Med 4 Schedule for OB/GYN

[anonperson]

I'm a Med 3 currently and started scheduling for Med 4.

Due to the unusually high amount of interest in OB at my school this year it was more difficult scheduling my fourth year OB sub I, which I was able to get in September.

I know residency apps can be completed by September 1 or 2. Am I going to be way behind the ball in terms of residency apps because of this and getting the proper letters of rec? I am starting to worry a bit about this but it is somewhat out of my control since I am locked into that month.

Any advice would be appreciated.

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[rayofdiana]

Can you get an away rotation somewhere? I don't know if there's anywhere in particular you want to go, but that might be a way to get an OB/GYN senior elective earlier. Good luck!

 

[anonperson]

Can you get an away rotation somewhere? I don't know if there's anywhere in particular you want to go, but that might be a way to get an OB/GYN senior elective earlier. Good luck!

I haven't looked into doing any aways yet.

At first I was okay with having my sub I in September but after reading some other posts on this board I am having second thoughts on whether it will significantly impact me.

 

[MedObsession]

What about your 3rd year clerkship chair? Or anyone you did research with in Ob/Gyn? Do you have a mentor that you have worked with as well? How is your relationship with the chair of ob/gyn at your school? Those were other people that I approached for letters. Although I had my sub-I in July, it was very resident-run and the attending contact was sporadic, causing me to look elsewhere for letters. I did an away in September and it was enough time for a letter (for that program in particular).

That being said, you can still submit your application early September and have the non-sub-I letter added at the end of the month. My chair letter didn't come in until mid-October (he had all of the applicants in my class nervous he was going to miss the deadline!), but even still, I had some programs offer interviews beforehand with only 3 letters being uploaded.

 

[anonperson]

What about your 3rd year clerkship chair? Or anyone you did research with in Ob/Gyn? Do you have a mentor that you have worked with as well? How is your relationship with the chair of ob/gyn at your school? Those were other people that I approached for letters. Although I had my sub-I in July, it was very resident-run and the attending contact was sporadic, causing me to look elsewhere for letters. I did an away in September and it was enough time for a letter (for that program in particular).

That being said, you can still submit your application early September and have the non-sub-I letter added at the end of the month. My chair letter didn't come in until mid-October (he had all of the applicants in my class nervous he was going to miss the deadline!), but even still, I had some programs offer interviews beforehand with only 3 letters being uploaded.

I've done research with an OB at my school and did have some interaction with him on my 3rd year OB rotation. Getting a letter from them shouldn't be an issue.

I have talked with the 3rd year clerkship chair before about my interest and he does know me by name now. He met with medical students often during the rotation but he was never directly my attending. I wasn't sure if this interaction was enough to warrant asking a letter.

As far as the programs PD, I have talked to him once before and he said he basically writes a letter for all prospective OB applicants.

Otherwise due to the nature of the rotation (lots of different attendings) I never was able to interact with one a lot (maybe a day or so with each attending, not like medicine where I had 2 weeks with each attending).

Thanks for the information. I'll probably talk to the PD or clerkship director for some more advice soon.

 

[missense]

just another thought....adding a strong non-ob letter to your application is a good idea. remember that what you do in july/august will most likely show up in your deans MSPE letter as well for programs to see. so during that time you will want to do some rotations of benefit on which you can shine like a medicine sub-i, icu sub-i, surgery sub-i, or maybe even a solid research experience that could also get you a letter of recommendation. i think programs like to see that you are a strong student overall and perform well in more than just your field of interest. for myself i had 2 ob letters (chair and mentor), a research letter, and a letter from an away rotation in icu to pull from.

most programs will want 3 letters, and some want 4. and note that some programs require an ob chair letter as part of your application.

ditto as to the other posts on sources of ob letters.

 

[anonperson]

just another thought....adding a strong non-ob letter to your application is a good idea. remember that what you do in july/august will most likely show up in your deans MSPE letter as well for programs to see. so during that time you will want to do some rotations of benefit on which you can shine like a medicine sub-i, icu sub-i, surgery sub-i, or maybe even a solid research experience that could also get you a letter of recommendation. i think programs like to see that you are a strong student overall and perform well in more than just your field of interest. for myself i had 2 ob letters (chair and mentor), a research letter, and a letter from an away rotation in icu to pull from.

most programs will want 3 letters, and some want 4. and note that some programs require an ob chair letter as part of your application.

ditto as to the other posts on sources of ob letters.

Thanks for the information. For ERAS, does one have to have their letters of rec completed prior to submitting applications or can you certify your application and send in your letters after?

I also believe my school has the option of allowing your September elective/Sub I performace be noted on your MSPE if one chooses.

My plan is to take either July or August off for Step 2 (Step 1 score isn't impressive and I feel that I can do better) and have September for my OB Sub I.

I'm now thinking of taking July off to take Step 2 and doing a medicine Sub I in August which will hopefully add another letter.

Also, during my third year I've been asking attendings that have been impressed with my work on their service if they would write a letter.

So far (non Ob letters):
-I have one from my psychiatry attending, I'm not sure how helpful this will be now but he said it will be a strong one.
-I have one from a general surgeon who I was on service with for a full month and did a publish paper with (I was first author) who will write a letter.
-And I have one other one from a GI attending who said they would write a strong letter of rec.

In terms of OB, I have one letter from an attending I am doing a project with that I will have a poster at the ACOG meeting and I did interact with him somewhat during my OB rotation.

 

[missense]

yes, you can send your application to programs without letters.

once you have your common application form completed (the CAF is a lot like a cv with biographical info, research, honors/awards, school info, etc) and certified, you can begin to send out your application to programs. (note: once you certify this, there is no changing it)

assignment of your letters, personal statement, and your photo can come later -- but try to get as much information in, as early as possible. do your part by having the CAF, personal statement, and photo in ASAP and then add letters as they come in.

p.s.-your plan for july/august/september sounds good -- and the non ob letters you mentioned look good as well (you can decide which letter to assign to which program later after some discussion with your deans and mentors). also, it may take some gentle reminding to collect those letters from your attendings in a timely fashion. they get busy and sometimes forget, but if they agree to write a letter they will most likely get it done for you. this is why asking early is important and you seem to be ahead of the curve on this one. good luck

 

[Pegsie]

Thanks for the information. For ERAS, does one have to have their letters of rec completed prior to submitting applications or can you certify your application and send in your letters after?

Definitely start submitting your application after you fill out your basic school info & test scores. Some programs will give you an interview just based on that, without bothering to look at dean's letters or LORs. The sooner they know you're interested (even with an incomplete application), the better.