sometimes a poor impression was made). You are not doing a program much of a favor by doing an elective. Hopefully, you made contact with the coordinator when you were there and can give him or her a call or an email. Otherwise, it is not a given that doing an elective will automatically grant you an interview.

I know I didn't do the program any favors by showing up for an elective, and I know it's not an guarantee that rotating students get interviews, but things went well while I was there so I was hopeful and now I am getting nervous. I hope I hear back from these places so I don't have to worry anymore, but if I don't, I guess there's nothing I can do. I contacted the coordinator for the program from August a month or so ago and they mentioned they had a lot of applications this year and were slowly going through them, so I don't want to annoy them by sending another email. Thanks for your input regardless.

 

[HumbleMD]

I know I didn't do the program any favors by showing up for an elective, and I know it's not an guarantee that rotating students get interviews, but things went well while I was there so I was hopeful and now I am getting nervous. I hope I hear back from these places so I don't have to worry anymore, but if I don't, I guess there's nothing I can do. I contacted the coordinator for the program from August a month or so ago and they mentioned they had a lot of applications this year and were slowly going through them, so I don't want to annoy them by sending another email. Thanks for your input regardless.

Some program websites explicitly say elective does not equal interview.

As for the interview invites thread, I'm not giving it too much weight. I'll bet the 1-2 invites are to students for their home program. For instance, I was nervous because UPitt had a bunch of interview invites listed, yet we received an email today saying they'll be reviewing November 1st. I'd take that list with a grain of salt until at least the end of the first week of November.

 

[LoveSparkle]

What is the general consensus on receiving interviews at programs where you have set up electives? I read that sometimes students can make a poor impression and ruin their chances of matching at a program if they don't shine, but I always thought you would at least get an interview invitation if you take the time to rotate with a program. I rotated with one place in August and I have one set up for January. I know that's late but I only had December and January available and they didn't take students in December, plus the coordinator said they do offer interviews through January so it's not too late.

At what point should I assume either or both of these programs have decided not to offer an interview? I am strongly interested in both of these programs so I don't want to just let things go until it's too late if I can help it. On the other hand, I know it's still October and some programs might be waiting for the MSPE, but both of these programs have been posted on the interview invites thread (albeit only 1-2 people each).

Thoughts? I did a search on this and didn't see anything of use, especially within this forum. Thanks!

Personally, I would consider any interview that you get after doing an elective there a "courtesy interview" - sometimes the programs give you the courtesy of giving you an interview after you've spent a month in their program, but not all programs do. It may not be a reflection of you... and they may not have gotten around to officially inviting you yet. January may be on the late side to get an invite, only because invitations usually go out much earlier, and spots get full - unless someone cancels and then they offer you an invite. BUT... if you get an interview at the program, and THEN you do an elective, you're still spending a month making a positive (or negative) impression, so that elective is just as important!

Id be hopeful 🙂

 

[PMPMD]

What is the general consensus on receiving interviews at programs where you have set up electives? I read that sometimes students can make a poor impression and ruin their chances of matching at a program if they don't shine, but I always thought you would at least get an interview invitation if you take the time to rotate with a program. I rotated with one place in August and I have one set up for January. I know that's late but I only had December and January available and they didn't take students in December, plus the coordinator said they do offer interviews through January so it's not too late.

At what point should I assume either or both of these programs have decided not to offer an interview? I am strongly interested in both of these programs so I don't want to just let things go until it's too late if I can help it. On the other hand, I know it's still October and some programs might be waiting for the MSPE, but both of these programs have been posted on the interview invites thread (albeit only 1-2 people each).

Thoughts? I did a search on this and didn't see anything of use, especially within this forum. Thanks!

If you go to the trouble of doing an away rotation, make sure you're really ready for a serious committment. You have to be ready to give 100% every day for a month. Even one bad encounter can blow the whole month for you. As other posters said, you also will want to make connections with those who have sway in the interview process. Besides the chairman/PD, you should also find out other staff who are influential in the process. Courtesy interviews are common, but not guaranteed.

Having been on a residency adcom, I did give some extra attention to students who rotated with us. And most of the experiences were generally positive.

You should also give thought to the specific rotation you do. Based on the OP's SN, I'm assuming they're applying for OB/Gyn. If you choose a general rotation (e.g., L&D), you may have a different attending every day. This makes it harder to build rapport. Whereas if you choose a subspecialty rotation (MFM, Onc, etc), you would likely be interacting with a smaller pool of staff and therefore get more face time with each.

Personally, I would reserve aways for a very small number of programs (1-2) that are a little above what you'd be likely to match into based on interviews alone. Unless you're a rockstar candidate, then you might not need the away, and might stand to lose more than you'd gain. I'm also assuming you're not applying for certain surgical subspecialties that effectively require aways.

 

[wannabeOBGYN]

If you go to the trouble of doing an away rotation, make sure you're really ready for a serious committment. You have to be ready to give 100% every day for a month. Even one bad encounter can blow the whole month for you. As other posters said, you also will want to make connections with those who have sway in the interview process. Besides the chairman/PD, you should also find out other staff who are influential in the process. Courtesy interviews are common, but not guaranteed.

Having been on a residency adcom, I did give some extra attention to students who rotated with us. And most of the experiences were generally positive.

You should also give thought to the specific rotation you do. Based on the OP's SN, I'm assuming they're applying for OB/Gyn. If you choose a general rotation (e.g., L&D), you may have a different attending every day. This makes it harder to build rapport. Whereas if you choose a subspecialty rotation (MFM, Onc, etc), you would likely be interacting with a smaller pool of staff and therefore get more face time with each.

Personally, I would reserve aways for a very small number of programs (1-2) that are a little above what you'd be likely to match into based on interviews alone. Unless you're a rockstar candidate, then you might not need the away, and might stand to lose more than you'd gain. I'm also assuming you're not applying for certain surgical subspecialties that effectively require aways.

I definitely gave 100% every day when I was on my away rotation, including volunteering to pick up shifts on L&D on weekends (I was on REI) and working in clinics on my free afternoons. The doctor I rotated with wrote an LOR for me and I got to know a handful of other attendings as well, several of which knew a mutual acquaintance who did their residency at that program and who wrote me an LOR as well, so I'm hoping I made some ties while I was there. I'm only doing the 2 away rotations I mentioned in the OP. Thanks for your input! 🙂

 

[NKDA]

How would you advise getting in touch with the program director while you're there if you haven't run into the PD and haven't gotten an interview invite?

 

[PMPMD]

How would you advise getting in touch with the program director while you're there if you haven't run into the PD and haven't gotten an interview invite?

You could talk to their secretary and find out where they are each day. You could take call with them. I would save email for a last resort, since many PDs take forever to reply to emails.

The program coordinator might be also be able to help you get an interview.

 

[residencycoord]

You should always make an effort to meet with the residency coordinator when you do an away rotatation. They are the gatekeeper to the Program Director. There are many coordinators who have influence with the PD's and the interactions that you have with them are also important. There is no guarantee that you will receive an interview with that program. Depending on where you do your elective, your application may not be as strong as the residents who are currently in that program. Your performance will have to be very strong to show that you are a serious applicant. Also, the residents can make or break you no matter how strong you may be so your interactions with them can sometimes be more important than the interactions you have with faculty.