reason for away rotations

[Goran]

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Curious if there's a valid reason to do an away rotation aside from using it as an audition rotation at a program. Does it make sense to do an away in another part of the country just to see what it would be like living there? I was thinking of checking out the west coast in Jan/Feb of 4th year. I'd like to apply to west coast programs for residency, but would prefer not to do an away at the programs I'd be interested in. What do you guys think?

 

[MrBurns10]

Do you have any connections to the west coast?

For starters, there is a big regional bias in selecting people for residency interviews, especially for competitive specialties. Unless you're (the general you) an all-star candidate or have connections to a particular area, programs may think you're not really interested in their program. Second, residencies in California are ofentimes very competitive to land because everyone and their brother wants to be there. I would highly suggest doing an away rotation or two at Cali programs that interest you, but only if you think you'll do well.

 

[Richspiders07]

Another thing: you may get a completely different patient population / spectrum of diseases depending on where you med school is location. If you are interested in ER, there's a HUGE difference between what you will see in a major city [what are sometimes referred to as 'knife and gun clubs'] or in a more rural school [tractor accidents, weird genetic diseases (crazy things happen in WV), etc].