Merits of away rotation in FM

[DukeOfBubbles]

Hi y'all,

I'm an MS3 and recent convert to FM weighing options on away rotations. I attend a Southern US state school and I'm looking at programs in South and Midwest US. Goal is to attend a strong program, either unopposed or with significant autonomy.

My research is in surgery (1 non-first author clinical paper). Step 1 is in 240+ range, mostly A's with 1 B on clerkships so far. I'll be doing a home FM sub-internship in M4.

Reasons to do an away:

• Decide if I like a particular program, its people, and the city
• My home FM program is mediocre-ly regarded and getting a letter from a more highly regarded place could be a significant boost
• I'm not a strong interviewer and may appear better through longitudinal exposure
• Demonstrate that I'm not applying to FM as a backup

Reasons not to do so:

• Potential to make a bad impression and give programs a reason not to interview me
• Already a competitive applicant on paper
• Money and time to apply
• Money and time during rotation vs. staying at home school

Is there anything I have not considered? Anything else I could do to accomplish my "reasons to do an away" without doing an away? Any thoughts either way?

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[HipsterLorax]

Hey, MS4 here with similar stats and somewhat similar situation. I have strong opinions, but I don't think it's ever a bad idea to do an away rotation for a lot of the reasons you mentioned.

I did an away at a strong unopposed program outside of the region I'm from. My home institution is an academic "opposed" program that is also mediocre. It was extremely valuable for me to see how FM training can differ both from region-to-region and unopposed-to-opposed. On top of the pros you noted, it's also a good way to show interest in a particular region, as you will get asked several times on interviews "why here?".

To counter your reasons not to do an away:

• Making a bad impression - if they don't like you then you wouldn't want to go to that program anyway. I recommend doing the away right after you do your home Sub-I (and Step 2CK) so you'll be at the top of your game
• Competitive on paper - yes, but as you said it might not look like you're committed to the specialty. Also, I don't think FM cares as much about step scores or AOA as long as you passed. 3rd year grades are important, though (and great job!)
• Money/time - Drop in the bucket compared to your total loan amount (if you're like me) and can totally change your career trajectory. Worth every penny IMO.

 

[MonsterAddict]

Newish attending here. Aways can be great and boost your chances of getting in there, however it can also hurt you if you perform poorly or you don't mesh with the residents. Overall, in my experience, it helped most applicants

 

[DrMeowMeow]

An applicant did a SubI with us and we did not recommend her. She had a great application, interviewed really well and faculty wanted to rank her really high during the rank list discussion. Ended up on Do Not Rank list because of the SubI. Another med student did a rotation with us and was super awesome! It turned out his test scores were barely passing, but that did not matter everyone wanted him in the program.

 

[DukeOfBubbles]

An applicant did a SubI with us and we did not recommend her. She had a great application, interviewed really well and faculty wanted to rank her really high during the rank list discussion. Ended up on Do Not Rank list because of the SubI. Another med student did a rotation with us and was super awesome! It turned out his test scores were barely passing, but that did not matter everyone wanted him in the program.

Did y'all give her a LOR? In that case, I'd just be worried about getting a "poison pill" letter. I wouldn't be worried about an impression I made on a single program.

Hey, MS4 here with similar stats and somewhat similar situation. I have strong opinions, but I don't think it's ever a bad idea to do an away rotation for a lot of the reasons you mentioned.

I did an away at a strong unopposed program outside of the region I'm from. My home institution is an academic "opposed" program that is also mediocre. It was extremely valuable for me to see how FM training can differ both from region-to-region and unopposed-to-opposed. On top of the pros you noted, it's also a good way to show interest in a particular region, as you will get asked several times on interviews "why here?".

To counter your reasons not to do an away:

• Making a bad impression - if they don't like you then you wouldn't want to go to that program anyway. I recommend doing the away right after you do your home Sub-I (and Step 2CK) so you'll be at the top of your game
• Competitive on paper - yes, but as you said it might not look like you're committed to the specialty. Also, I don't think FM cares as much about step scores or AOA as long as you passed. 3rd year grades are important, though (and great job!)
• Money/time - Drop in the bucket compared to your total loan amount (if you're like me) and can totally change your career trajectory. Worth every penny IMO.

Thank you for your feedback---working on getting my VSAS together as we speak! Best of luck with your ranklist

 

[DrMeowMeow]

Did y'all give her a LOR? In that case, I'd just be worried about getting a "poison pill" letter. I wouldn't be worried about an impression I made on a single program.

No she did not ask for one, but she was already interviewing at other places so did not need any. If she did, it'd be too late in the process.

 

[VA Hopeful Dr]

From a matching point of view, doing away rotations likely isn't important. You look great on paper so you don't need to visit and make a good impression unless you're going for somewhere really competitive.

Doing it to see what the program is really like and seeing if you mesh well with current residents does have merit though.