Off Cycle Applicant - Ob/Gyn or IM?

[U4iA]

Hi there!

Thanks for taking the time to share your perspective.

I have completed all of the third year rotations but Ob/Gyn - I can still graduate on time but I have no vacation time left.

Should I take Ob/Gyn right away (Aug/Sept)?

I just finished internal medicine and would prefer to continue down that path, taking my JI and medicine related electives before application deadlines in November.

I would then take Ob/Gyn later in the year.

Would this make residency programs nervous? (the fact that I have not completed a core rotation?)

Or could it be beneficial to work with folks in IM, get stronger letters, do away electives at the programs I am interested in, etc.

Thanks again... any feedback is appreciated.

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[NotAProgDirector]

Many med schools will require that you finish all of your cores before starting with 4th year electives. If your school is flexible, it won't matter much if you delay your Ob core. In any case, interviews are Nov-Feb with ranking in Feb-Mar, and you're certain to have completed your OB core by then. You can retransmit your transcript then.

 

[dragonfly99]

Agree w/aprogramdirector
I'd say if you are sure you want medicine, and can defer your Ob/Gyn clerkship until after doing more medicine rotations, I would do it. My experience doing OB/Gyn as a student was that they really didn't let us do much of anything anyway. You will learn to do pelvic exams, though, which is necessary for internal medicine...

 

[U4iA]

thank you both.

i really appreciate the advice. it helped me talk to my school and ultimately postpone the ob/gyn clerkship.

now i have august and september for 4th year electives.

unfortunately, my school will not give me credit for anything considered a sub-I until after completing ob/gyn.

i wanted to get more exposure to general medicine, but with my schools policies, i am taking a hem/onc elective in august mainly because hem-onc or palliative care are my main interests in medicine.

in september, i was considering a psych elective (or ICU if I realize that hem-onc is definitely the way I will go) because i am on the fence between psychiatry/IM (with fellowship in hem-onc/palliative care)/combined residency (probably without fellowship).

recently, i have changed my focus from "what should i do to impress program directors?" to "what can i do to clarify my path in medicine?"

would program directors prefer students to have their electives more focused in months before applications rather than experimenting with more than one specialty?

on a side note, is december getting too late to take step 2? january?

thanks!

 

[NotAProgDirector]

recently, i have changed my focus from "what should i do to impress program directors?" to "what can i do to clarify my path in medicine?"

This is good. You need to be happy.

would program directors prefer students to have their electives more focused in months before applications rather than experimenting with more than one specialty?

Doesn't matter for IM, but you'll really need a Sub-I for your application, so you'll need to finish the OB clerkship and get the Sub I done.

 

[dragonfly99]

your plan sounds OK, except I am also concerned like aprogramdirector that you need to get a medicine subI done before your applications go in.
Can't you do OB/Gyn in August/September and then do your subI in October? October is the latest I would do a medicine sub-I...you need time for the attending to write you a letter of recommendation by some time in November, I would think.
Can you not do a medicine elective in July, then Ob/Gyn in August/September, and a subI in October?
p.s. I don't think other nonmedicine clerkships or electives hurt your medicine application much, as long as you also have done a medicine subI. I actually had a lot of surgery stuff, including a subI, on my application but it didn't seem to hurt my medicine application...

 

[U4iA]

thanks for the feedback dragonfly. my schedule is awful because i have no time off and my school has a ton of rules.

unfortunately, at my school july is still part of third year.

in august, i have hem/onc - i was hoping to take an IM JI but my school told me i needed to finish Ob/Gyn. I can go through the appeals process to take my JI before Ob/Gyn but it seems challenging.

in sept, i was thinking about doing a month in psych where i spend 1 week in different services.

(i am between hem/onc and psych)

oct/nov is my ob/gyn clerkship.
- i can push this to dec/jan
- but it would overlap with interviews
- all my interviews will be on the other coast.
- thinking about spending dec/jan in the state i will be interviewing
- could probably appeal to take my IM JI in october.
dec - earliest i can do my JI with this plan.
jan - step II + cushy elective