no neuro core clerkship, elective issue

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Acherona

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Hi, I'm a third year med student. My school is known for it's neurology departemt, but strangely enough we don't have a core rotation in neuro, though we do have 2 weeks working on consult service in second year.

My problem is that I am interested in neuro, and would like to do my july elective in it, but my school is saying that july is not so great because there will likely be multiple attendings due to it being a vacation month, which may make it hard to get an LOR.

I could do it away, but then most schools probably expect the neuro core, and even if they don't I don't want to look like a ******.

Any advice? Should I look for a school that also does not have a neuro requirement and do it away? Or just do it at my school and hope for the best? Or push it off to August (cutting it close)?

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I did my elective in neurology at my home school and they did not know what to do with me either. I ended up sitting through resident lectures, seeing patients at the OPD clinic and hanging out at EMG NCV and sleep labs. I did not get uber great LORs from it, we also had multiple attendings and I also did it in July, but I think it helped me decide a lot whether neuro is "it" for me. And, well, for the record in my interviews I always referred back to it to prove my "commitment" to neurology.
 
I would schedule meetings with the residency director and/or the chair at your school and discuss your interest and the question about where/how to do a rotation with at least a mention of the need for LORs. Neurology is a pretty small field, so getting your name and interest known can help you out more than you would think. At least at my home program, the neurologists who find out you are interested bend over backwards to help out. If this doesn't pan out, I'd do a rotation away. Good luck!
 
I agree with the above. August is not too late to do your rotation. My school has no neuro department, so my first rotation was late July/Aug and then did an away rotation in Sept. Even if you spend a week or two with the same attending, this is usually enough time for them to get to know you. (i.e. write a letter for you) Approach them in the beginning and tell them you are interested in neuro. Good luck!
 
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