my tentative 4th yr schedule

[funshi baba]

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I am a 3rd yr, preparing for 4th yr electives. I am pretty set on surgery.

My proposed schedule look something like this:

Early Aug: trauma surgery (sub-I 4wk)- NC
Late aug-Mid sep: general Surg (sub-I) NC
Late sep-mid oct: surg onc (sub-I 4wk)-NY
late oct-mid nov: ICU/Pulmonology (sub-I)NC
mid nov-mid dec: SICU (sub-I 4wk) CA
late dec- mid jan: rad/surgery/anaes (OH)
late jan-mid march: Fam MEd III (FL)
etc.

This is not final, it's still a working progress. As u can tell, i am leaning heavy towards NC but i still have to keep my options open. All these programs will be my top 5 especially the ones in NC. I feel like i have to get my face in there before the interview process get started.

Couple of questions i have are 1) Is this schedule going to help or hurt my chances? 2) how do u explain doing a medicine rotation in a place u want for surgery?

Any suggestion is welcomed.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

I am a 3rd yr, preparing for 4th yr electives. I am pretty set on surgery.

My proposed schedule look something like this:

Early Aug: trauma surgery (sub-I 4wk)- NC
Late aug-Mid sep: general Surg (sub-I) NC
Late sep-mid oct: surg onc (sub-I 4wk)-NY
late oct-mid nov: ICU/Pulmonology (sub-I)NC
mid nov-mid dec: SICU (sub-I 4wk) CA
late dec- mid jan: rad/surgery/anaes (OH)
late jan-mid march: Fam MEd III (FL)
etc.

This is not final, it's still a working progress. As u can tell, i am leaning heavy towards NC but i still have to keep my options open. All these programs will be my top 5 especially the ones in NC. I feel like i have to get my face in there before the interview process get started.

Couple of questions i have are 1) Is this schedule going to help or hurt my chances? 2) how do u explain doing a medicine rotation in a place u want for surgery?

Any suggestion is welcomed.

5 sub-I's? Isn't that kind of a lot?

 

[funshi baba]

i was thinking the same but i figured that i have to put a lot of energy into these program to have a good chance and a possible LOR. I will probably get my arse handed over to me but will give it a shot.

 

[Anka]

I did about the same number of sub-I's and found it useful. You are only going to get as much out of fourth year as you put in. You might as well develop a little.

Anka

 

[SocialistMD]

I am a 3rd yr, preparing for 4th yr electives. I am pretty set on surgery.

My proposed schedule look something like this:

Early Aug: trauma surgery (sub-I 4wk)- NC
Late aug-Mid sep: general Surg (sub-I) NC
Late sep-mid oct: surg onc (sub-I 4wk)-NY
late oct-mid nov: ICU/Pulmonology (sub-I)NC
mid nov-mid dec: SICU (sub-I 4wk) CA
late dec- mid jan: rad/surgery/anaes (OH)
late jan-mid march: Fam MEd III (FL)
etc.

Where is your home program? Of the rotations not at your home program, where will you be staying? To do that many rotations (at least 4) away from home seems like a bit much to me, and will be crazy expensive (particularly if you don't have family/friends with whom to stay), but that is just my opinion. I understand the first three rotations, and I think the ICU rotation 4th would be beneficial. However, mid-November to mid-December is generally a time of interviews, so you don't want to be in the SICU at that time, particularly if you are on an away rotation. I would make your late December to mid-January rotation anesthesia and do radiology in November-December. I'd also figure out some place for a cardiology rotation (March-April).

Just my thoughts.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

I did about the same number of sub-I's and found it useful. You are only going to get as much out of fourth year as you put in. You might as well develop a little.

Anka

My school has a limit on the number of 4th year rotations you can do in any given field - so the only way you could do more than 3 sub-I's would be to do them in medicine and surgery.

And really, the only people who do 3 sub-I's are the ones going into away rotation dependent fields like ortho/derm. Most doing gen surg do 1-2...doing more than that is generally considered kind of over the top at my school (read gunnerish)

 

[funshi baba]

I guess i should have given more info about myself. I am a 3rd yr osteopathic student. My home instituition is WVSOM, and we don't really have a teaching hospital. So essentially ur 4th yr is all up to you to find the place.

I am from NC, and i already did a cardiology elective in my 3rd year. Thanks for the advice. I never really thought about how my rotation will affect my interview.

 

[njbmd]

I am a 3rd yr, preparing for 4th yr electives. I am pretty set on surgery.

