it's that time of year again...

[realruby2000]

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as the first half of 3rd year comes to a close we've been told it's time to start thinking about 4th year electives...

there are at least 4 or 5 programs I know that I would love to be at for residency... would it be overkill if I did an away rotation at each program? what's the best way to structure 4th year rotations?? sorry if I sound kinda clueless about this stuff...any info that the upperclassmen can provide would be greatly appreciated!!

thanks in advance!!

 

[Jeff698]

Four or five is probably a bit much. I'd recommend narrowing your list down to two, three tops. Try to schedule them early in the year so your SLORs will be in well in advance of your dean's letter.

Good luck!

Take care,
Jeff

 

[realruby2000]

Four or five is probably a bit much. I'd recommend narrowing your list down to two, three tops. Try to schedule them early in the year so your SLORs will be in well in advance of your dean's letter.

Good luck!

Take care,
Jeff

is there any true disadvantage to doing 4 or 5 away rotations? I know I probably won't be able to take as many "fun" electives but other than that what other ways can it hurt me?

also why is it significant that the dean's letter be after the SLORs? does the deans letter count as one of the maximum 4 required by eras?


thanks again!

 

[EMApplicant]

is there any true disadvantage to doing 4 or 5 away rotations? I know I probably won't be able to take as many "fun" electives but other than that what other ways can it hurt me?

also why is it significant that the dean's letter be after the SLORs? does the deans letter count as one of the maximum 4 required by eras?


thanks again!

1. If you appear stellar on paper, you might just only succeed in downgrading yourself if your rotation is less than stellar.

2. Many programs offer their first round of interview invites before or just after the deans letter comes out. Ideally, you'd like to have all of your application materials in prior to the dean's letter being released so as not to miss the boat on any invites.

 

[Apollyon]

is there any true disadvantage to doing 4 or 5 away rotations? I know I probably won't be able to take as many "fun" electives but other than that what other ways can it hurt me?

State licensure - some states won't accept training outside your home institution (regardless of the rotation being at an ACGME-program place), and states that dictate # of weeks are in the area of 68-72 weeks of clinical. I did one away, but had 80 weeks of clinical. If you do 20 weeks elsewhere, you might not have any wiggle room to be qualified in some states.

Unfortunately, you have to look at the laws of each state individually. The Green Book has good summaries of what is needed for licensure in each.

 

[ekydrd]

is there any true disadvantage to doing 4 or 5 away rotations? I know I probably won't be able to take as many "fun" electives but other than that what other ways can it hurt me?

also why is it significant that the dean's letter be after the SLORs? does the deans letter count as one of the maximum 4 required by eras?


thanks again!

Don't forget that during the 4th year your school probably has requirements for certain types of electives and selectives you can take. Taking 4-5 awway rotations will extremely limit the time you have to fulfill your requirements, and not every program has a flexible schedule for students doing rotations there so there may wind up being a lot of overlap or a scheduling nightmare. I would say that 2-3 well chosen rotations is plenty.

As for why you need to do the rotations so early is because grades and comments from those rotations can be included in your Dean's Letter. And no, the Dean's Letter (also known as the Medical Student Performance Evaluation or MSPE) is not one of the LORs. It is a special entity all its own.

 

[po' boy]

do two rotations, one at home (if your school has an EM program) and one away. you want to do one at home even if you don't want to match there, because home support is really important, and it looks weird if you don't rotate at home. more than two rotations is overkill and you'll be burnt out by the third month anyway. plus a lot of schools have restrictions on how many rotations per field you can do during fourth year, in the interest of giving you a broad-based education. take electives in stuff you'll never see again, international electives, or electives that give you a break after busting hump in the ED for two months.

i'll put in a plug for Denver's ED rotation. fantastic teaching and learning experience, and a great letter from them opens doors like you wouldn't believe.

 

[dlung]

I just remembered something.

If there's a away rotation that you definitely want to do for whatever reason, don't be turned away by the stated requirements. Just email the contact person, state your circumstances and specific interest in the rotation, and they'll usually accomodate you.

For example, I wanted to go to X program b/c it was close to home + highly respected. However, in order to guarantee a spot, I needed to send in my application materials well before a number of my 3rd year rotations were complete. I just emailed them and got the spot.

 

[ekydrd]

... you want to do one at home even if you don't want to match there, because home support is really important, and it looks weird if you don't rotate at home...

This is very true in any field. My school actually requires us to do the home rotation BEFORE we can do an equivalent away rotation.