Prudent to start with IM then surgery?

[bollywoodlover]

As of now I'm considering Peds as a specialty. I kind of just want to get the two toughest rotations out of the way. I also think that it seems logical to start with IM first since I'll have a solid foundation for the rest of my rotations. It'll be 4 months of hell but at least the rest of my rotations will seem like a cake walk. I have people discouraging me from taking IM first because they think the grade for it matters no matter what specialty I go into and I'll look bad since it'll be my first rotation. However I also heard that it's very difficult to get an A either way and hard to get a C so most end up with Bs.
What do y'all think? Would I be shooting myself in the foot to take IM first?

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[Jlaw]

Surgery is a lot of IM so if you did that first you would get enough exposure to IM in the rotation and while studying for the shelf that you would be ready to do do well in IM. If you aren't interested in a surgical specialty and its your first rotation no one is going to care if you don't rock it...IM is much more relevant to Peds and other medicine specialties so I would try to perform well.

 

[JJMrK]

I don't think it matters. Mostly, "success" in a rotation is achieved by working hard and putting in time. If you do those things, study when you can, and get along well with people you're likely to do well. It's more about your attitude than what you know, in my opinion as somebody who now grades med students.

 

[operaman]

Good advice above. Would add that the IM shelf pretty strongly correlates with Step 1 score and is probably the shelf with the most step 1 material on it. If you did/will likely do well on Step 1, you will probably be okay. If that is a weakness of yours, you may benefit from some additional time to learn the clinical material and get accustomed to taking shelf exams. They look a lot like Step 1 questions but are VERY different; I definitely had a bit of a learning curve and I'm a good test taker.

All that said, it really doesn't matter much. You might actually do better with Surgery first, especially since you don't think you'll do a surgical field. I did surgery first and then IM and I agree that it makes the rest of the year feel easy by comparison. It was also a very steep learning curve both clinically and in terms of preparing for shelf exams. The plus that nobody has mentioned yet is this: you'll care a lot more and work harder and probably have a better attitude earlier in the year. People will also give you some leeway as it's your first rotation and everyone knows how lost you are. If you work hard and show great improvement over the course of the rotation, you'll be just fine. If you pick up clinical stuff really fast, you'll look even better.

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

My rotations were Surg, FM, FM, Surg, IM, IM....
I haven't finished IM 1 or 2 yet (Currently in IM1)... I passed the surgical shelf with not much studying, which was good because I had an A$$hat surgeon... The surgery shelf is mainly IM, and having it first will 'supposedly' help on the IM shelf...

 

[J ROD]

most folks i talked to said IM then surgery. While I agree that attitude is most important, doing poorly on shelf exams will bring you down quick. I wish I was better at taking them.