Is it true that if you schedule an audition rotation and then cancel it later on, that the program won’t invite you for an interview because of it?

[deleted1016251]

I’m a third year osteopathic medical student applying to audition rotations and away electives right now. This process already sucks because of how up in the air everything is before you even begin to factor in all the additional uncertainty surrounding COVID-19.

As a DO student trying to land a residency spot at a university program in my home state which is typically not the most DO friendly and not where I’m attending medical school, I see it as very important to get some auditions at university programs in that state as well as some letters of recommendation from there as well.

Accordingly, I've applied broadly for auditions on VSAS at programs that are way out of reach for me probably, ones I think I have a realistic shot at and ones that are safety programs and backups so that if I strike out on a lot of the programs I really want, I can at least do an audition at a program I’m less enthusiastic about but is at least in the location I want.

Yesterday I got an offer for an audition from one of those backup programs for the month of September, which is peak auditioning season. Anyone familiar with VSAS knows that you are only given a week to either accept or turn down the offer.

I don’t have any other offers for that same time period at the moment, but I still have many applications that are out right now being reviewed. With all of the COVID-19 stuff currently ongoing, I have no idea when I’ll hear back from many of these places, and I don’t want an opportunity to pass me by, so I’m tempted to accept the audition offer I received yesterday. That said, if I get another offer in the future, I would probably prefer that one and would therefore likely cancel the one I got yesterday.

If I were to do that, is there really a possibility that the first program refuses to invite me for a residency interview later on because they feel like I rejected them and went for a rotation somewhere else?

That seems incredibly petty to me, and I understand that nobody wants to feel like someone’s backup plan, but these programs only give you a week to make a decision and that really inhibits your ability to accurately assess all of your options.

I’m a competitive applicant for my desired specialty as well, but very concerned about the DO thing. Would a program that otherwise really likes everything I have to offer them look my name up or something and see that I canceled an audition rotation that I scheduled with them and change their minds on me?

Is this real or is this just something students say to one another?

I’m trying to make the best decisions for my career as I can, and right now I think I need to audition at the best program I can find and get a LOR from. Unfortunately, it seems to me that community hospitals tend to review VSAS applications and reply back to applicants much quicker than university programs do, and so I don’t want to offend a bunch of community program PDs by accepting their invitations for an audition and then later canceling them.

If I were to end up having to cancel an audition that I scheduled, I would try and do so as professionally as I can and apologize sincerely for doing so while giving the program as much advanced notice and time as I can to replace me with another visiting student.

Can anyone advise me on what the best course of action may be for someone on my shoes?

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[aSagacious]

I highly doubt residencies track applicants in that much detail. Certainly wouldn't cause an instant rejection.

n=1 -> I was accepted for an away rotation at Program A. I declined it to make time for a different away. Still ended up matching a Program A (who I ranked above the away program).

 

[aldol16]

It depends on the school and nobody really knows for sure. Obviously avoid doing that but if you must, then giving them a lot of advance notice is better than less. With lots of advance notice, they can at least schedule another student in your place. If you tell them three days before, that might be considered unprofessional and depending on how much of a role the program coordinator has in the process which likely varies, the impact on you will vary.

 

[HinduHammer]

this happened to me. maybe they wouldn't have invited me anyway though. hard to say.

 

[takeurmeds02]

I canceled an away with Hopkins and then got rejected for an interview. Who knows if there was a correlation there or not. I seriously doubt they track you that hard though.

 

[GoSpursGo]

As others have said, each program is different in terms of how closely the monitor these things. Some won't track it at all, others will make a note and auto-reject you, or use it as a tiebreaker if you're on the bubble between being invited to interview or not. It's not really that hard to make a note of a handful (if that) students who back out on a rotation. And it's not entirely petty--just as you want to audition to programs, programs want a chance to learn more about prospective applicants, and if you waste a spot that they later are unable to fill, there's a real cost to that from their perspective. In any event, you have to weigh the pros and cons for yourself. Nobody can tell you how COVID is going to affect VSAS offers from programs going forward. You should keep in mind that even if one of your reach programs offers you a rotation, that doesn't mean you're going to automatically be competitive for them if they historically don't take DOs.

My personal advice is that unless you are in a specialty that requires away rotations/auditions (like say EM), I'm not sure you are doing yourself any favors by doing an audition at a program that you consider to be a backup anyways. If you could probably get an interview without needing to do an audition, I'm not sure what the point is.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

In most programs (esp bigger programs), the folks that run student rotations are different than those who run resident recruitment. I have no idea whom has turned down student rotation invites. In smaller programs, there might be more overlap.