Q about electives

[niceguydoc]

Hey guys i'm a 2nd DO student trying to figure out how many electives i should do in anes and what to do the other electives in that would benefit me or prepare me for my anes rotation. I have a total of 4 electives before interview season, 2 in my 3rd yr and 2 in my 4th. i'm under the impresion that most people do 2 electives in anes during their 4th yrs. Now my q is, would doing 3 anes rotations be overkill or is 2 enough. someone advised me 3 would be ok since you don't want to put all your eggs in one basket. I understand most places don't offer 3rd yr away rotations, but i'm thinking maybe doing one at a local hospital in my 3rd would help me prepare for my 2 big away ones in my 4th yr - or is 2 enough?

If i end up doing just two away rotations in anes, both during my 4th years, what should i do my 2 electives in during my 3rd yr that would be beneficial for anes or just in general? I was thinking radiology for one but have no idea what to do the other one in.

Also, i'm from the nyc area and plan on going back there for residency. i know that the lower tier programs accept DO's but what about programs like cornell, columbia, mt sinai, nyu, and stony brook, etc? i've combed through all the threads in the anes forums and couldn't find anything. Does anyone actually know for a fact that those above programs have DO's in them, or should i not waste my time even ranking those programs when the time comes. Thanks for any input!!!

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[txdoc2b]

Hey...I don't think that doing 3 electives in anesthesia would be overkill at all. You can do one "away" like you suggested. Also, it doesn't all have to be OR type general anesthesia, you can do one in, for instance OB Anesthesia (I did that at my school and it was a great experience, I ended up putting in about 25 spinals and liike 15 epidurals) CT, PEdi, etc. Also, a lot of times you can do an elective in Critical Care which usually is also considered an anesthesia elective. Plus, this way you can then get a variety of Letters.

SO if I were you, I'd do 2 at your school 3 rd year and one 4th yerar (away). As for your other 4th year elective (you only get 2 all year? that's crazy!) I'd do something easy like Radiology. You will be surprised how lazy you can get during 4th year (trust me, I know first hand) Plus, you will need to build up that "relaxed feeing" because soon, all **** will hit the fan!

Can't help you with any comments about NY....I am born and raised a TX girl!

 

[timtye78]

A third year rotation even if its only two weeks may be good enough to see if you actually interested in committing your two audition rotation slots and your career to anesthesiology. Not saying gas is bad, but many people, myself included, really wished we could have dabbled in stuff before we try to make impressions in the fourth year. A total of 3 is fine(incl the 3rd yr elective.) Don't think that matching is simply a function of just doing more rotations. I did 2 rotations in my fourth year and matched at a place where I never even set foot in.
Good look and feel free to pm me for me questions!