I go to a school with a good number of dermatology spots with a history of home school bias. What is the best way to make a good impression on the important people in the department? I'm currently an M1 and plan on doing research with a very junior member of the department over the summer (I don't think she has much sway over residency spot decisions; however, she is very vested in me as a student and has spent numerous hours personally mentoring me). However, I do plan on going to Grand Rounds. What should I be doing over the summer and during my 3rd year rotation to make the best possible impression to maximize my chances of matching to my home program?
I would typically err on the side of being more reserved until you get a handle of how the department works
Otherwise, I would try to read up on some of the threads about how to handle clinical rotations (either in this forum or the med student forum. I remember there was an outstanding one in the ENT forum years ago). The same rules apply whether you are a M1, M3, research fellow:
- read as much as possible beforehand so that you are prepared as much as you can be
- show up early, try to stay late if possible, but go home when asked to go home
- help the residents if you are rotating
- work on clinical and operative skills (probably applies more for a M3)
- do NOT try to show up other students or residents
- take it seriously (the story I always tell is about my colleague who wanted to continue derm research with me into M2. We both worked in the lab in the summer between M1 and M2. She wasn't able to balance the school work with the lab work and had to end up dropping the lab work. Her research mentor? Happened to be the department chair. I think most students who are doing this over the summer and are interested in derm are able to dedicate 100% of themselves. If you choose to continue as an M2, make sure you are ready for it. Better to leave a good impression over the summer and just leave it at that as compared to having to renege on a commitment)
