Ob/Gyn M4 Electives

[Desi24]

I'm in a bit of a pickle when it comes to Ob/Gyn senior electives. My school only offers Ob/Gyn M4 electives at the site where I completed my M3 clerkship. The residents there told me there's really no point in me doing an audition elective at the site, since the program has already gotten to know me. So I decided to rely on VSAS for three Ob/Gyn senior electives for August thru October... I applied to 9 schools for various electives August-October, heard back from 1 that said everything was full then heard back from 3 others that all offered me spots for September within a day of each other (what are the chances!) and all 3 said they don't have any electives available for August or October.

I'm not really worried about October at this point, but getting really anxious I'm not going to have anything for August, which I was really counting on because I still need an Ob/Gyn LOR. I'm still waiting to hear back from 4 other schools, but at this point I feel like my chances of getting an elective for August from either of them are really low. I tried calling a few non-VSAS programs in my city and they are all either full, aren't responding to my calls/emails, or don't offer senior electives. Any advice on what to do?

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[BigTumor]

I'm in a bit of a pickle when it comes to Ob/Gyn senior electives. My school only offers Ob/Gyn M4 electives at the site where I completed my M3 clerkship. The residents there told me there's really no point in me doing an audition elective at the site, since the program has already gotten to know me. So I decided to rely on VSAS for three Ob/Gyn senior electives for August thru October... I applied to 9 schools for various electives August-October, heard back from 1 that said everything was full then heard back from 3 others that all offered me spots for September within a day of each other (what are the chances!) and all 3 said they don't have any electives available for August or October.

I'm not really worried about October at this point, but getting really anxious I'm not going to have anything for August, which I was really counting on because I still need an Ob/Gyn LOR. I'm still waiting to hear back from 4 other schools, but at this point I feel like my chances of getting an elective for August from either of them are really low. I tried calling a few non-VSAS programs in my city and they are all either full, aren't responding to my calls/emails, or don't offer senior electives. Any advice on what to do?

Many students do home institution electives and home institution sub-I's. Common (if not standard) to have an OB/GYN letter from your home institution so in no way a setback if that's where you can do an elective. The more people know you, the better their letters will be so think of it as an extension of your current relationship with the attendings at that site rather than stagnation. I do see the appeal to the aways though and wish you the best choosing one.

 

[Monkeyisland2]

I know that VSAS says not to call the institutions but that helped me get the ball rolling on the review of my application and most institutions did not respond negatively to my phone calls.

 

[Desi24]

Many students do home institution electives and home institution sub-I's. Common (if not standard) to have an OB/GYN letter from your home institution so in no way a setback if that's where you can do an elective. The more people know you, the better their letters will be so think of it as an extension of your current relationship with the attendings at that site rather than stagnation. I do see the appeal to the aways though and wish you the best choosing one.

I know that VSAS says not to call the institutions but that helped me get the ball rolling on the review of my application and most institutions did not respond negatively to my phone calls.

Thanks so much for the advice! The only reason I was trying to avoid my home institution was because the fourth years have the exact same role as third years during Ob/Gyn electives there and I already secured an LOR from the Ob/Gyn department there. I ended up getting an away rotation for August about a month before it began. It seems like it's just a waiting game unfortunately.