Research/year off questions

[pogonotroph]

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I'm planning on taking a year off to do research in EM in City X. I met a doc at ACEP involved in some very interesting research at "mid tier program", the other EM program in City X. How much of a factor is "top tier program's" name recognition in terms of deciding where to do research? Will PD's necessarily be more impressed by a publication at a big name ED, or would being involved in an interesting project at a lesser known program be just as good?

I'm planning on doing at least 2 away rotations. I'm assuming that it will look better if I do these during the normal time frame (July/Aug/Sept) at the beginning of 4th yr versus doing them earlier at the end of my gap year (April/May), since doing well in them would "prove" I can still do well after taking a year off. Is this at all true? Are there any other reasons I should avoid doing an away rotation during this gap year between 3rd/4th.

 

[Tiger26]

From a match perspective, a year off is always a concern that needs to be addressed, however, it seems like you have a pretty good plan and aren't doing it for an academic or professional deficiency.

One alternative I'd suggest would be to consider rotating at all the MN programs and going all-in without taking a year off. Somewhat risky, but doable and you could always reapply. MN has 3 highly regarded programs and there are 2 relatively close by in WI as well.

Obviously, this strategy would be contingent on your strength as an applicant