My proposed schedule look something like this:

Early Aug: trauma surgery (sub-I 4wk)- NC
Late aug-Mid sep: general Surg (sub-I) NC
Late sep-mid oct: surg onc (sub-I 4wk)-NY
late oct-mid nov: ICU/Pulmonology (sub-I)NC
mid nov-mid dec: SICU (sub-I 4wk) CA
late dec- mid jan: rad/surgery/anaes (OH)
late jan-mid march: Fam MEd III (FL)
etc.

This is not final, it's still a working progress. As u can tell, i am leaning heavy towards NC but i still have to keep my options open. All these programs will be my top 5 especially the ones in NC. I feel like i have to get my face in there before the interview process get started.

Couple of questions i have are 1) Is this schedule going to help or hurt my chances? 2) how do u explain doing a medicine rotation in a place u want for surgery?

Any suggestion is welcomed.

I guess i should have given more info about myself. I am a 3rd yr osteopathic student. My home instituition is WVSOM, and we don't really have a teaching hospital. So essentially ur 4th yr is all up to you to find the place.

I am from NC, and i already did a cardiology elective in my 3rd year. Thanks for the advice. I never really thought about how my rotation will affect my interview.

I am familiar with your school and I see why you are going to be spending so much time on away rotations. There just isn't much attached to you school especially for surgery. I would throw in couple of things that will just make you a better intern like rads/gastroenterology (the cards elective was a good choice too).

One thing I would caution you about is that many places in the south are anti-DO (conservative). Be sure that you cast your net wide in NC (allopathic and osteopathic) for surgery. The midwest is still the best pickings when it comes to osteopathic acceptance in the surgical specialties (and subspecialties). Good luck and perform well clinically.

 

[Anka]

My school has a limit on the number of 4th year rotations you can do in any given field - so the only way you could do more than 3 sub-I's would be to do them in medicine and surgery.

And really, the only people who do 3 sub-I's are the ones going into away rotation dependent fields like ortho/derm. Most doing gen surg do 1-2...doing more than that is generally considered kind of over the top at my school (read gunnerish)

Yeah, I spent a lot of time thinking about how I could avoid being seen as a gunner. It kept me up nights. 🙄

I did a medicine subI, a general surgery subI, a cardiac surgery subI, and CT SICU subI, and a CCU (medicine) Sub I. I got a lot out of doing the rotations, and felt a lot more confident throughout internship because of them, especially with regard to critical care. Obviously being in the OR during my general surgery and cardiac surgery subI were real bonuses.

Anka

 

[funshi baba]

I am familiar with your school and I see why you are going to be spending so much time on away rotations. There just isn't much attached to you school especially for surgery. I would throw in couple of things that will just make you a better intern like rads/gastroenterology (the cards elective was a good choice too).

One thing I would caution you about is that many places in the south are anti-DO (conservative). Be sure that you cast your net wide in NC (allopathic and osteopathic) for surgery. The midwest is still the best pickings when it comes to osteopathic acceptance in the surgical specialties (and subspecialties). Good luck and perform well clinically.

Thanks for the advice. So does it look bad if u do a MICU sub-i at a place u will be applying to for surgery?

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

Yeah, I spent a lot of time thinking about how I could avoid being seen as a gunner. It kept me up nights. 🙄

I did a medicine subI, a general surgery subI, a cardiac surgery subI, and CT SICU subI, and a CCU (medicine) Sub I. I got a lot out of doing the rotations, and felt a lot more confident throughout internship because of them, especially with regard to critical care. Obviously being in the OR during my general surgery and cardiac surgery subI were real bonuses.

Anka

Not trying to criticize you or question your choices - just saying the way things are done at my school and the basis for my original statement that 5 sub-I's seemed unusual.

I'll be doing 2 sub-I's, a research month or two, anatomy-TA'ing for the 1st years, a medicine month for funsies, and my other required rotations (fam med, EM, etc)

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

Thanks for the advice. So does it look bad if u do a MICU sub-i at a place u will be applying to for surgery?

I wouldn't say it "looks bad" - but one of the goals of doing an away rotation is to get to know the residents/faculty and show them that you are a competent, hard worker. If you're in the MICU, you won't meet many of the surgery folks.

 

[funshi baba]

i guess that's always the problem. I can only do so much surgery electives before running out of room for my medicine requirements. I probably will still schedule my IM rotation in places i will like to go for surgery but they won't be my first choice; more like 4th and 5th choices.

thanks